The Bicentennial National Trail (BNT), originally known as the National Horse Trail, [1] is one of the longest multi-use, non-motorised, self-reliant trails in the world, stretching 5,330 kilometres from Cooktown, Queensland, through New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory to Healesville, 60 km north-east of Melbourne. This trail runs the length of the rugged Great Dividing Range through national parks, private property and alongside wilderness areas. The BNT follows old coach roads, stock routes, brumby tracks, rivers and fire trails. It was originally intended for horses, but is these days promoted also for cycling and walking, though it is not yet entirely suited to these two activities. [2]
The trail was initiated and planned by the Australian Trail Horse Riders Association. The Association spent many years planning and negotiating a route that linked up the mustering, brumby tracks, pack horse trails, historic coach roads and stock routes, thus providing an opportunity to legally ride the routes of stockmen and drovers who once travelled these areas. [3]
The development of this idea was left to a committee led by R. M. Williams and coordinated and planned by Brian Taylor [4] in co-operation with the Australian Trail Horse Riders Association affiliated clubs, farmers, landowners and government agencies. Dan Seymour was sponsored by R.M. Williams to find a route along the Great Dividing Range, and to promote enthusiasm for the proposal. Seymour volunteered to ride the Trail and set off from Ferntree Gully, Victoria in February 1972 with two saddle horses, a packhorse and 'Bluey', his blue heeler cattle dog. The Association provided Dan with encouragement during this lengthy journey. His twenty-one month ride finished in Cooktown, Queensland in September 1973. Dan's journey, which was regularly reported, created increased interest in the formation of the Trail.
In 1978 the first mail was carried along the route, initially known as the National Horse Trail, from Cooktown by a group of registered riders. These riders were acknowledged with a commemorative medallion.
The Trail committee proposed that the concept be made a project to celebrate Australia's Bicentenary in 1988. The suggestion was accepted, and funding of $300,000 was granted to research, mark a route and print guidebooks. In November 1988, this had been accomplished and the Trail was opened. Since the Trail opened, people have travelled all or parts of the Trail with camels and donkeys, as well as horses and mountain bikes.
Those who have completed the entire Trail include: [5]
The Trail links eighteen of Australia's national parks and more than 50 state forests, providing access to some of the wildest, most remote country in the world. [7] The Trail is suitable for self-reliant horse riders, walkers and mountain bike riders. Parts of the Trail, such as some of the Jenolan Caves to Kosciuszko section, are suitable for horse-drawn vehicles. [7] The Trail is not open to motorised vehicles or trail bikes, and pets are not permitted. The Trail is divided into 12 sections of 400 to 500 kilometres, each with a corresponding guide book.
Ebor is a village on Waterfall Way on the Northern Tablelands in New South Wales, Australia. It is situated about 80 km (50 mi) east of Armidale and about a third of the way between Armidale and the coast. Dorrigo to the east is 46 kilometres (29 mi) away with the Coffs Coast 55 kilometres (34 mi) away along Waterfall Way. In the 2021 census, Ebor's zone had a population of 149.
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The term is also applied in North America to accompanying routes along rivers, and sometimes to highways. In the US, the term was historically used for a route into or through wild territory used by explorers and migrants. In the United States, "trace" is a synonym for trail, as in Natchez Trace.
Guy Fawkes River National Park, a national park comprising 100,590 hectares, is located on the eastern edge of the New England Tablelands and the western edge of the Dorrigo Plateau, in north eastern New South Wales, Australia.
The Kosciuszko National Park is a 6,900-square-kilometre (2,700 sq mi) national park and contains mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, for which it is named, and Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia. Its borders contain a mix of rugged mountains and wilderness, characterised by an alpine climate, which makes it popular with recreational skiers and bushwalkers.
Mummel Gulf is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, approximately 487 kilometres (303 mi) by road north of Sydney. It is situated approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) southeast of Walcha on the unsealed Enfield Forest Road and 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of the Oxley Highway.
The Oxley Wild Rivers National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia in the Port Macquarie-Hastings City Council and Walcha Shire councils. The 145,223-hectare (358,850-acre) park is situated 445 kilometres (277 mi) north of Sydney and is named in memory of the Australian explorer John Oxley, who passed through the area in 1818 and is one of the largest national parks in New South Wales.
Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 52 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Healesville recorded a population of 7,589 in the 2021 census.
Waterfall Way is a 170-kilometre (110 mi) country road in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia, linking Raleigh on the state's North Coast to Armidale. The route passes through some of New South Wales' most scenic countryside and has become well known as its best and Australia's third most beautiful tourist drive. Seven national parks, of which three are listed as World Heritage Areas by UNESCO and form part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, are located on or close to the route. Dorrigo National Park encompasses the waterfalls that give the route its name.
The Railway Reserves Heritage Trail – also on some maps as Rail Reserve Heritage Trail or Rail Reserves Historical Trail, and frequently referred to locally as the Bridle Trail or Bridle Track – is within the Shire of Mundaring in Western Australia.
A brumby is a free-roaming feral horse in Australia. Although found in many areas around the country, the best-known brumbies are found in the Australian Alps region. Today, most of them are found in the Northern Territory, with the second largest population in Queensland. A group of brumbies is known as a "mob" or "band".
A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider range of users, including equestrians, hikers, and cyclists. Such paths are either impassable for motorized vehicles, or vehicles are banned. The laws relating to allowable uses vary from country to country.
Richard Bowles is an adventurer and educator who holds several records in endurance running. In 2012, Bowles became the first person to run Australia's Bicentennial National Trail (BNT). Running from Healesville, Victoria to Cooktown, Queensland, he covered 5,330 km in five months.
A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of wheeled vehicles. Use of packhorses dates from the neolithic period to the present day. Today, westernized nations primarily use packhorses for recreational pursuits, but they are still an important part of everyday transportation of goods throughout much of the developing world and have some military uses in rugged regions.
The Dorrigo Plateau is a plateau in the Northern Tablelands and New England regions of New South Wales, Australia. The plateau forms part of the Great Dividing Range and is sometimes referred to as the Dorrigo and Guy Fawkes Plateau.
Guy Fawkes River, a perennial stream that is part of the Clarence River catchment, is in the New England and Northern Tablelands districts of New South Wales, Australia.
Seaman's Hut is an alpine hut and memorial located in New South Wales, Australia. It was built following the death of two skiers, W. Laurie Seaman and Evan Hayes in 1928. Seaman's family built the hut to provide shelter to future users of the park, in order to prevent recurrence of a similar tragedy, which has since done.
The Tasmanian Trail is a long distance path in Tasmania, Australia. It was inspired by the Bicentennial National Trail opened on the mainland in 1988.
A long-distance trail is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents except Antarctica.
The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail (BVRT) is a 161-kilometre (100 mi) recreation trail from Wulkuraka to Yarraman in Queensland, Australia. The trail follows the old Brisbane Valley railway line and is open to walkers, touring cyclists and horse riders. The trail details the history and landscape of the Brisbane Valley. It is the longest rail trail in Queensland.
Gunnawarra is a rural locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Gunnawarra had a population of 27 people.