The upcoming ride for the Tambo Upper Trail Riding Club will be in the Fernbank/Glenaladale area on Sunday, April 30.
Led by local resident and longstanding club member Lionel Rose, the ride has been mapped out over the last few months.
The bush in the Limpyer’s Road area offers diverse riding, with small gullies and thick scrubby areas opening up to clear bush. Open tracks, 4WD tracks, and bush bashing will also feature.
There are no significant hills to negotiate, so a high level of fitness is not required. The ground underfoot is mainly loamy and soft.
Ride-out time will be 10am; bring a saddlebag lunch.
To get to the start, turn onto Limpyers Lane off Fernbank-Glenaladale Rd, then at the T-junction, turn right and stay right to follow the fence line to the starting point.
The March ride from Jackie Whiting’s Swan Reach North property was very popular. The Saturday ride had fewer numbers due to the forecast of 34 degrees. However, 10 riders set out on a short two-hour ride. Horses and riders coped well with the conditions, which, although warm, were shady and offered a light breeze.
On returning to the property, riders tended to their horses before taking advantage of Jackie’s swimming pool for a refreshing dip. After that, the courtesy bus arrived, and the group set off to the local pub for a well-earned dinner and refreshments.
The campers were up early for breakfast before a steady stream of floats began to arrive for the Sunday ride.
Twenty-two riders headed out into the nearby Colquhoun Forest through lovely ferny gullies and pretty bush. Jackie knows this area well and led the ride at a good steady pace. Lunch was at the historic Mississippi Creek Quarry.
This granite quarry was opened in 1904 to provide rock to reinforce the man-made entrance to the Gippsland Lakes. The granite was taken from the quarry and then shipped to the entrance. A tram line was built to transport the rock 13 kilometres from the quarry site along Mississippi Creek to barges at the head of the North Arm inlet. The barges then took the rock a further 6km to the entrance site.
Once the entrance was completed, granite was later taken to Melbourne.
