# Camping with horses at Barmah National Park



## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Pity we couldn't stay longer but my eldest, Darcy & I chucked the swags in the car, horses in the trailer the other day & headed to Barmah NP, on the Murray River for a couple of days before xmas. Glorious!

Trail riding through open Redgum forest, Barmah Lake to swim in with the horses, stockyards(only been a NP for 10 years) to secure the horses & camp at, brumbies to watch - tho only managed some blurry pics of a snorty stallion. And even enough grass, including in the stockyard complex, and reeds at the lake that we hardly had to feed any hay! 

Love swagging it(real Aussie verb, honest!  ), being able to watch the stars from bed, watch brumbies come to check out our horses at the yards without realising we were there, wake at '********* daylight', listen to the dawn chorus, watch the sunrise from bed... well, we were actually already up & about to head off on a ride by sunrise.

Without further ado, here are some pics...


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

What a glorious way to spend the past few days...
Peaceful, beautiful country....


You are not anywhere near where the "current" fires raged out of control by the looks of it...
:runninghorse2:...


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

Fabulous pictures!! 

But what are swags? What does swagging mean? It sounds just a bit naughty


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

I'm with @AnitaAnne, "swag" sounds a bit naughty... but wow, those are incredible photos! I am so, so envious right now!


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

Awesome pictures,what beautiful a beautiful country. Making me wish it was spring here. 

I agree with others swags sounds like something naughty.

Edit to add I googled swag. In Australian definition, it means to travel with personal belongings in a bundle.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Haha! You guys obviously all have dirty minds! A swag is a 'bedroll'(Yeah Rambo, named from the days of 'swagmen' who used to roam the country carrying their belongings). My first swag was just effectively a thin mattress wrapped in canvas. These days they're a bit more... la-di-da ~ good mattress, mozzie net, bendy poles to keep it off you. Attaching a pic of your typical modern luxury swag...

No, HLG, thankfully been no (major) fires near us yet, or near Barmah. Tho glad the sky cleared - it was really smoky from the fires in NSW on the way up there. And the other pics I'm attaching are the normal view of the mountain from home(with horses at back door) and the view the other day - if that much smoke blew down here, can only imagine how bad it is up there! My thoughts were with all amazing firies that have worked relentlessly without respite for months now(inc. the Canadian mob who gave up their holidays to come help) and the people who have found themselves homeless & lost so much over xmas...


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Oh and a shout out to the wonderful man who's farm we broke down outside of on the way home - trailer brakes seized! RACV Total cover(roadside breakdown insurance) was USELESS & we would have been on highway(38 degrees) with horses for hours waiting & then they wouldn't even try to fix it, just stick it on a tow truck to take to nearest mechanic, and we would still be left to find our own solutions for the horses - they don't help with 'stock'.

But this old guy came out, told us to put our horses in one of his paddocks, brought us inside for a cold drink, then took his tools and in the heat of the day, worked on my trailer to enable us to load up & drive home! Tried to give him $50 for his troubles, but he wouldn't take anything, aside from the lone beer I had left in the fridge. Going to send him a box of chockies at least...


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

You know by using Australian descriptions for things. We here from the US don't have a clue as to what your talking about.

I've had to use Google more than I care to admit, after reading some of your post. Honestly we don't have dirty minds 😂 just seems that way.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

I am learning so many new words today :rofl: Trying to follow along your stories are quite challenging! 

Makes me wonder how any of the international community here understand each other!! 

I'm going to get my swag on :rofl:


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Australians are some of the hardiest people around. That's always been my impression. and self reliant.


but, you didn't carry the 'swag bundles' ON the horse, right? you brought all your gear in the car and camped next to the vehicle? we call that 'car camping'.


Oh, and um m m . the '*********" word use would not go over well in the US. it has a negative historical context.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

rambo99 said:


> You know by using Australian descriptions for things. We here from the US don't have a clue as to what your talking about.


Well you know how I felt years ago when I first joined this 'Yankie infested' forum!  I think I've worked out most of your terms tho. Still, one still gets to me - fanny ~ eew!


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Anita, was there anything in the second post you found hard? Bloke I thought was a common term for man. Chockies are chocolates. 

Dawn chorus is the cacophony at dawn when the birds all start - thought that was a general term. Tiny, the dawn chorus happens just after 'Picanniny Daylight' ~ aboriginals call their babies picaninnies, and so it means 'baby daylight', very first light in the sky - I figured you'd all have to look that up, but when I did, I found it's not just an aboriginal term but says it's a term for the West Indies children - so I suppose the whitefellas imported it & the aboriginals adopted it. So far as I know it's not a derogatory term here, but seems anything can be taken as derogatory depending on where, when...


