Riding through Georgia

Sunlight flooded through the trees as we rode along ancient tracks through woodland and forest,

making our way through the hills and valleys of Georgia,

to visit ancient fortifications and monasteries, built on the crossroads of Asia and Europe and yet now only accessible for those on foot.

St George, the patron saint of Georgia, as well as England, was honoured in every church.

He was often depicted on a horse not so very different from those we rode,

crossing bridges constructed more than a thousand years ago

making our way up through unfenced pasture land

and on over the hills, sleeping in tents or staying with villagers.

It was an exciting way to see the country. For more details, please click here.

Sophie Neville in Georgia

Crossing the Andes into Chile

A collection of saddles and bridles outside my tent

The day dawned when we woke on the Argentinian side of the Andes mountain range knowing that we would soon cross the border into Chile.

After breakfast cooked on the fire,

 We saddled up our horses.

The morning was spent riding higher and higher as we made our way towards a certain, iconic volcano.

We finally crossed a river into a National Park that straddles the border with Chile.

Sadly our Argentine horses were not permitted to cross into Chile due to veterinary controls. We ended up having to walk through passport control, out saddlebags flung over our shoulders.

To our surprise the most wonderful lunch was awaiting us, together with glasses of Chilean champagne.

Small, but beautifully presented horses were tethered up under the bushes.

I was given a Palamino.

We rode off, descending from the Andes watershed into valleys which seemed to be surprisingly Alpine in appearance.

My little pony proved quite a handful, but a sparky and amusing ride.

Sophie Neville having ridden across the Andes into Chile

For more information please click here.

A reader writes ~

A reader wrote today saying ~

Your 'Swallows and Amazons' life in Africa does sound wonderful. What I don't sense in the book is that you were ever worried about your future security even in the short term. Was it not something you thought of or does it just not show?  Or have you mastered being fully reliant on God?

Dear Chris,

I suppose my sense of security at the time was pretty much the same as the Swallows'. We were quite careful about our equipment and stores, but once organised we just went forth, enjoying the adventure of it all. As my letters suggest, I had the security of my friends and my family at home but had to trust God every step of the way. 

Sometimes, when things kept going wrong, I had no option but to up the trust and plough on regardless. Perhaps this is something I learnt off the South Africans. Whilst putting 'Ride the Wings of Morning' together made detailed plans for a trip only to have my (fully equipped) 4WD vehicle stolen in Johannesburg on the first night. Charles Baber advised me to 'always stick to the plan', so I hired a car and kept driving. It was rather a relief to only travel with my overnight bag, although I was jolly cross about the theft.

I did have good travel insurance but didn't get the chance to put much into my pension during the years spent in southern Africa. I'm trying to be sensible about that now, which is a bit dull. Perhaps I should have been more adventurous!

Yours,

Sophie

Reviews of 'Ride the Wings of Morning' on Goodreads

A collection of letters written between the author and her family during the time she spent convalescing and working in South Africa, this lovely volume also contains artwork completed during the years she was there. I enjoyed this book very much and would love to meet the author. 

A wonderfully refreshing book, innocent, appealing, very funny, insightful . . . a must read if you like witty, human life stories. Richard Pilbrow

Loved this book as it reminded me so much of my childhood in rural Zululand, South Africa, in the 1990s. Loved Sophie's adventures, and African experiences.

Thank you, Sophie, for sharing your experiences with us! 

Have you ever been to Damaraland?

I first went to Damaraland on a recce for the BBC Natural History Unit.

I wanted to return as soon as possible to spend time painting in the desert.

It's one of the last great wildernesses.

I was able to use this small reed hut as a base for ten days.

It gave me time to experiment.

A recent review from a rider ~

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous! 

"Ride the Wings of the Morning" is a fabulous read and within a couple of pages I was transported to the African bush. The places and the characters are captured brilliantly. It brings to life some of the reality of life in the bush and the ridiculous situations that you do find yourself in...

Sophie writes with such wit, humility and perception. I did chuckle out loud several times! Even my non-horsey husband enjoyed it as he has had to be dragged around Africa ...   ~ Jane Dawson

'Ride the Wings of Morning' ~ on Kindle and in print

Out now on Amazon Kindle worldwide:

Please click here for Kindle Amazon UK
Please click here for Kindle Amazon USA and S.Africa
For the paperback click here - Ride the Wings of Morning on Lulu.com
For the hardback click here - Ride the Wings of Morning hardback on Lulu.com

NEWS FLASH!

Ride the Wings of Morning’ reached #2 in the UK Kindle store for Bestsellers in African Travel, ahead of all the Lonely Planet Guides, Bill Bryson and Tim Butcher's 'Chasing the Devil'

***

‘Ride the Wings of Morning’
on its first day in the London Book Fair free promotion

reached

#1 in the free Kindle Store under the category of  Non-Fiction/Travel/Africa in the USA and UK

#1 in the free USA Kindle store for Biographies/Memoirs Adventurers and Explorers

and #2 in the free UK Kindle store under Non-Fiction Biographies & Memoirs

I hope you enjoy the books ~ please let me know what you think.