Landscape photography is my passion, it provides me with an escape, a way to forget about the pressures of life and relax in the moment. Whether it’s watching a sunset, or a stream crash over a waterfall or an abandoned car in a paddock, the moments it takes to set up my camera, compose the shot and later see what I created is a magical experience. Capturing an epic picture can be a difficult task but then there are some places that make it so easy for me, and Kerang Lakes is one of those.
Located 300km north west of Melbourne on the Murray Valley Highway, Kerang Lakes is popular with photographers, bird watchers and water sports, it certainly gets busy on the weekends and during summer school holidays. There are caravan parks at Lake Charm and Kangaroo Lake as well as options in nearby Kerang. The region is also close to Koondrook on the Murray River and Lake Boga.
I settled in at the Kangaroo Lake Caravan Park and spent the next few days exploring and quenching my thirst for photography. Here are some of the amazing vistas I captured.
Where is your “go to” place for photography?
(Clicking on the thumbnails will enlarge them)
I love Station Stays. The opportunity to check out a working property, learn about the land from the owners and sit down and share a meal at the end of the day with the family is a great way of experiencing Australia. On my last trip, I stumbled across many amazing Station Stays and one that I was truly lucky to discover was Hale River Homestead at Old Ambalindum.
I was warmly welcomed by Lynne, who with her husband Sean own the property. Lynne takes care of the accommodation side, with the help of her daughter Sophie and grandson David. Cooper is the youngest and has a few years yet to grow into an outback cowboy like his brother David.
Credit: Hale River Homestead
Having the right 12 volt set up is critical to enable me to spend long lengths of time off-grid. I need power to run my fridge, my freezer (on long trips), lights and more importantly to recharge my laptop and camera batteries. Then there are things like Bluetooth speakers, iPods, torches, portable battery packs, air compressor and pie warmer.
Keeping it simple is also important as it makes troubleshooting easier. I prefer items that have minimal moving parts and are dust, heat and moisture proof. I am quite happy with my current setup, and here is what I have done.
Two batteries in the engine bay.
I currently have 2 x Supercharge All Rounder MRV70 batteries that have 760CCA (cold cranking amps) and are 105Ah deep cycle capability. These batteries are calcium lead acid and are a transition battery between a shallow cycle starter battery and a true deep cycle battery.
They have handled the corrugations and hot temperatures better than other brands of batteries I’ve used and I will swap them with my camper trailer batteries shortly as they are almost three years old now and will enjoy a rest in the camper trailer. Read more
I was introduced to Camp Cover when the guys from Quick Pitch sent me a couple of samples to try on my recent long adventure. Made in South Africa since 2005, this gear is high quality, tough and handled the trip without a hitch. Camp Cover will revolutionise the way you pack and carry your gear.
1. Rear Wheel Bag
I have used a number of rear wheel bags over the years and none have come close to the ones produced by Camp Cover. Made from heavy duty Ripstop canvas, it was easy to fit with strong webbing straps and holdfast buckles keeping the Wheel Bin Safari, as they are called, exactly where I placed it for over 24,000km!
The brass heavy duty zips are also the best I have come across, even when covered in bull dust, they opened and closed easily. Being made of brass, they leave tiny filaments of the metal when they zip and unzip, basically self cleaning the zipper each time. Read more
Glenn Marshall Travel Writer 