Reunited with the Roan Bachelor: Australian Snowy Mountains, Wild Horses of the World
11th August 2018, Herd 11

On my last morning in the Snowy Mountains we came across the same roan bachelor, not far from the region we'd spotted him two days before. Except this time he wasn't alone.

Deep in the snow gum behind him, stood three other brumbies. Among them was an older roan stallion with a bay mare and her yearling colt. Although the younger roan was now with a herd, he still held himself apart; he seemed independent and confident and had obviously been off on an solo adventure when we'd first spotted him. 

Heading off on foot I sought to draw near to them but as soon as they saw me, the horses turned, headed deeper in the trees and were soon out of sight. Quietly I followed their hoof prints through the snow, so intent in following their trail that I didn't see two kangaroos until I was nearly upon them.

The kangaroos appeared as startled by me, as I was of them, and they hopped off at a rapid speed. Keeping on I came across a clearing and there stood the four brumbies, poised at the edge of a marshy swamp.

For about 30 minutes I stayed with them as they moved like shadows between the snow gums; my final photograph one of my favourites (no it's not this one, I'm saving the best for the book!). 

They were the very last brumbies I would photograph in the Snowy Mountains and I headed back to the car to begin the six hour drive back to Melbourne. 

My time with these iconic Australian wild horses was truly inspiring and I was very thankful for the picturesque sunsets and sunrises, the dramatic snow covered landscape and the 150 wild horses that had filled my viewfinder. It had been the perfect start to my quest to photograph the world's wild horses and I couldn't wait for the second leg of my journey to begin.

This is the 11th in a series of 12 blogs about the Snowy Brumbies; to read more visit www.kellywilson.nz/blog (keyword: Wild Horses of the World)