Grand Outback Photography

Itinerary

• Day 1: Melbourne

  Check into your luxury city hotel from 2pm today. Meet your private photography tutor, award winning Ewen Bell and your fellow travellers over dinner before retiring for the epic adventure ahead of you.

  Accommodation: Hotel Lindrum MGallery by Sofitel

• Day 2 & 3: Essendon, Melbourne - Flinders Ranges

  Touchdown in the spectacular Flinders Ranges for an introductory session on photography. While on the ground in the Flinders Ranges you will be hosted by fourth generation pastoralist Ross Fargher. To say that Ross knows the region ‘like the back of his hand’ is an understatement. You will photograph a wide range of perspectives on this spectacular rugged landscape, from the colourful high country to the red sands and salt of the desert to the west. Expect to see wedge tail eagles and emus, plus we’ll visit a colony of elusive and endangered Yellow-Footed Rock Wallaby.

  Accommodation: The Prairie Hotel

• Day 4, 5 & 6: Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park

  Following your morning photo shoot, rejoin your private aircraft for a flight out across the gibber plains to the tiny outpost of William Creek. Enjoy a refreshment at this quaint outback town with a population of just 6. Continue  to Ayers Rock Airport (Yulara) where you will enjoy a sunset shoot at the iconic and spiritually colossal monolith. Ewen will have you taking some incredible macro images against the red sandy soil. Another special opportunity is to venture into the park after hours to photograph the night sky against one of the world’s most recognisable silhouettes.

  Included in our schedule at Uluru is a “doors off” helicopter flight to ensure you capture the ultimate angle of Uluru. Ewen will advise on techniques in preparation for the flight to help you get the most out of the experience.

  We have included ample time and space in the schedule to learn about image processing techniques, with Ewen’s help….

  Accommodation: Desert Gardens Hotel

• Day 7 & 8: Purnululu National Park

  Leaving the Rock behind, your flight continues across the Tanami Desert, stopping in at Yuendumu to visit the Warlukurlangu Artists – the famed ‘dot paintings’ originated from this region. There is a chance to meet the artists and also to purchase direct. Your next flight sector crosses some of the most remote country in Australia. Touch down directly at the Bungle Bungles dirt runway and transfer to your comfortable remote accommodation.

  The Purnululu National Park is a World Heritage Listed region. Venture out on some spectacular, gentle walks to Echidna Chasm, Picaninny Gorge and the Limestone Ridge. The striped, bee-hive shaped domes are what makes this region famous but the park is filled with some of the most picturesque flora and small bird life. One of the highlight shots is getting the first light onto the domes.

  Accommodation: Bungle Bungle Savannah Lodge

• Day 9 & 10: Bullo River Station

  Depart the Bungles after your morning shoot with a fuel stop in Kununurra before landing direct at Bullo River Station, literally 50 metres from the homestead. Bullo River is an authentic 500,00 cattle station with all of the trimmings: horses, helicopters, cattle, giant Boab trees, crocodiles, barramundi and prolific bird life.

  While here, you virtually have half a million acres to yourselves, so we include a generous amount of helicopter time during this visit to enable you better access to some very special and hard to reach locations.

  The night sky at Bullo is famous for being clear and dry in the winter time, so we’ll venture out into the darkness to shoot stars and the Milky Way.

  Accommodation: Bullo River Station Guest House

• Days 11, 12 & 13: Mt Borradaile Camp

  Fly from Bullo River Station, across Kakadu and into Arnhem Land. Touch down at Mt Borradaile’s private airstrip and make your way into camp. Here, you are staying within a Registered Aboriginal Sacred Site of extreme significance. Borradaile is home to the world’s richest body of rock art, along with many fascinating artefacts. Here you will see more Australian wildlife than you ever dreamed was possible (crocodiles and prolific bird life – both large and small). Private cruises around the billabongs planned for sunrise and sunset.

  Accommodation: Max Davidson’s Mt Borradaile Camp

• Day 14: Darwin

  Following a morning visit to ‘The Rainbow Serpent’ painting, one of the most potent forms of aboriginal spiritualism, it is time to depart back to Darwin. Expect to arrive in Darwin around midday so you can make plans for onward connections, or stay in Darwin for a few days, or plan an extension to visit Broome, the Kimberley Coast or the Tiwi Islands.

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