Lumieres – images by Australian landscape photographer Simon Bayliss

Mungo National Park

Outback NSW - Australia

Lake Mungo, within Mungo National Park which is part of the Willandra Lakes World Hertitage Area, is an ancient Lake Bed that last had water in it over 10,000 years ago and has recorded continuous Aboriginal habitation for 40,000+ years.

Over time, the prevailing winds that blow across the dry lake bed picking up sediment and depositing on the western shore forming an elevated bank that extends almost 20km's in length. This ridge has been eroded the various clay and sand layers to form the spectacular Lunette which is know as the 'Walls of China' .

Lake Mungo (and Mungo National Park) is a jewel of Outback NSW and is located about 1 hours drive form Wentworth and Mildura.

The Darling River

Outback NSW - Australia

Few things better illustrate boom-bust nature of the Outback landscape as the Darling River. It has always been a river of extremes.Snaking its way from subtropical Queensland to the Victoria/NSW border, it traverses the spiritually rich lands of Outback NSW.

At the beginning of 2008, flood waters that devastated some parts of South East Queensland provided overdue relief for the drought ravaged Outback NSW and gave the Darling a desperately needed ‘flush’ of the river system. Despite its flow peaking at the equivalent of 2 Sydney Harbours a day, it certainly did not alleviate the problems faced by the river; especially its lower reaches and its contribution to the Murray River below the confluence.

To experience the nature of the river system at its best allows the observer to understand what makes Outback Australia truly remarkable and to capture images of the Darling River at its best.

Lightning Ridge

Outback NSW - Australia

You can read all there is to know about ‘The Ridge’ and even hear stories, but that will give you as much understanding as trying to smell a color.

The Black Opal is allusive but Lightning Ridge, its character and hospitality certainly are not. There is a wonderful welcome from the time you arrive – you can understand why some travelers stay. It is a wonderfully eccentric place and the eccentricity is comforting in this day of conformity.

You can experience sculptures underground, bottle-houses, castles, astronomy monuments, hills named ‘Lunatic’, ‘Pig’ and ‘Bald’, and even a pub crawl to ‘The Pub in the Srub’, ‘The Glengarry Hilton’ and ‘Sheepyard’ . And how do you find all these thing?.. look out for a colored car door. Make sense? Thought not… it will when you go though….

Kinchega National Park

Outback NSW - Australia

Located just near Menindee, on the Darling River, Kinchega National Park has some wonderful access to the Darling River and the wonderful old Shearing shed of Kinchega. The area is great for fishing and bird life abounds with some of the best views of the winding Darling River.

This lage park offers a great variety of camping facilities and locations spread throughout the park in addition to offering accommodation on the shearer’s quarters.

Kinchega is located at Menindee and is a 1 hr drive south of Broken Hill.

Mutawintji National Park

Outback NSW - Australia

Mutawintji is one of the most moving and culturally significant areas of NSW that has to be put on a visitors list. With its wonderful sandstone ridges and gorges it is a site to behold and is one of those places that you can feel the cultural significance of the area and the land.

The historic area (only accessible with a guide) is a truly moving experience as you are able to see (and feel) the living history of the place which has been the site of indigenous ceremonies for many thousands of years. It is also the special in that in the 1980's it was blockaded by the Barkindji people to have it handed back to the traditional custodians.

Mutawintji National Park is a 2 hour drive from Broken Hill (Dry Weather Road) and provides a good stopover (camping) if travelling to/from the Corner Country

The Murray-Darling Confluence

Outback NSW - Australia

Images of The Darling River and images of The Murray River are evocative; Australian icons steeped in both Indigenous and European history. The lifeblood of the eastern states of Australia, The Murray Darling Basin covers around 11% of the country.

These two diversely different rivers - The Darling is fed from the northern summer rains while the Murray is sourced from the Alpine region - converge at Wentworth NSW and then flow onto Lake Alexandrina and then into the Southern Ocean via the Great Australian Bight.

The Murray Darling confluence is a spectacular part of Outback NSW - full of wonderful vistas, flora and fauna.

Trees of the Darling River

Outback NSW - Australia

There is no more magnificent a sight as a stretch of the Darling River lined with the majestic River Red Gums which tower high above the steep river banks perilously balanced with half their roots exposed with the other half firmly planted in the bank to prevent it from just toppling into the river.

Such is the nature of these grand old trees that prolonged drought or flood will kill them as they rely on the boom-bust cycle of the river to survive. With European interference with the natural balance of this cycle, many areas of the River Red Gums are under severe threat.

From the beautiful smooth bark of the juveniles to the gnarly bark of the mature ‘Old Dogs’ they are the characters of the river and portray nature at its best. Images of River Red Gums only tell half the story of their beauty as photography can never convey the smell of foliage or the sound of the wind through their branches.

The Blue Mountains

Sydney, NSW - Australia

The majestic Blue Mountains in NSW has it all for any traveller; spectacular valley views from atop sandstone escarpment, breath-taking waterfalls, and a vast array of fauna and fauna. While the better known sites of Echo Point and the Three Sisters are a site to behold and easily accessible to all, some exploring away from the thong of visitors reveals charms like Empress cascades, Wentworth Falls and the Under-cliff walking track

It is a photographer’s paradise for any time of the year and no view is ever the same.

An easy 1 hr drive west of Sydney and serviced by both bus and train services it is good for a day trip or better experienced over a few days.