The South Pacific is a feast for wildlife and landscape photographers with some of the most unusual animals on the planet and some of its most…
The South Pacific is a feast for wildlife and landscape photographers with some of the most unusual animals on the planet and some of its most remote and wild regions to travel. The red center of Australia provides canyons, gorges, rivers and rocks for scenic images. While in New Zealand the sheer beauty and scale of glaciers, mountains and natural wonders is a real treasure trove. In Papua New Guinea the colorful tribes of the highlands make great portraits.
- Red Centre, Australia
You can’t beat Australia’s red and remote center for incredible landscape vistas. There’s the famed Uluru (Ayer’s Rock), the Olgas, Kings Canyon and Ormiston Gorge. It reads like a list of credits with gorgeous red rock, earthy colors and mystique plus wildlife like kangaroos, dingoes and snakes often in the localities.
- Milford Track, New Zealand
This is a land of sheer beauty and scale with glaciers, high mountains and a trove of natural wonders. To get right in the thick of it walk the Milford Track with your photographic gear, one of the nation’s most famous trails, into the celebrated Fiordland National Park.
- Antarctica
The cruise ships going to Antarctica are often full of professional and budding photographers. Not only is the scenery fabulous with shifting ice, icebergs and remote islands but the wildlife is superb. Populations of whales, penguins, albatross, seals and sea lions are common and plentiful.
- Highland Gathering, Papua New Guinea
For a look at the colorful tribes of PNG visit the highland shows of Goroka and Mt Hagan. Over 100 tribes can meet to gather and perform dressed in feathers, mud and skirts. Many have elaborate body piercings or tribal tattoos they are more than happy to show.
- Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory
These wetlands boast an amazing array of crocs, bird life and water lilies that literally invite photography. Start early for the best light and the feeding time for many species. Boat safaris are a good way of getting around and will bring you closer to waders and herons.
- New Zealand Islands
These are New Zealand’s answer to the Galapagos islands for wildlife photographers. Revel in the unspoiled environment of Snare, Auckland, Macquaire, Campbell, Antipodes or the Bounty Islands and their seabirds and marine animals including albatross, penguins and sea lions.
- Great Barrier Reef, Queensland
The clear waters, forested islands, coral reefs, pristine beaches and marine life of this incredible coral reef system can be photographed from the air, boat, underwater or on land.
- Atherton Tablelands, Queensland
This wet tropic rainforest in north Queensland is fabulous for birds, several species of kangaroos, rare ringtail possums, owls and platypus; in other words a real chance to photograph Australia’s amazing wildlife. The rainforest is inspiring with dense creepers, waterfalls, rivers and volcano crater lakes that biologists have described as "greatest celebration of life on earth".
- Overland Track, Tasmania
For some of Australia’s best and most varied scenery consider hiking the Overland Track through the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. This 50 mile route takes about five or six days through terrain ranging from sheer mountains, wild rivers and alpine plains. Perfect for big landscapes.
- Lamington National Park, Queensland
Rugged mountain scenery, tumbling waterfalls, hideaway caves, lush rainforest, wildflower heaths, tall open forests, picturesque creeks, varied wildlife and some of the best bushwalking in Queensland is protected in Lamington National Park. Take the Arctic Beeches walk on a rainy day for some fabulous misty scenes.