If a picture speaks a thousand words my new Gibb River Road calendars tell a story 6 years in the making.
6 years of fun and games exploring the Kimberley. 6 years chasing the light. Sunrises and sunsets. Flat tyres and rough roads. All condensed to 12 pages and 48 photos. What a journey. And what a place to call home!
Of the 3550 calendars printed in May I only have about 150 remaining so get in quick.
Let’s be honest, I tend to talk about the Kimberley as this place of almost indescribable beauty and joy and satisfaction. And it certainly is. There’s no shortage of amazing places and memorable moments to make a lasting impression. But what this trip has also reminded me of is that all of the good stuff – the beautiful swims and the scenic lookouts and the big starry skies – definitely comes at a price. It’s the price of having to work a little bit – or a lot – for those rewards. It is the price of stinking hot walks in the afternoon sun – and sunburnt skin – before turning the corner and seeing that waterfall for the very first time. It is the price of driving a little too fast on rough roads and changing a flat tyre in the afternoon heat. And then figuring out where you should – and probably shouldn’t – go now that you’ve only got one spare. It’s the price of feeling adventurous and driving that track you probably shouldn’t be on. And the sense of discouragement – and maybe a little concern – when you lose the track and wonder why you’re such a f%#kin’ idiot to be out there in the first place. And the excitement of finding the track again! And the relief of getting back on bitumen. Followed quickly by the boredom of being back on bitumen.
It’s the feeling of being invincible and then getting stuck in soft sand just short of where you wanted to be. That feeling of being invincible and discovering in the middle of nowhere your car won’t start. And the feeling of being invincible again when you dig yourself out of soft sand, and get your car started, and all the cool shit you saw along the way. In that sense the Kimberley is whatever you want it to be. It is all of those highs and all of those lows.
It is waking up in the morning with no plan and making a plan – and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It is getting to your favourite spot to find there’s no water. Or too much water. Or too many people. Or no people at all! It’s simple dinners over a gas burner. Burnt toast and burnt sausages. And freshly brewed coffee at sunrise. Oh, the sunrises! It’s being a dickhead and catching your leg on a barbed wire fence you probably shouldn’t be climbing. And tearing off skin on a tree you probably shouldn’t be jumping off. It’s strapping things to the bottom of your car that are trying desperately to fall off. And unexpected detours to fix the things that have definitely fallen off. It’s losing your hiking boots and trying to walk a gorge in thongs and breaking your thongs and walking back in bare feet. It’s getting tired and making bad decisions and driving after dark and dodging wildlife and knowing you should have pulled up an hour ago. And then finding that spot you’ve been looking for, pulling out a camp chair and watching the moon rise over a perfectly still night with a cold beer in hand. It is moments of pure elation and moments of tiredness and frustration. And the whole time Broome and Netflix and aircon are only a few hours – or a day – away. It’s not Disneyworld, that’s for sure. It is the natural world at its best and most nourishing. And the natural world kicking your ass and leaving you half broken, sore and crumpled along the way. And being half broken, sore and crumpled and slumping into the river and being perfectly happy and content.
It is trying new things and being reminded of why trying new things is important. It is about revisiting familiar places that are easy and comfortable and being reminded of why easy and comfortable is also important. The Kimberley in many ways is a playground. And like any playground there are highs and lows. Good bits and bad bits. Easy bits and tough bits. There are moments of getting it right and moments of knowing you’ve definitely gotten it wrong. And plenty of time in between to reflect along the way. No TV, no radio, no Facebook approval porn. Lots of time to enjoy the views and time to think about where you’ve been and where you’re going that day. Time to think about where you’ve been and where you’re going in life. And perhaps doing the unthinkable and stopping to figure out who you are and who you want to be. And after all of that…. at the end of each day you go to bed dusty and tired and satisfied knowing it was all worth it – every last bit of it. The sunburn, and the flat tyres and the getting bogged and the getting lost. It was all worth it. Because along the way you saw some pretty amazing stuff and you felt something – you felt alive. And for all of these reasons and more, when people ask me to describe the Kimberley, I think it’s fair to say it is everything you want it to be.
First night back on the Gibb and there’s lightning in the sky. There’s Barking Owls in the trees. There’s freshwater crocs – and baby crocs! – in the river. My feet are in the dirt. The air is warm and thick and beautiful – like a well worn and much loved comfort blanket.
My last proper Kimberley fun run outside of work was 8 months – and what feels like a lifetime – ago. F$#k, it feels good to be back on country.
That right hand turn off the highway and onto the Gibb just outside of Derby never ever gets old. As I head east away from the setting sun there in lightning on the horizon and a storm that brings a beautiful warm breeze and what is probably the last, much needed, rain of the Wet. I pull up by the side of the road and sit on the roof of the car as the storm passes over. The road is sloppy. The place is green. The Boabs are lush. The XXXX is cold. Life is definitely better in the Kimberley.
