She’s walked chunks of Tasmania on foot, kayaked multiple sea-miles, and been east to west across Australia by horse, some 4500 kilometres. But the trip Stef Gebbe began by leaving the Derwent Valley in the past few days is the biggest yet.
It’s east to west across Canada, 6500 kilometres and a commitment of about eight months. She will have to deal with deep cold, large chunks of the unknown, and terrain she’s never previously set foot on. And then, it’ll be on horseback, with horses she’s only just met.
Stef flew to eastern Canada in mid-March with her friend, Ella Ballhausen, to meet their three equine companions for the Canada trek. These are not the Tasmanian horses she rides on the Macquarie Plains, north of New Norfolk, but Jack, Mojo and Tennessee who were bought after negotiations on the internet in September last year. Buying horses unseen, in a foreign country?
“Now that was stressful,” she says. “But we’ll prepare them, talk to them nicely, explain what we’re doing and get to know them that way.
“Mainly, the first weeks are getting to know their personalities … and they ours, of course.”
Tasmanian born and bred, Stef grew up in New Norfolk, works as trail guide in the Tasmanian summer – and sometimes at Westerway Raspberry farm. There is a seriousness to this woman, a grit and unwavering determination.
While she notes her psychology degree is useful in dealing with humans, her most common companions are quadrupeds.
In the past few days, in the eastern province of New Brunswick, she and Ella have begun to condition the horses for what’s ahead, likely starting in mid-April.
“We’re starting out in late spring,” she told the Gazette, “but if we hit a cold patch, it’s not like Tasmania. It can get well below freezing, like minus-40 Fahrenheit,” she says.
“And if things go longer than expected, we’ll just find somewhere to board them, I’ll come back to Tassie to work during the summer and then head back over when their winter is over.”
Stef hopes to travel 25 to 40km a day, on a route that will begin in these Maritime provinces, through Ontario, ducking south into the US under Lake Superior, and then across the prairies to the west.
“The route? Well, we’ve figured out the broad brush strokes, but on the ground, there’ll be times we need to identify some specifics.
“There’s the practical issues: how much grass is there on the roadsides? Can we buy feed, where can we feed ourselves?”
As far money is concerned, she’s been saving for this trek for a while. “And we’ll meet people along the way,” she says confidently.
“We’ve got a few contacts in Canada, but much of it will rely on an unspoken understanding between people like us. We’ve found horses are very good icebreakers, a great way to start a conversation.”
She leaves unanswered the question of whether, on a 6500km trail across wintry Canada, that might involve a literal breaking of the ice.