Just what the title says – my last days in Armidale!

First up: a mysterious frog I found on the bathroom door one night.  I’ve been trying to identify it, but haven’t had any luck:

The day after I got back from Bellingen, Aunty Sandy and I went on one last ride.  It was pretty spectacular one, too – we headed all the way out to the back paddocks!

I picked Aunty Sandy up in town, and we drove out to the farm together.  We packed saddlebags with waterbottles and snacks (and sunscreen) and saddled up Missy and Nipper for the ride.  I didn’t bring my camera along, so all photographs are courtesy of Aunty Sandy’s phone.

I went to catch Nipper, and decided to get Missy at the same time.  Aunty Sandy thought I looked funny bringing two horses in, so have a picture and some video:

 

That attractive accessory I’m wearing is a fly veil, which is very necessary on the farm if you don’t want to inhale insects.

The first item on our agenda was following an old tractor trail around the back paddock.  Aunty Sandy had done it before, with our horse-riding friend Annie, but when the trail hit the laneway they’d followed that instead – now, Aunty Sandy and I were going to follow the tractor trail as far as it went!

It took a while, and when the trail finally petered out in a sloping valley, even Aunty Sandy didn’t know where we were!  The only way we knew we were still in the back paddock was because we hadn’t gone through any gates.

We went into the next paddock, and stopped in a little grove of trees for morning tea.  We tied the horses up in the shade, and gave them some treats – Aunty Sandy had packed liquorice and chopped carrots for them.

When we settled down to have our own food, Aunty Sandy thought the horses looked cute, and took a picture:

Yes, Nipper is looking at us, while Missy doesn’t seem to care.  Nipper seems a much more people-oriented horse, as he always wants to know where you are and what you’re doing.  This was demonstrated by what happened after we’d eaten – we were packing up, and I wandered off to find a convenient bush to serve as a toilet.  Nipper, who’d been almost dozing by this point, suddenly whipped his head up and stared after me, actually shifting around so he could have a better view.

When I came back he was still in that position, and Aunty Sandy said he’d been looking for me the whole time.  He even whickered a little when I came back, though that was probably just in hope of food.

After morning tea, we rode along the farm boundary – basically a very tall fence that’s a very short distance from the edge of the gorge that’s next to the property.  Eventually, we reached the corner that has been dubbed ‘lookout point’ (at least, among us), because you can squeeze through the fence and sit on the edge of a sheer cliff.

We tied the Missy and Nipper up again (and gave them some more treats), then we settled on the cliff to enjoy the view and have a drink.  Aunty Sandy took this picture:

Again, Nipper was very happy when we came back.  Aunty Sandy says this picture is her favourite – me and Nipper looking at each other:

Then we headed back home by a rather circuitous route.  It was a hot day, and poor Missy and Nipper were very sweaty when we got back, so we got the hose and sprayed them down with cool water before letting them go – Nipper kept trying to drink from the hose.

I met up with Aunty Sandy and Martin the night before I headed out – we all went to dinner at the White Bull for some tearful goodbyes.

Tomorrow, it’s off to Mylestom!