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

1. I am also envious. What fabulous fabulous pictures and what a way to have a vacation. I wondered why you’ve been so quiet on this forum LOL LOL

1.1. Your description of the night sky puts me in mind of our wonderful northern state of Montana - where our @boots has been known to ride a few horses

Montana is known as “Big Sky Country”. I doubt there’s any other place in the U.S. with night skies as breath taking as Montana - even in a bad night

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/montana/mt-night-photos/

2. I belong to a horse form from the UK so I’m pretty much able to understand most of your words, as they seem to be pretty much the same as in the UK.

3. The word picaninnies - Yes that is a very very derogatory term here in the U.S. Even when I was a child that word was not to be used or I got my mouth washed out with soap.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

1. I am also envious. What fabulous fabulous pictures and what a way to have a vacation. I wondered why you’ve been so quiet on this forum LOL LOL

1.1. Your description of the night sky puts me in mind of our wonderful northern state of Montana - where our @boots has been known to ride a few horses

Montana is known as “Big Sky Country”. I doubt there’s any other place in the U.S. with night skies as breath taking as Montana - even in a bad night

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/montana/mt-night-photos/

2. I belong to a horse form from the UK so I’m pretty much able to understand most of your words, as they seem to be pretty much the same as in the UK.

3. The word picaninnies - Yes that is a very very derogatory term here in the U.S. Even when I was a child that word was not to be used or I got my mouth washed out with soap.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

loosie said:


> Anita, was there anything in the second post you found hard? Bloke I thought was a common term for man. Chockies are chocolates.
> 
> Dawn chorus is the cacophony at dawn when the birds all start - thought that was a general term. Tiny, the dawn chorus happens just after 'Picanniny Daylight' ~ aboriginals call their babies picaninnies, and so it means 'baby daylight', very first light in the sky - I figured you'd all have to look that up, but when I did, I found it's not just an aboriginal term but says it's a term for the West Indies children - so I suppose the whitefellas imported it & the aboriginals adopted it. So far as I know it's not a derogatory term here, but seems anything can be taken as derogatory depending on where, when...


I think that covered all of them...I did know bloke :smile:

Chockies I guessed cookies. I tend to like to try to figure out the words and only google if I am totally lost. I understood you had a good day


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Yeah, no, I don't have a clue what you're all talking about half the time up here in Canada eh?


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

My SIL is living in Australia. She married an Australian 'bloke'. She just got her Australian citizenship, so is a dual citizen now (US/AU). She tells me many of the odd 'slang' words Aussies us. It is interesting the way Australians are so frequently creating new terms for things that are basically a shortening of the word. As if they can't be bothered to speak the whole word.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

tinyliny said:


> . It is interesting the way Australians are so frequently creating new terms for things that are basically a shortening of the word. As if they can't be bothered to speak the whole word.


They would fit right in, where I now live, lollol

Shelbyville is Shlvl.

Fayetteville is Fetvul

Some folks say “cote” for colt.

I had to learn all new English when I retired from the OH/PA border to south of the Mason-Dixon:shock::shock:


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

^Why waste 3 syllables when you can get by with 2?? 😅 But then, we seem to save 'em up to add to names like Johnno or Stevo or Sammy... go figure!

Oh & Tiny, yes, we did it easy, the car carried the swags & food, not the horses. Have done some overnighters in the past where my riding horse carried my swag too(bedroll with all belongings that didn't tie to the saddle elsewhere) but that was a minimalistic swag, in a past life when I didn't feel the need for thick mattress & protection from mozzies and creepy crawlies... You'd need a whole nother packhorse for this double swag I have now!


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## AndyTheCornbread (Feb 3, 2019)

Swag is a hard one because it can mean one of three things here in the US.

1.) If you are younger it can mean "_cool_".

2.) If you were in the US military it can mean "_wild guess_".

3.) If you are a techy or engineer etc. that goes to a lot of conferences or trade shows it can mean "_stuff we all get_" like T-Shirts, and mouse pads etc. the stuff they give you a bag of when you check into the event.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

^Fancy that. And i suppose you didn't have 'swagmen', as in 'Once a jolly...' Last time i think they were prevalent here was in the great depression, when people would 'hump their swags'(carry, not modern slang!) and walk the country looking for work... or meals even.

I do remember 'Old Ted' one of a few swagman in my area when I was a kid. Used to frighten the bejesus out of us, we thought he was a 'boogieman'. He slept in the park or under the bridge, would do odd jobs for meals or spare change. We assumed he was just poor & homeless. But only last year my friend shared an article about him... seems he was quite rich, had a flash house & all. But he had been rather... messed up in the war & came back & apparently couldn't stand to live in a house...


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

walkinthewalk said:


> They would fit right in, where I now live, lollol
> 
> Shelbyville is Shlvl.
> 
> ...


Its pronounced "cote" because no one can pronounce "L" in the middle of words...

"manhoe" is a "manhole" for example


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

AndyTheCornbread said:


> Swag is a hard one because it can mean one of three things here in the US.
> 
> 1.) If you are younger it can mean "_cool_".
> 
> ...


