NSW Mountains to Coast Video 16 mins, HD 1080pG'day and welcome to another Australian landscape photography blog. The images in this series were captured during a couple of dedicated photo trips into New South Wales during the winter months of 2024. The first of these saw me looking for a way to access the Blue Lake region of Kosciuszko without forking out hard to come by dollars in over snow transport to Charlotte Pass, or the even crazier costs involved in taking the chair lifts up from Thredbo.
A poor start to the season meant that snow levels were unlikely to be covering Blue Lake and surrounds, so I decided the budget friendly option was to hike in from Guthega. Mine was the only car in the carpark that morning, so I spent a little time asking questions from resort staff to confirm the route was open. Clearly the lack of snow had dampened the normal popularity of this location. I decided to pack heavy this time almost as a personal challenge. Big tripod, two cameras, two lenses, tent, sleeping bag, warm clothes, waterproofs, food for two days, and several litres of water.
Having never done the Guthega to Charlotte Pass trek before I was immediately taken by how scenic the landscape was, and how well maintained the track. The snowy river cascaded on one side of me, and a deep valley opened out before me, encouraging me forward. My spirits rose even higher when the sun came out and started plastering rainbows across the sky, teasing me with photo opportunities that would then vanish by the time I had my gear set up.
After crossing a fun suspension bridge, I departed the main trail and headed steeply up towards the main range, eventually having to forge ahead cross country. Coming across a spectacular gum tree, and being quite fatigued, I decided to set up my camera and simply wait and see if anything would transpire. With the sun at the right angle and a drizzle continuing to fall another rainbow was possible. Incredibly I had only really just settled in and started on lunch, when a colourful rainbow dropped itself into the scene like it had been custom ordered for the job.
The intensity of it came and went over the next half hour or so. The light would dance across the valley, only to be gone seconds later. With my big medium format camera tripod mounted, I just kept pressing the shutter release every few minutes capturing a variety of choices. What a grand start to the adventure.
Unfortunately that was the last of the good weather. A hard off track slog, and some somewhat dodgy boulder hopping later I found myself at Blue Lake. There was no snow at that point, but I was still able to capture a nice image from the lake shore, a little before sunset by using the river as a leading line. Moments later low cloud greatly reduced visibility, and an icy wind funnelled up the valley, reminding me I was all alone in a semi-wilderness alpine region.
I was aware of the strict rules about camping near water catchments. Not being allowed to bivvy anywhere near the lake, meant I needed to force myself further up the main range, or retreat. Having packed everything necessary for a night out in the snow (along with several kilograms of camera gear) I was well prepared for anything. However the forecast was looking grim indeed, so I chose to retrace my steps thinking maybe I would put up the tent back down at the tree line.
I set off in the twilight, and eventually I was once again on the official well-worn path, with the river echoing below. My headlight picked out some potential tent sites, but my mind was on the comforts of the car so I pushed onwards into the night getting back to Guthega near midnight. After 20km or more of hill walking I was about done in, but very happy with the images.
The next day I drove out, heading back to Victoria for some much needed rest. This mentality, of being off-duty, photographically speaking, actually had the opposite effect. Freed from the pressure to make an image and with time on my hands, I relaxed and saw compositions in places I had driven passed for years. The result was an image of Tom Groggin Station that I am quite pleased with. When streaming light appeared I was already set up for the shot. Incredibly the conditions simply became ever more beautiful the longer I watched. The sun moved into the perfect position, as if I had willed it to happen. What a fantastic way to finish up a photography trip.
The second trip during this period was much longer, almost a blissful two weeks. Our boy, now a teenager with youthful energy and a growing passion for photography, joined me as we drove a considerable distance north into New South Wales. The weather, ever a close companion of the landscape photographer, was intent on making itself known, presenting a forecast of heavy rain and possible flooding to the north. I was keen to photograph Dorrigo and New England National parks, before that front hit us, so we drove for most of the first two days eventually pulling up at Port Macquarie.
As a result the first image of our journey came from revisiting Tacking Point Lighthouse for dawn, and what a marvellous decision that proved to be, providing us with the best light of the trip. The morning sky was almost impossibly colourful, to the point where I had to consider reducing colour saturation in post for fear viewers might say it was not real. What a great start to our adventure.
I will say I am always impressed by the number of people who get out of bed to witness the dawn at this lighthouse. There must be something about this location that encourages vigour. There are always people fishing from the rocks, trekking up and down the beach or just patiently awaiting the arrival of the sun from their BYO camp chairs, like it is some kind of outdoor cinema. Even the local hoons enjoy their circle work here, roaring in and out of the tiny car park at all hours, scattering tourists in their wake. Perhaps it is the brisk salt air. Certainly something is going on that I, having lived my life inland far from the coast, do not quite understand. Suffice it to say, peace at this crowded view is not on the menu, but fortunately the beauty makes up for it.
We were on a high from that experience, when we headed into Port Macquarie to find some breakfast. I had not actually stopped here before but got quite a good first impression. Perhaps it was the mood I was in or the lack of people early in the morning. We sat by the foreshore, happily munching on bakery food, and watching the serene ocean lapping at the bay, our peace only broken by the occasional call of a seagull.
