I have a love affair with Kenya. I’ve been travelling to the country, the land of the happy, shiny people every year for seven years now. Unfortunately this year, I can’t participate on our annual pilgrimage to the Masai Mara with my keen-as-mustard globetrotting guests to migrate on horseback alongside thousands upon thousands of zebra and […]

We’ve been living without television for over three years now, however occasionally on rainy, wind-swept nights we tune into our favourite programs online. Last night I was brought to tears and left in absolute awe with the account of Leigh Woodgate’s life journey produced by Australian Story via ABC iview (watch it here). Without giving […]

Australia To truly capture the essence of the Australian bush and its colourful social life, you must attend a rural race meet before they become extinct. I grew up in rural Queensland, Australia on the pancake flat plains of the Darling Downs near a town called Dalby. My father and mother were the proud owners […]

Last time we were on safari in Kenya’s heart land, the Maasai Mara, we got our fair share of unseasonal rain and afternoon storms. Personally I love the excitement of a brewing storm on horseback, when your horse prances underneath you, the wind whips and lashes at your face and the thunder bangs overhead – […]

Argentina I was lucky enough to be taken to an amateur race meet known as a ‘Cuadrera’ in the province of Corrientes, which lies in the north of Argentina. Most of Corrientes is swathed in knee-deep water meadows with sandy, white bottoms and paddocks rich with grass. Corrientes has over 350 species of birds, which […]

“When a horse jumps, the sparks of love are born; when lightning strikes, it can take the legs from right out under you. A blessing of a novel from one of Australia’s finest writers.” Drusilla Modgeska I just finished reading Foal’s Bread by Gillian Mears as recommended to me by a friend. I thoroughly enjoyed […]

I’m a lover, collector, wearer and admirer of hats. As a resident of our sun-burnt country it would be foolish not to don a hat when outside and with a fetish for all things with a brim my collection spans from many years. My husband and I have a wall in our house dedicated to […]

Mobile Menders This article appeared in salt magazine, a Sunshine Coast lifestyle publication.  words & photos kate johns The screaming child clings protectively to his mother’s back, wrapped in a dirty patterned shuka. The child’s hair is dreaded together with ochre-coloured mud. He wears no clothes except for a red beaded necklace below his belly button […]

Can you imagine a time where mates were called Clancy and Banjo? The rivers shimmered with gold, and whiskey and tobacco were traded from bullock carts on the river flats;  your life’s possessions consisted of a mountain pony equipped with saddle, bridle, oilskin, stock whip and swag. Work was chasing cattle up rocky-edged mountain spurs […]

Ever since I was a little girl being ferried into the Dalby Pony Club while listening to Macca on a Sunday morning on the radio I’ve had an awkward relationship with jodhpurs. Let me explain: I wasn’t a beanstalk of a child like the ‘My Little Pony’, horse loving posse of friends that I had. […]

My father forwarded this youtube video link onto me, and I’m so glad he did. It demonstrates a cherished relationship between Shag-Ra, a flighty Arab and his owner Phyllis Olson who had lost faith in the world. I had tears sliding down my cheeks when I first watched this video. So very special. “This is […]

“A Mongol without a horse is like a bird without wings.”

My incredibly talented husband, Steven, took this profile shot of a Mongolian man smoking his hand-made rollie (tobacco and newspaper) while watching a wrestling match as part of the Naadam Festivities in Khatgal, Mongolia. I love this photo – it gives me tingles every time I see it! This Masai mzee (mzee is a swahili […]

We went to the Sanyu Babies Home today in the heart of chaotic Kampala. Before we arrived we stopped at Nakumat to buy some baby supplies including nappies, wet wipes and formula before reaching the home at 4pm. At the orphanage they have fifty one orphans ranging in ages three months to four years of age. […]

“When riding a horse we leave our fear, troubles and sadness behind on the ground.” Juli Carlson

  We were fortunate to travel to Mongolia in August 2010 with two of our very best friends to trial a ride in the remote Darhat Valley. A year on and we’ve compiled a video of our wayward travels from the land with the vodka swigging Mongols, wild-eyed ponies and never ending steppe. Watch it […]

  It’s night time but you could be tricked into believing it’s daytime for the sky is illuminated by a full yellow moon that is suspended low on the horizon. I’m loping along a winding sandy track that ducks and weaves like a serpent across the earth through a grass paddock. My mount is a […]

This is an article that I wrote for a African Lifestyle, Travel magazine on a riding safari in Botswana.  Riding high in the Okavango I wake to a grumbling, whirring noise within breathing distance of my head. A flimsy tent sheet lies between me and this “thing” which sounds like a contented cat purring although […]

I lean into my horse’s neck as her gallop quickens. The herd swerves to the left as my mare expertly follows, gaining ground on a couple of tail-end zebras. My hands tighten on the reins as I encourage her deep into the stampeding herd of zebra. Stripes of black and white move in a cryptic […]