1) Swag as in swagger, too cool 

2) have no idea about military

3) when we went to conferences/trade shows we called it "freebies" or "goodies" or just plain "gifts". Never heard the term swag at any conference I went to. (for engineering)


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

loosie said:


> ^Fancy that. And i suppose you didn't have 'swagmen', as in 'Once a jolly...' Last time i think they were prevalent here was in the great depression, when people would 'hump their swags'(carry, not modern slang!) and walk the country looking for work... or meals even.
> 
> I do remember 'Old Ted' one of a few swagman in my area when I was a kid. Used to frighten the bejesus out of us, we thought he was a 'boogieman'. He slept in the park or under the bridge, would do odd jobs for meals or spare change. We assumed he was just poor & homeless. But only last year my friend shared an article about him... seems he was quite rich, had a flash house & all. But he had been rather... messed up in the war & came back & apparently couldn't stand to live in a house...


"Once a jolly..."??? not a clue but guessing it was a song or nursery rhyme??? 

"Flash" house is "big or fancy"??


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

AnitaAnne said:


> Its pronounced "cote" because no one can pronounce "L" in the middle of words...
> 
> "manhoe" is a "manhole" for example


Oh mercy, that is toooo funny:rofl:

@AndyTheCornbread, you’ve just taught me a couple of new meanings for swag.

1. I know swag is what those expensive goodie bags are often referred to at Oscars or other such events in the arts.

2. Swag in the U. S. Can also mean a single piece of curtain material that drops down from one side of the curtain rod to the other.

AKA valance.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rs8-1-Pi...od-Pocket-Window-Valance-48-Wx-38-L/535564708


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

AnitaAnne said:


> "manhoe" is a "manhole" for example


Tiny mentioned Aussies abbreviating words because they couldn't be bothered saying the whole word, but I do think others tend to do that too, and I thought 'hoe' was already a shortened term for Americans who can't be bothered pronouncing the w & r... so 'manhoe' I would have taken as a whole different kettle of fish!

And there are other interesting American words that just... skip letters without apparent reason - ro in environment, second i in aluminium...


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

loosie said:


> Tiny mentioned Aussies abbreviating words because they couldn't be bothered saying the whole word, but I do think others tend to do that too, and I thought 'hoe' was already a shortened term for Americans who can't be bothered pronouncing the w & r... so 'manhoe' I would have taken as a whole different kettle of fish!
> 
> And there are other interesting American words that just... skip letters without apparent reason - ro in environment, second i in aluminium...


Some words are drawn out "dawg" for example, and some words are shortened. "Ho" being the one you were referring too...

"Ho" is shortened from Whoa too, just to confuse things even more :rofl: 

An "L" can be pronounced in the middle of a word if after an "I" like in "cute little filly" but not after an "o" or "u". There was a shop called "The Mole Hole" which in southern is " The Moho" 

"Arrow" is pronounced "error" due to the multiple difficulties with that string of letters 

There is a dessert called "Carmel pie" pronounced "Care-m'l pie" yummy


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

AnitaAnne said:


> "Once a jolly..."??? not a clue but guessing it was a song or nursery rhyme???
> 
> "Flash" house is "big or fancy"??


Ah yes, correct about flash - thought that was a general kind of term. 

"Once A Jolly Swagman" ("camped by a billabong, under the shade of a coolibah tree....") is a poem by Banjo Patterson, the one who gave us 'The Man From Snowy River' and 'Clancy of The Overflow' - 2 others I think many o/s people have heard of. It was made into a very famous(here at least) song & I think it very nearly became our national anthem at one point, so I thought you may have heard of it. Tho the poem tells that the swagman managed to catch a 'jumbuck'(sheep) and stick it in his 'tuckerbag'(food bag - must have been plurry big!) and then when the 'troopers'(police) rode up & accused him of theft, he jumped into the billabong, committing suicide by drowning... perhaps not the most appropriate national anthem, but that we even considered it... that's Australia for you!


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## AndyTheCornbread (Feb 3, 2019)

AnitaAnne said:


> 1) Swag as in swagger, too cool
> 
> 2) have no idea about military
> 
> 3) when we went to conferences/trade shows we called it "freebies" or "goodies" or just plain "gifts". Never heard the term swag at any conference I went to. (for engineering)




2.) it stands for an acronym that I can't spell out in a PG forum. I'm sure if you google it, it will turn up.

3.) I wonder if it is a west coast thing or a tech engineering thing then? Every user conf I have been to calls them "swag bags".


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

AndyTheCornbread said:


> 3.) I wonder if it is a west coast thing or a tech engineering thing then? Every user conf I have been to calls them "swag bags".



Nope, definitely what I would call that and I'm on the opposite coast. My conferences are nerdy researchers (not tech people). As grad students we would definitely do one lap around the exhibition hall for the free candy and the good swag. I probably have enough pens and reusable cloth bags to last me the rest of my life thanks to conference swag!


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