The first day on these trips never fails to make an impression. It’s as if the Kimberley knows all the tricks to reset your soul, realign your priorities and deliver a massive jolt of Mother Nature at her best. You wake up in Broome surrounded by the modern world – a world of white walls and straight lines and Facebook chatter. And 6 hours later I’m off the grid and rolling out my sleeping mat next to the river – transported to a place of magic and nourishment and adventure.
The Gibb is generally known for its waterfalls and rough roads and sandstone escarpments. But for me it is a place that quietens the mind and settles the soul. And it reminds me time and time again of just how amazing the natural world can be.
In less than 24hrs, and with no effort whatsoever, I’ve seen bright yellow Budgies, elegant Red-tailed Black Cockatoos, Crimson Finches and Chestnut-breasted Mannikins. I’ve seen Red-winged Parrots and Rainbow Lorikeets and Rainbow Bee-eaters. Azure and Red-backed Kingfishers. I’ve seen Australian Bustards, Jabirus, Brolgas and Fairy Wrens. I’ve seen Blue-winged Kookaburras and Corellas and Dotterels. Kites, and Buzzards and Harriers. I’ve seen Yellow-spotted Goannas, Blue-tongued lizards and freshwater crocs. Any one of these animals is enough to make you stop and marvel and appreciate just how amazing nature can be. To see them all in the space of 24hrs, at the start of a 2 week trip, is pretty special.
Six years of living and travelling in the Kimberley has made it clear to me there is something deep inside us that longs for this primal connection to nature, whether we are aware of it or not. Some people fish. Some people meditate on the beach next to crashing waves. Some enjoy sitting next to a campfire under the stars. These trips – and the unspoiled nature that is on display – are a perfect and much needed reminder of all the things that are important to me and all the things that make me feel alive. Life is definitely better in the Kimberley.
Manning Gorge, on the Gibb River Road, is a great example of how photography can help us see a place with fresh eyes and experience a familiar location in new ways. Every time I’ve been there over the last six years different things catch my attention and I walk away with very different photos. Instead of photography taking over the experience it can help us to slow down, help us pay attention and encourage us to keep exploring.
When I first visited Manning back in 2013 it was late in the Dry Season. The waterfall had stopped running so my photos were all about the sandstone gorge itself and those beautiful burnt orange colours. The busiest part of the tourist season was over so the place was quiet and still. Aboriginal rock art in the gorge was a nice reminder people have been sitting on these same rocks and looking at these same colours for millennia.
My second visit was early in the Dry Season in 2015 and the waterfall was at its best. Continue reading “Manning Gorge | Simply Magical “
It’s official. My 2018 RFDS Kimberley Calendar fundraiser is a wrap! A massive thank you to all 40 outlets that were involved last year and to everyone who has a calendar hanging on their wall somewhere!
All 3000 Kimberley and Gibb River Road calendars are now scattered all over Australia and around the world. Thanks to your support we officially raised $14,000 in 2018, and with a number of outlets donating their calendar profits directly to the RFDS the real total was more than $18,000, bringing our overall fundraising total from the last 3 years to more than $48,500. THANK YOU.
My new drone project and labour of love….
This has to be me at my happiest. Exploring the Kimberley. Chasing the light. Being creative. Camping in strange places. And sleeping under the stars. I hope you enjoy!
I shot so much drone footage last year this could easily be a nice 5-10min video but who’s got the attention span for that. So consider this a sneak peek – or my 2018 ‘showreel’. Maybe somewhere down the track I’ll upload a Directors Cut for any drone nerds out there. 😀
Feel free to share with people you think should come to the Kimberley – or someone who you want to make jealous.
Yep, peer pressure is a wonderful thing. 🙂 Finally on Facebook & Instagram. Be sure to Like/Follow for daily posts and all things Kimberley. @GaryAnnettPhotography
Yep, I’m a little behind the curve. Finally on Instagram! @garyannettphotography
Roebuck Bay, Broome
The million dollar question….. How hard can it really be to take beautiful photos in a place as beautiful as the Kimberley? Piece of cake, right?
Let’s be honest, the Kimberley definitely stacks the odds in our favour. Unspoiled wilderness, crazy colours and beautiful light – it’s a winning mix. And yet as someone who has spent 6 years poking around the Kimberley in search of beautiful places and beautiful images it’s easy convince yourself that capturing something new – something different – gets a little harder each time. It’s a silly notion of course. With 420,000 square kilometres to explore there has to be endless possibilities for beautiful photos. And yet it’s easy to get wrapped up in this notion that it’s harder and harder to capture something better than last time – to create new work that people haven’t seen before – and new work that is at least as good as what I’ve done before. It’s a fun challenge. The so-called ‘artist’s burden’.
Gary’s aerial cinematography from The Kimberley region of Western Australia will be featured in an upcoming BBC production, Rituals.
You can see some of the original footage in my Discover The Kimberley video below. Or hop on over here to see the full archive of available aerial stock video footage from the Kimberley.
Discover The Kimberley | Stock Photography & Aerial Video 