Author Archives: Explore Australia

Travel Photo Tips: how to create a panorama

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Sometimes two widely spaced points of interest need to be included in a single image, or a scene is simply too wide to be fully captured in one shot, as with this view of King George Falls in the Kimberley.

The solution here was to shoot a series of images from left to right, allowing about 50 per cent overlap between shots, and ensuring that the exposures were all the same by using the manual mode on the camera.

By using a digital camera (although film scans would work too) I was then able to combine the images using fairly straightforward image-stitching software to get this seamless image covering almost 180 degrees.

Software for this task has improved vastly in the past few years; once it was necessary to spend a long time on each set defining points that were common to two images and setting obscure values for yaw, pitch and roll.

These days it is far easier; images like this can be joined automatically and blended together so that the seams are invisible. The trick is to shoot the images in such a way that allows the software to do its task easily, with few major distortions:

– Shoot with the camera on its side. That is, each shot should be vertical.

– Overlap each image by about 50 per cent.

– Don’t use too-wide a lens – shoot more images with a narrower lens if you can.

– Make sure the exposures are the same for each shot – use manual to set the exposure.

– Focus manually too, leaving the same focus set for each image.

– If possible use a levelled tripod to make sure the images are all level.

– Try not to point the camera up or down too much.

– Shoot left to right so the images line up correctly when you view them on the computer screen.

The most important techniques are to use the same exposures, allow plenty of overlap and keep the camera level. The software can work wonders but not miracles, so feed it the best data you can.

Nick Rains is a professional photographer. For more photo tips, see his books, Australia: The Photographer’s Eye or Australia: Travel Photo Tips.

     

How to explore Australia like David Attenborough

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Mt Arapiles, Tourism Victoria

Mt Arapiles, Tourism Victoria

To explore Australia like David Attenborough, the main thing you need to pack is a sense of wonder. Found a spider in your hotel room? That’s no excuse to panic, but rather a reason to discover which spiders can be found in hotel rooms, in which part of the country, and what their purpose is. Getting rained upon in a rainforest? Discover which animals thrive in the rain and which ones hide.

Even after decades of exploring, Attenborough still gets excited about travelling – after all, there’s so much to see and do, and so many more animals to discover! 

1. Go where the nature is

While you can have a lot of fun exploring cities, you need to get out of urban centres in order to travel like Attenborough. Stay in the city just long enough to discover some of the creatures you won’t find anywhere else before heading out bush, where you’ll discover creatures in their native habitats. 

2. Do your research

Finding native wildlife is not a matter of good luck, but good research. While you might have the occasional spontaneous nature experience, it’s more a case of knowing how to be in the right place at the right time. Find out if and when animals migrate and the best places to see them, discover which creatures will attack if you venture into their territory and be prepared with first-aid kits that cover all sorts of eventualities. For instance, whales always seem to surface at Sydney in June, if you want to watch this giant mammal migrate.

3. Visit some unexpected places

With all the bad press that Christmas Island gets, you might not have this surprisingly large island off the north-west coast of Australia on your list of places to visit. But before it started getting in the news for all the wrong reasons, people visited Christmas Island to see the incredible range of crabs that call this island home. The island is mainly national park, which protects the over 20 different crab species, along with an array of other flora and fauna.

When you’re travelling like David Attenborough, you’ll find yourself travelling places and discovering things you never expected, whether that’s swimming with whale sharks off the coast of Coral Bay in Western Australia, or hanging out with the penguins on Macquarie Island, between Australia and Antarctica.

4. Travel with a crew

You won’t find David Attenborough travelling alone. When it comes to exploration, he knows that two heads are better than one. And there always has to be someone holding the camera! A key element in a crew member is knowing that they share your interests. It’ll be pretty hard convincing someone to get up in the middle of the night to find a nocturnal animal, such as the wombats at Narawntapu National Park, when they are more keen on finding a great cafe for brunch the next morning.

5. Document your experiences

David Attenborough has spent most of his life bringing the wonder of nature into our living rooms, so a key ingredient of travelling like David has to be recording your experiences – although not at the expense of scaring off any surrounding creatures and interfering with their day-to-day life. Write a blog, set up an Instagram account, or content yourself with sharing your videos and photos with your nearest and dearest. But you don’t keep your sure-to-be fantastic discoveries to yourself. Share your photos with us on Facebook.

 

     

Top 5 road trips off the beaten track

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Great Alpine Road, Tourism Victoria

Great Alpine Road, Tourism Victoria

From the Great Ocean Road to the Stuart Highway, Australia’s most spectacular road trips are becoming increasingly well known around the world, so you might find yourself looking for road trips that aren’t on everyone’s radar.

Luckily, there are still a number of trips around the country that are well travelled, but feel more undiscovered, more intrepid, yet are just as incredible. From inland New South Wales to outback of Western Australia, here are our picks for road trips that feel a bit off the beaten track.