With rain still looming we managed a couple days in the Dorrigo region. My focus was on Crystal Shower Falls. I had tried several times during previous years to get the right amount of water flowing over it. In the warmer months it can be quite dried up, the rocks and vegetation looking baked by the sun. However when it has had lots of rain, it can become a raging torrent of mud. I wanted that perfect balance, just the right volume of water, and of course, some soft diffused light and a gap in the never ending stream of visitors. Somehow all of that came to together and I ended up with two images of these falls that I am finally happy with.
The poor weather caught up with us, with massive storms and downpours forecast for the rest of the week, but before we departed New England National Park was calling me. Light rain can sometimes be a good thing when photographing waterfalls and forests, so we headed into the park and took on the Five Day Creek trail. The trees looked amazing in the drizzling rain, which gave the whole forest the appearance of being draped in fog. Descending down to the creek, we found the track required slushing across the stream a few times.
It was a little dodgy. We had our gumboots and waterproofs on, so keeping dry was not a problem but I was worried about taking a fall under the weight of my pack. You reach a certain age and think about these things more. We found the cascades towards the end of the afternoon and spent a fun hour or so capturing images of them. I really loved the mossy rocks in the foreground which I was super careful not to step on. I hate it when people trample over delicate nature.
It gets dark quick when you are deep in a rainforest valley, so by the time we had hiked steeply back up, we had our head torches on and I was exhausted. Our lad, of course, was still spritely, keeping me going with many a conversation as I dragging myself the last kilometre or so until the car appeared out of the gloom.
The beautiful woodland around us was too amazing to leave, so we put one more day into it. The morning brought a respite from the rain, which had fallen all night, and instead gave us fog which is perfect for shooting trees. We trekked along trails, almost at random, trying to find a composition before the conditions faded. The area is known for Antarctic beech, king ferns and mossy boulders. Suddenly rounding a corner the perfect scene appeared like something out of fairy tale. It took a while to finesse the framing, but I was happy with the result, the fog nicely creating layers of separation. Walking out we found a second tree shot, with a strong horizontal branch that just screamed panorama. Two images in one morning is unusual, a very good session indeed.
On the way out we made an attempt at Dangar Falls, and actually managed to pull something together by shooting long and using the natural framing of a tree. By this stage the storms that had been threating were upon us, but that meant the pressure was off to race between locations. We headed back south at a leisurely pace, stopping in the delightful little country town of Bellingen for a bite to eat.
It had, by this stage, been some days since leaving home. We sleep in the car on these trips, which would otherwise not be affordable. That tends to mean a wash becomes increasingly a priority even for a couple of blokes. We had had some luck in the past nabbing a shower at a gym in Newcastle, so drove there and pleaded our case. Unfortunately their free trials were not on offer. Commencing a search we found an alternative gym, less posh, which allowed shabby travellers like us to use their facilities for a fiver each. Nice.
Greatly enjoying the luxury of being clean, we did a sunset at Nobbys Head Lighthouse, but the light proved less than ideal. So it was back in the car and a night drive to Zenith Beach at Shoal Bay, where the sunrise gifted us another keeper. Having attempted to work this scene dozens of times over the course of a few decades, I can attest to the difficulty in obtaining the right combination of interesting cloud, sunrise colour, tide height and lack of visitors. On this occasion luck was on my side and I came away with something that hopefully shows the deserving Zenith Beach at its best.
Casting about for what to photograph in the rain, the obvious choice was waterfalls. I had unfinished business with Victoria Falls, so we drove to the Blue Mountains and the next day, hiked steeply down into the Grose Wilderness area eventually coming to a stop beside Victoria Creek. On this occasion there was a powerful flow over the main Victoria Falls which really demonstrated their presence. It was then just a question of composition and light, which fortunately both came to together when the diffused sun managed to brighten the deep gully evenly, without harsh highlights.
We were running out of days, and needed to return south, so our next stop was Paddys River Falls at Tumbarumba where we spent an enjoyable afternoon hunting for a good angle. We waited for twilight to soften the tones and were rewarded for our efforts. Whilst there we witnessed a family of goats on the opposite side of the river, who decided to do some rock climbing down the cliff. It was a bit touch and go at times. The hooved trio pulled some daring moves, but eventually reached the water without incident.
Driving back into Victoria we had one day left, and choose to spend that at Mt Beauty. We did their river walk, which I had not done before, but can now recommend it. Very pretty, though gumboots needed if you want to keep your feet dry and reach the blue pool. I tried to make an image here, but could not quite figure it out. Maybe next time.
So that is it for this trip report. Hope you have enjoyed the images. A big thanks to all those who continue to purchase prints, it really does help. It would simply be unaffordable to create new work without that support. As always I wish everyone the best in their own lives. Thanks for reading.
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Michael is also available for Commissioned Photography assignments within Victoria, Australia.
Email michael.boniwell@gmail.com or Phone: 04 3473 0828.
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