Hattah-Kulkyne National Park

Hattah Lakes are a series of interconnected lakes joining onto the Murray River just south of Mildura. The areas surrounding the lakes are relatively dry, but still full of wildlife. My only visit there was during a two week tour of the state taking photos for a National Parks poster submission. I arrived at night after a long drive (6 hours) from Melbourne and slept in the car for the night.

I got up before dawn for a beautiful sunrise and set up the 4x5 camera near the back of the car to take this photo of the moon and Venus at dawn. There were a few other people camping on this side of the lake but most of them were still in bed and by the time they got up the sun was well and truly over the horizon (and the temperature must have risen a few degrees as well). I spent the day walking around (and through) the lakes looking for the classic river red gum photograph. I never really found it but enjoyed the walk none the less. I wished that I'd had a canoe to paddle around between the red gums.

The water level can vary considerably here, with a post marking the major floodings over the last few decades. At it's normal level, a large flat area that is one of the campsites is well out of the water but as you look up the post to previous flood levels you get an idea of just how widespread the floods must have been with many floods being even over my head.

I was in two minds whether to stay another night or go on to Barmah State Forest. Half way there I decided to stay the night and drove back as fast as legally possible to catch a quickly setting sun. I slid to a halt in a cloud of dust in the car park, jumped out of the car, grabbed my camera bag and ran past a group of campers cooking dinner with a cheery "Evening!" as I headed off into the trees. The sun had already gone down so I was 'only' going to catch the last blaze of colour before night fell. I had chosen the spot from a walk the previous afternoon and even had the lens selected before I arrived. And here it is... MPP 4x5 with a 58mm lens.

Many people ask me what there is to do in Victoria but they always forget the obvious... nothing. Why cook dinner just because it is getting dark when you can watch a sunset. Why sleep in in the morning when you can watch a sunrise (OK so I can think of a few reasons for that one, but it's usually worth the effort). Perhaps that's one advantage of being a photographer, you arrange your time around the most beautiful times of the day and catch up on sleep during the others. "Bring back the afternoon siesta" I say.

During the night I tried a star trail photo with a redgum lit by my campfire but unfortunately my campfire wasn't bright enough to properly expose the tree. So much for being environmentally correct. All the same it was a very peaceful evening by the fire with a large block of chocolate and a few glasses of port, lying back watching the stars go around through the branches of these magnificent trees. The next morning saw another glorious sunrise before heading off to Pink Lakes.