Savannah Way from Cairns to Normanton, Queensland

Gulf Savannah Country, Tourism Queensland

Gulf Savannah Country, Tourism Queensland

Starting in Queensland’s tropical capital of Cairns, the Savannah Way meanders through the north of the state to Normanton. This is a drive of spectacular contrast, from the beautiful and lush coast to the rock caves of Undara and beyond.

Although the Savannah Way technically stretches all the way from Cairns to Broome, the road is only consistently bitumen up to Normanton, so it’s recommended that 2WD vehicles turn around at this point. After that outpost, the road occasionally turns into gravel or even dirt. No matter how far you are travelling, this route is best undertaken during the dry season.

There’s plenty to see and do along the route, as well as surprising patches of verdant land, even after you pass through the lush Atherton Tableland. Stop in Undara Volcanic National Park where a lava explosion millions of years ago formed a series of underground tunnels, see the historic buildings from Croydon’s goldmining history, and treat yourself to a meal at the Purple Pub in Normanton before visiting the nearby lakes. You can also detour slightly off the route to visit Karumba on the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, to see the sunset.

Darling River Run, New South Wales

Menindee Lakes, Destination NSW

Menindee Lakes, Destination NSW

When visiting New South Wales, most people tend to hug the coast and the scenic driving routes of the Pacific and the Princes highways. But if you want to get away from the crowds, why not head inland and explore the outback on the Darling River Run? This road trip travels through the heart of New South Wales’s outback, passing through famous towns such as Broken Hill and Bourke.

Starting on the border with Victoria in Wentworth (just over the border from Mildura) and travelling 730 kilometres up to Walgett in New South Wales, this route, as the name suggests, follows the meandering path of the Darling River. This means that you’ll take more than just a detour through the outback.

The first detour is taking the Wentworth–Pooncarie Road out of Wentworth instead of the Barrier Highway. Visit Kinchega National Park and the spectacular Menindee Lakes, which break up the dry land with a surprisingly fertile lake system that attracts myriad birdlife. You can also detour into the incredible Mungo National Park to see the weathered sand formations of the Walls of China.

Leaving Menindee, travel on to the outback hub of Broken Hill for a well-deserved drink. Stay overnight in this historic town before heading to Bourke, which regards itself as the gateway to the outback. On this road trip you’ll see both the awe-inspiring outback (with the widest skies you’ve ever seen) and the tenacious outposts where people make their homes in this often harsh land.

The Great Alpine Road, Victoria

While Victoria’s most famous touring route is the Great Ocean Road, the mountainous Great Alpine Road offers a different water view – that of the snowy mountain tops of Victoria’s High Country. At around 300 kilometres, the Great Alpine Road isn’t as long as the Great Ocean Road, but it’s just as scenic.

Starting in Wangaratta, just south of the border with New South Wales, the road was built to connect this town with Gippsland. Completed with no stops, the drive would only take around five hours. But what is a road trip without any stops?

Your first stop out of Wangaratta should be the charming town of Bright. Situated on the Ovens River, this is an enjoyable town to while away a day or two. The next part of the trip starts your trek up into the Victorian Alps, and passes by Mount Hotham where you can either go skiing in winter or walking in summer. You can also take a trip into the spectacular Alpine National Park on this section of the route. Spend the night nestled in the mountain town of Omeo before completing the final leg of the route into Bairnsdale in Gippsland. Bairnsdale is a major regional centre on the Mitchell River. If you want to keep touring, it’s also a fantastic place to start your tour of the scenic Gippsland Lakes region.

Although the Great Alpine Road stays open throughout winter, the best times to drive the route are spring and autumn, when the hills come alive with the changing foliage colours. Travelling in the warmer months also means you can detour to Falls Creek and Mount Beauty along roads that are closed in winter.

Warlu Way, Western Australia

Hamersley Ranges, Tourism Western Australia

Hamersley Ranges, Tourism Western Australia

For a road that captures some of the most incredible scenery in Western Australia, Warlu Way doesn’t get that much press. That’s probably because there are some sections that travel along an unsealed road, which means this road trip is 4WD-accessible only. But what a road!

You’ll start your trip next to Ningaloo Reef in the township of Coral Bay. The road passes through Exmouth and Cape Range National Park before heading inland towards Karijini National Park, an oasis of hidden gorges and waterfalls. Your drive to the national park will be silhouetted against the Hamersley Range, and pass through towns including Wyloo and Paraburdoo.

After visiting Karijini, continue your trip up towards Millsteam–Chichester National Park, where you’ll find some spectacularly beautiful pools to wash off the dirt of the road. Then the road pushes on towards the Dampier Archipelago, where you can take your pick of things to do from lazing on the beach to discovering the fantastic collection of rock art.

The road continues to follow the coast on its way up to Broome. Stop in Marble Bar, the hottest town in Australia, before getting to the final town on this road.

