You’ll arrive at the Sunshine Coast Airport in Maroochydore before 12 midday and be greeted by your host, Andrew McCarthy, or a member of his team and transferred to his family property COD-N-UP, with a small detour to purchase alcohol on the way – if required. After arriving at COD-N-UP, 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 camp oven roast before you retire to your spacious 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 (pictured above). 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 he’ll be able to demonstrate the skills and procedures used in daily life on the stations. Stock will be branded, dehorned, ear marked, ear tagged, castrated and treated for tick and fly as required. This is a dinky- di, real life cattle work experience, globetrotters, dirt moustaches included!

Following the day’s work you’ll head back up the mountain, where you will enjoy another night of 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 an absolutely glorious ride before dismounting for a gourmet picnic lunch, your horses relaxing mere metres away. Then, because one beach ride is never enough, you’ll mount up again and continue riding before unsaddling 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.

It’s campdrafting time, globetrotters – YAY! After breakfast you’ll enjoy a full day’s cattle work with quality instruction from both Andrew and campdrafting royalty, Rod Cotter. You’ll learn the ins and outs of cattle work and horsemanship before trying your hand at the fast paced, exhilarating sport of campdrafting on board the trusty, knowledgeable horse that you’ve already bonded with over the past three days. I guarantee you’ll spend the entire day grinning from ear to ear as you transform into a cowboy or cowgirl and chase after some cows. Rod breaks the sport up into easy-to-manage sections, from teaching your horse to cut out properly from the camp to beast selection and going through the rules. Trust me, you’re not thrown into the deep end – this experience is perfect for everyone from beginners to experienced riders who have been campdrafting all their life.  With a full day’s learning under your belt and another hearty meal in your belly, you’ll collapse into your tent dreaming of cows!

This morning the horses will be loaded onto the truck and taken to ‘Cots Camp’ at Widgee.  En route you’ll enjoy an early lunch stop for a multi award-winning pie at Ross Creek Store.

Today you’ll get the opportunity to continue practicing what you learnt yesterday as you try your hand at some more runs, ripping and tearing around the course chasing after your beast. The final part of the day is a friendly competition as judged by Rod, with trophies for first, second and third prize. 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 the Sunshine Coast Airport (Maroochydore) are available for $250 AUD per person on arrival and departure day 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.