Saddle up at Home Valley Station I'M BACK in the saddle again. Out where a friend is a friend ...  I can't get Gene Autry's signature tune out of my head as we jokingly mimic John Wayne's swagger and amble towards the stables at Home Valley Station in the remote, beautiful East Kimberley. You'll find Home Valley Station homestead about 1.5km off the Gibb River Road, 120km from Kununurra and 643km from Derby. J.R. is waiting for us at the stables. That's John Rodney, Home Valley's pastoral manager. He's everything you would expect him to be - a no-fuss, no-nonsense bear of a man peering out from under a wide-brimmed cowboy hat. He's already summed up our group of four before we have even entered the yards. He nails me. You can ride Midnight. He knows what to do. All you have to do is sit. I'm pretty sure he said sit. I wonder if someone had already told him that my last encounter with a horse was more than 30 years ago. And it didn't go well. I'd been on strike for more than four weeks. I had $40 left to my name and the temptation of a date with a pretty young filly (horse talk for a girl) swayed me to going riding. I fell off, lost my wallet and, as you guessed, didn't get the girl. Anyway here I am again. I'm back in the saddle wearing my pretend cowboy boots and city-slicker western shirt about to trot off on an overnight ride to a bush camp. The plan is to ride for four hours and perhaps do a little mustering on the way. My plan - and only thought - is to hold tight and pray Midnight doesn't buckle under the weight. J.R. talks me through the afternoon ride. He tells me the tricks that will keep me upright and ease the potential pain in my butt and thighs. His voice is soft, yet strong, and very reassuring. He rides with us for about 30 minutes before tipping his hat and heading back to the station leaving us with Jason, a former trackwork rider from Tamworth, and Cyril, a yarn-spinning local. J.R. had to go back because one of his horses was crook. It wasn't an option to leave it alone. Horses are like family to these men. It is impossible not to lose yourself in the East Kimberley. There is nothing else like it in Australia. It is stunningly beautiful. I've cruised the famed Amazon, I've explored Peru and I've touched the canyons of Utah in the US. All beautiful, and different in their own way, but none better than this remote part of Australia. Call it spiritual if you want, but the Kimberley changes you. Every Australian should come here at least once. The sun creates an ever-changing canvas of colour as it swirls over the iconic Cockburn Range. We sit in awe, no one saying a word at the campsite, and watch the sun go down. We wake early just so we can watch it rise again the next morning. All our cares disintegrate as we sit round the fire singing songs, telling tall stories and feasting on piping-hot bush tucker. The guitar gets passed around and the set list is varied, but it's mainly country music out this way. There are a few bush ballads, a little bit of Creedence and a rousing rendition of Sweet Home Kununurra (apologies to Lynyrd Skynyrd). Cyril looks to be in his early 30s. He cooks our breakfast - eggs, bacon, sausages, toast and beans. He laughs hard at his own jokes, some of which could only be told by an indigenous man. Midnight welcomes me for the ride home and takes good care of me all the way back to the homestead where I quickly take advantage of the hot showers in my Grass Castle - that's the up-market room category. Home Valley Station, which is half the size of Belgium and owned by the Indigenous Land Corporation, is so much more than a luxury retreat. It is an investment by the local Balanggarra people in their future. They, with Voyages Resorts, make the decision about the future direction of this property. Home Valley Station is a campsite where you can pitch a tent for less than $20 a night or even just throw a swag on the ground. If you want more comfort you can stay in the Guest House or one of the permanent eco tents that sleep a maximum of four people. The Grass Castles overlook the homestead's permanent waterhole, Bindoola Creek. They are airconditioned, modern and comfortable and a perfect escape from the heat of the dry season. The Dusty Bar & Grill is the centre point of the resort. It brings everyone together for dinner under one roof. As you would expect out here the beef is pretty good and the servings are generous. There's nightly concerts and star-gazing activities. Home Valley Station runs many tours for its guests offering everything from fishing, horse riding, Cockburn sunsets, cattle musters, gorge and river tours and, of course, its Australia movie tour. The property was one of the sites used by Baz Luhrmann to shoot the epic film starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. On our last day we did the fishing tour by the muddy banks of the Pentecost River. Now, the thing about fishing tours is that there are no guarantees that you will catch anything. And we didn't. But that's not to say that it was uneventful. It was just the opposite. Crocs, bull sharks and barramundi tempted and teased us all day as giant sea eagles circled above looking for food. We sat on the bank and got to meet the passing parade of holidaymakers - most on lengthy driving trips around Australia's last frontier. Out here people stop and say hello. I'm back in the saddle again. Out where a friend is a friend. Brian Crisp is News Limited's national travel editor. He was a guest of Voyages and Tourism Western Australia. Qantas flies to Kununurra from Broome and Darwin. Ph 13 13 13 or see qantas.com.au Home Valley Station welcomes guests from May 1 to October 31. Ph 1300 134 044 or see hvstation.com.au