Today you’ll either self-drive to Andrew McCarthy’s family property, COD-N-UP, or arrive at Sunshine Coast Airport in Maroochydore before midday and be collected by your hosts, with a small detour to purchase alcohol on the way out to the property – if required. After you arrive in the early afternoon, Andrew will give a liberty riding demonstration with one of his prized horses. Then you and your luggage will be driven to the top of Mount Goomboorian, your home for the next five nights. It’s hard to explain the vista until you see it with your own eyes, but let me try: it boasts 360-degree views stretching to the west and to the east, where you can see the sand dunes near Noosa. It’s an incredible campsite where you’ll enjoy true bush comforts, including a tent large enough to swing a cat in, stretcher bed with all linen provided, and a bedside table. Tonight’s meal will be a gourmet camp oven roast, after which you’ll retire to your tent for a good night’s sleep.

After waking to a spectacular sunrise over the Pacific Ocean and enjoying a hearty breakfast, you’ll be transported off the mountain and introduced to your horse. Once you’re comfortable in your swinging fender saddle, you’ll commence your riding adventure. With plenty of opportunities to trot and canter if you wish, you will traverse open cattle grazing country, creek crossings, and a stand of Eucalypt timber where you might even be lucky enough to spot a koala (trust me – your chances are good!).
After the morning’s ride, you will arrive at your lunch location, Silky Oak Tea Gardens. Here you’ll step off your horse and walk straight into a professionally run, rustic country pub dining experience. Now you’re in for a real treat here, globetrotters, because at Silky Oak you will be given the opportunity to have a photo of yourself on a horse IN A BAR (yes, you read that correctly!). An awesome keepsake of your riding adventure to take home and cherish, and more importantly, social media bragging rights!
Once all the modelling contracts have been fulfilled, you’ll sit down to enjoy a hearty lunch. In the afternoon you’ll get lost in pristine scrub and virgin forest, eventually riding into your Mount Goomboorian campsite for a sundowner.
After a long but fulfilling day in the saddle and with your bellies full from dinner, you’ll retire to the blazing warmth of the campfire and enjoy a whip-cracking demonstration and view the photos from your day’s modelling before falling into a wondrous and peaceful slumber.

Today you’ll dig into another filling breakfast before mounting up and riding off the mountain, gaping at the views as you go. Arriving at Andrew’s original family homestead, you’ll have a lavish lunch in the gardens. Then it’s time for some cattle work! Andrew has previously run about 17,000 head of stock on a cattle station in WA that was a bit less than a quarter of a million acres, so throughout the trip, he’ll be able to demonstrate the skills and procedures used in daily life on the stations. This is a dinky- di, real life cattle work experience, globetrotters, dirt moustaches included! There will also be more beautiful trail riding on the cards as part of this afternoon’s experience.
After settling the cattle into their yards for the night, you’ll head back up the mountain to enjoy more breathtaking views, campfire yarns, whip cracking and delicious, satisfying camp oven food.
There is also the opportunity to brand your name into a piece of rough-sawn timber with fire brands to help you remember the occasion (at an additional cost of $100 or $120 depending on the piece of timber you choose).

After another stomach-filling breakfast, you’ll ride down the mountain once again before loading the horses into the truck and travelling to Rainbow Beach! Here you’ll have a gourmet picnic lunch, your horses relaxing mere metres away, before mounting up for an absolutely glorious beach ride. At the end of this magical experience, for those riders who are confident and capable, you’ll have the opportunity to unsaddle your horse for a bareback ride in the ocean! This is serious pinch-me-now stuff, globetrotters. Finally, with salt in your hair and a HUGE smile on your face, you’ll be transported back to the top of the mountain for another beautiful night at your Goomboorian campsite.

Rejuvenated after your cruisey, beachy day yesterday, you’ll be raring to go this morning! After breakfast you’ll mount up for a choose-your-own-adventure style day with Andrew and his special guest, campdrafting royalty Rod Cotter. You can choose to participate in cattle work, expand your riding skills with one-on-one lessons, play mounted games, or try riding at liberty. ‘At liberty’ means without tack: no saddle, bridle or halter. It is a great way to accelerate your riding skills and understand why horses do what they do. It will enable you to interact better with your horse, and thus improve your performance as partners. I guarantee you’ll spend the entire day grinning from ear to ear as you learn new tricks on board your trusty, knowledgeable steed. With a full day’s learning under your belt and another tasty meal in your belly, you’ll collapse gratefully into your tent tonight!

Your final day is packed to the brim, globetrotters. Continuing on from yesterday, you’ll spend plenty of time astride your horse honing your chosen skills, helping Andrew with his cattle work or just hooning around with your fellow guests. Depending on the time of year, the cattle work could involve branding, dehorning, ear marking, ear tagging, castrating or treating for tick and fly. Andrew will explain the ins and outs of cattle work, horsemanship and any other aspect of station life in as much detail as you desire!
Finally, at the end of the day, you will be transported back to Sunshine Coast Airport, arriving in time for flights departing after 6pm. For those who drove, you’ll also bid farewell to the team and head off in the evening.

Round trip transfers from Sunshine Coast Airport (Maroochydore) are available for $250 AUD per person on arrival and departure days only. Guests need to arrive no later than 12pm on day one, and departing flights are to be booked after 6pm on the final day.

Self drive is also an option.

Please note, due to varying arrival times, lunch is not included on arrival day.