At 2500 kilometres long you’ll want to set your own itinerary for this drive. It’s an epic journey, but there are epic sights that make it worth the trek.

Nature’s Way, Northern Territory

Katherine Gorge, Tourism NT

Katherine Gorge, Tourism NT

A more casual road trip than the intense spectacle that is Warlu Way, Nature’s Way loops its way around the tip of Australia. Starting in Darwin, the road makes a lazy tour of the key sites in the top of the Top End, from Kakadu National Park, then on to Nitmiluk and Litchfield national parks, before completing the journey back in the capital.

It’s a good day when the Adelaide and Mary River wetlands are not the most impressive thing you’ll see on a day’s drive. Pass through these sites on your way to Kakadu National Park, the biggest – and some would say the best – national park in Australia. Spend a few days here exploring. There’s more than enough to see, from ancient rock-art sites to abundant wildlife.

Extend your trip down to Katherine and visit Nitmiluk National Park, where the Katherine River flows through the incredible gorges. Retrace your steps before taking the road towards Litchfield National Park with its famous waterfalls. It’s hard to believe that a national park that feels this wild is so close to a city, but Darwin is an easy hour-and-a-half drive away.

     

Best views from your tent

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Wilkinsons camping area, Kosciuszko National Park, Jon Brew, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Wilkinsons camping area, Kosciuszko National Park, Jon Brew, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Do you want to open your tent flap to some of the most spectacular views in Australia? Then look no further than these sites.

Situated in some of the most scenic spots in the country, these camping areas will allow you to become a part of scenery, if only for a night or two.

Wilkinsons Creek camping area, Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales

You really can camp off the beaten track in Kosciuszko National Park. Hikers traversing one of the trails in the northern area of the park are allowed to ‘backpack camp’, meaning you can basically set up camp anywhere – with some guidelines of course (check the national park website for more details).

One of the more popular places to set up tent for the night is at Wilkinsons Creek, a valley surrounded by this region’s undulating mountains. Talk about a room with a view – you’ve got your pick of water views (yes, a creek counts), craggy rocks, golden plains and, of course, the peaks.

Devils Marbles camping area, Karlu Karlu/Devils Marbles National Park, Northern Territory

Devils Marbles camping area, Raelene Woods

Devils Marbles camping area, Raelene Woods

These rock formations are an iconic image of the Northern Territory, and you can basically camp right next to them. And staying right next door is the ideal way to capture the rocks at sunrise or sunset, when the colours of the rocks burst into vibrancy. As this camping area has little to no shade, you might prefer to view them safely from inside your tent.

Of course, we hate to disagree with popular opinion that the rocks look best at sunrise and sunset. But our favourite time to view the rocks is at night, when they loom against a night sky illuminated by millions of stars. Now there’s a view you don’t see very often.

Gravel Bay camping area, Yorke Peninsula Reserves, South Australia

Gravel Bay camping area, Brian Prime

Gravel Bay camping area, Brian Prime

This campsite is nothing fancy. It doesn’t have showers. It doesn’t have toilets. It doesn’t have drinking water. It doesn’t even have so much as a picnic table. But what it does have is close proximity to the water views that have made the Yorke Peninsula famous. And since the Yorke Peninsula is quite a desolate place, the view won’t be interrupted by so much as a tree.

As with many of these tent views, the best time to lie back and enjoy it is at sunrise or at sunset. But until then take advantage of the nearby ocean by fishing, swimming or surfing.

Mallacoota Foreshore Holiday Park, Victoria

First things first with this campsite – make sure you nab one of the sites on Mallacoota’s absolute waterfront. There are 700 sites at this holiday park, and while most of them get to share in one of the most magnificent views you’ll get at a campsite in Australia, you don’t want to be one of the unlucky few who misses out.

Set yourself up on the waterfront and you’ll have views over Mallacoota Inlet and the hills of Croajingolong National Park.

Lucky Bay camping area, Cape Le Grand National Park, Western Australia

Lucky Bay camping area, Lyndon Sparrow

Lucky Bay camping area, Lyndon Sparrow

Australia is full of misleading names. Mount Disappointment is not actually disappointing, Eggs and Bacon Bay does not have an English breakfast permanently set up, and Cape Tribulation is really a lovely spot.

But in Lucky Bay we’ve found a landmark that lives up to its name and more. The holidaymakers who set themselves up at Lucky Bay will feel truly lucky as they wake up to panoramic views over turquoise blue water, pristine white sand and gentle hills coloured by green shrubs.

Surprise Bay camping area, Southwest National Park, Tasmania

You have to undertake the hard slog that is the South Coast Track to reach Surprise Bay camping area, but the tent view makes it feel worth it. Situated on a hill above the bay, the campsite has scenic views down to the beach and over the surrounding hills. And after having walked kilometres to get the camp, all you’ll feel like doing is sitting down and enjoying the view. If your legs can handle a walk down to the beach, the chilly water should jump start your system.