Vet nurse rides to Outback record

Anna Hingley faced tough conditions on the five-month trek

A British veterinary nurse has galloped into record books by becoming the first woman to trek across the Australian Outback on horseback.

Anna Hingley, 24, from Stourbridge, West Midlands, finished the 2,000-mile trip in Cairns, Queensland.

She and her partner John Ostwald began their trek in Broome, Western Australia, five months ago.

A civic reception has been arranged for the pair in Cairns. Their trek raised £4,000 for an Outback charity.

Some mornings I was thinking that I don't want to get on the horse today but never not finishing the ride, never Anna Hingley

Miss Hingley said it had been an amazing adventure, and it was a real buzz to get to the end of it.

"Obviously out on those long tracks I've got a lot of time to think and I used to think about what it would be like to arrive in Cairns but it's more than I imagined," she said.

The 24-year-old said there had been good days and bad days during the trek.

Click here to see their route

"Some mornings I was thinking that I don't want to get on the horse today, but never not finishing the ride, never.

"Probably the early days were very hard. It was so very hot when we left Broome, and humid.

"We got sores, we got rubs, we were dehydrated, we were very tired, as you can imagine so that was definitely the hardest part of the journey," Miss Hingley said.

Her mother, Marlene Hingley, greeted her in Cairns.

Miss Hingley and Mr Ostwald met as she travelled in Australia

She said: "I just thought it was going to be a good adventure, but it turns into now that it is this lovely English girl come to Australia, and met this super guy.

"He's a proper Crocodile Dundee; he's from the Northern Territory and it's a love story.

"And I don't know what's going to happen now, but whatever it's going to be I'm happy for her."

Mr Ostwald and Miss Hingley battled extreme heat and severe saddle sores during the trek and encountered crocodiles, snakes and wild pigs on the trip.

Mr Ostwald said the most difficult part was getting through a 300-mile section that was said to be impassable due to flooding from five rivers.

The money Miss Hingley has raised will go to the Angel Flight charity which provides support to ill families in the Outback to transport them to hospital.

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