Navigating Light and Adventure
After the Christmas rush, my partner Steven and I often pack up our motorhome for a few weeks on the road. Spontaneous summer travel might seem risky with fires, heatwaves, and floods often on the menu in Australia but we’ve been lucky in recent years. Before we setoff we look at the weather forecast and decide which direction might be the safest.
This year, our summer escape took us to New South Wales’ alpine heart—the Snowy Mountains and Kosciuszko National Park—home to Australia’s highest peak and endless photographic opportunities. By heading for the mountains on Boxing Day, we dodged most of the extremes that did eventuate later, returning home earlier than planned just as a 43°C (109°F) heatwave hit Sydney.
This last road trip of 2025 mirrored our life during the past year—we navigated a few storms while celebrating moments of pure magic, illuminated by the golden light of early mornings.
Gundagai: Birds, History, and Quiet Moments
Our first stop was Gundagai, a small RV-friendly town with a free campsite along Morley’s Creek restricted to those with self-contained vehicles. Shady sites, level ground, and early arrival meant prime positioning—and hours of photography with a resident flock of Corellas.
Beyond the birds, Gundagai’s history will enrich your visit. The town was established near the Murrumbidgee River despite warnings from the local Aboriginal mob. As a flood-risk engineer, I was fascinated to explore the installations in town that honours a 1852 flood rescue by the local Wiradjuri people that saved 69 settlers. For photographers, it’s a place where wildlife, light, and history collide in unexpectedly compelling ways.
Yarrangobilly Caves: Shooting in Subterranean Light
Next, an unexpected detour led us to Yarrangobilly Village and its limestone caves—a happy accident after by-passing Tumut’s busy river campsites.
The next morning found us exploring the Yarrongobilly Caves, a short drive from our campsite. It’s been over 20-years since I have last visited. At over 400 million years old, these caves are sculpted with stalactites, stalagmites, shawls, and delicate corals. There are hundreds of caves in the area, but only six are open to visitors. We toured Jersey Cave with a guide, then took the self-guided option to explore South Glory. Depending on your choice of caves, you can expect to encounter steep stairs, ladders, and slippery handrails—come prepared!
Photography was tricky with low light in a group of 20 people, but I shot in Aperture Priority, adjusting Aperture and ISO depending on the available light. The lighting in the caves is turned on and off as you travel through, making it quite quite tricky to shoot. But the formations are stunning and remind me why I love travel and adventure photography—you never know what you’ll discover!
Boxing Kangaroos at Dawn
Our next destination saw us spend three nights in the in the Denison Camping Area of Kosciuszko National Park. I could not have planned a better finale to 2025. On one of my last photo shoots of the year I woke up early to a quiet dawn and peeked out my window to see a small group of Eastern Grey Kangaroos grazing in the soft, pre-dawn light. It was still dark, but their movements caught my eye—and then I noticed something incredible and knew it was time to jump out of bed—a pair of kangaroos were starting to box.
At first, I wasn’t sure if it was serious or just play. One stood tall while the other stayed seated, almost like it was hesitating to join. Then came the kicks, the gentle grapples around the neck, and the careful, measured movements—a lesson in the wild. It felt like the older kangaroo was teaching the younger one, showing how to spar, test balance, and move with confidence.
Capturing this required a long lens so I chose my Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 and a fast shutter speed at 1/2000 sec at an aperture of f/9 when zoomed right in. Burst mode and an electronic shutter enabled me to freeze most of the motion. A fast SD card helped to record the shots as fast as I took them. The challenge wasn’t just freezing motion; it was anticipating behaviour, finding composition, and avoiding distractions while making sure I didn’t disturb them. As much of the action happened even before the area was bathed in sunrise, I shot on unrestricted Auto ISO, making a mental note to deal with the noise in post.
When the sun eventually peaked above the mountains, the light added soft depth to their coats, turning a fleeting wild moment into a cinematic scene. These are the experiences that make wildlife photography addictive: unpredictability, movement, and the chance to witness life unfiltered.
Hiking Australia’s Summit
Our next destination was Jindabyne and Thredbo, two towns synonymous with the ski slopes of Australia, but just as pretty and popular in the summer months. While I had not planned to hike up Mt Kosciuszko, somehow that’s where I found myself, the day after we arrived here.
The hike up to the highest point on this continent is not exactly a walk in the park. Twenty five years ago, I did a much longer walk up to the top via Charlotte’s Pass. This time we took the “slightly easier” option—the chairlift to Eagle’s Nest and a 13 km return walk. Still very uphill. Still very exhausting!
Looking back on it all, I am quite proud to say we made it to the top of Mt Kosciuszko, the highest point on the Australian continent. We left Sydney expecting bushfires and instead found snow in the middle of summer—leftover from the last snowfall of 2025, in early December. I was grateful we had blue skies, and 16°C weather which was perfect for hiking. Not exactly the dramatic lighting conditions for landscape photography, but you can’t have everything!
The hike is stunning and will take you between 4–6 hours if you’re reasonably fit and prepared to feel it the next day! At 2,228 m (7,310 ft), the elevation tests legs and lungs, but the views, crisp air, and snow patches are unforgettable.
Photography here is about scale and context: capturing hikers dwarfed by alpine peaks, shadows stretching over ridges, and sunlight glancing off snow. The hike reinforces a lesson every photographer knows: sometimes the best shots come after the hardest climb.
Coastal Discoveries
The next morning, after cooking up a feast of sausages and eggs we decided to head for the coast. The road took us through the inland town of Bega to the coastal towns of Tathra, Bermagui, Narooma and Bateman’s Bay. At this time of year, the coast is even more popular than the mountains, so we were lucky to find not one but two beautiful campsites right on the water in the popular towns of Bermagui and Bateman’s Bay.
We know this part of the east coast well but there is always something new to discover. At Tathra we discovered a historic wharf where locals were fishing and visitors sipped coffee at the atmospheric wharf cafe. We loved sampling the cheese in Bega and having lunch in the beautiful heritage building. I discovered the Kisses Lagoon and enjoyed the rest area by the river.
Bermagui and Narooma delivered clifftop walks, seal colonies, and sculpted rocks—every turn a new perspective and delight. The temperature was heating up by the time we reached Batemans Bay. After a night there, we decided that it might be time to call it quits and head for home.
A roadside drone launch during the drive north captured a bird’s-eye views of this stunning coastline, proving that even crowded or familiar spots can yield unique imagery. Keeping the satellite view of Google Maps handy is good to know when it might be worth pulling over for a drone flight.
The Joy of Serendipity
Some of the best photographic experiences are unplanned: stumbling upon stalactites, discovering snow in summer, or watching kangaroos spar at dawn. These are moments that turn travel into storytelling, light into mood, and ordinary landscapes into compelling images. Travelling during the summer holidays without any reservations can be tricky but it can also lead to unexpected discoveries. I can guarantee it is the best way to see in a New Year.
If you wish to create unique images and bank unforgettable memories then take the road less traveled. Curiosity, and a willingness to follow the unexpected are just as important as gear or technique.
In 2026, I hope to carry forward these spontaneous discoveries—the moments that stop you in your tracks, camera in hand to inspire and remind you to keep exploring.