Photographing Tarra-Bulga National Park
About Tarra Bulga
Tarra-Bulga used to be two quite seperate and different parks not far from each other. The 'Tarra' part mostly comprises a section between the Tarra Falls and Cyathea Falls. Neither fall is spectacular, but both are nice. The Tarra River itself is quite small (tiny by world standards), and you can hop over it at locations. The main attraction at Tarra is the walk along the river. This "Tarra Valley Rainforest Track" is exactly what it says it is - a walk of perhaps a kilometer along both sides of the river, crossing it a couple of times. If you have ever tried to photograph a rainforest, then you will know that they are thick and dense. Almost impossible to walk through. Photographing them tends to be a photograph of the few metres or feet in front / side / behind. Not good. This walk, and the river, open up the rainforest though and let you take photos within it. This is the attraction of Tarra Valley.
The 'Bulga' part of the Park is about 2km away, up a hill (but about 4km by road). This is much more open rainforest. Here I watched a Lyrebird dance around its nest and make chainsaw and car sounds. This section of the park has a suspension bridge that lets you get above the tree fern canopy.
Viewpoints
Tarra Valley has waterfalls, rivers (well one), and dense rainforest. Bulga has more open forest that lets you photograph the trees, the canopy, and the bridge.
How I photographed Tarra-Bulga National Park
What I took - what was in my kit
I took my LowePro Backpack loaded with Canon 5DMkII body, Canon 24-105mm zoom, Canon 16-35mm, and 24mmTS lens, Manfrotto 190 Tripod, and of course a range of lens wipes, spare batteries, sunscreen and bug repellant. I tended to shoot fairly wide (16-40mm) in the Tarra part, but longer (35-100mm) in the Bulga part. I would have liked to have had the 400mm lens with me for the Lyrebird, but those of you that know it - it just looks like a dark brown skinny rooster hiding in a dark brown group of foliage. For a landscape photographer - they are not the best wildlife.
Techniques
Rainforests are DARK - I did not want to shoot with a flash, or carry any lighting equipment, but I did shoot VERY slow. This is a spot where you will not get good photos without a tripod.
Other things to look out for
I happen to love the Grand Ridge road, and the views of the Stezleckis and farm land that can be had from this road. The town of Yarram is nice, and has some Large Art on the sides of the buildings. The Power Stations at Loy Yang / Morwell with their associated open cut coal mines may interest some people. (They do tours of the mines).
Location
Tarra-Bulga National Park, Grand Ridge Rd, Balook, Vic 3971 (-38.428666, 146.56946)
Techniques used
Kit used
How to get there
The only way to get to the Park is via car. From Melbourne you take the South Eastern Freeway / Princes Highway (M1) to Taralgon. From here, you turn right (under the railway) onto the C482 to Yarram until you get to Loy Yang. At this point there are two options:
- Via Yarram. You can turn left at Loy Yang and follow the major road (C482) through to Yarram. Just inside Yarram, you can turn right onto the C484 and from there, go to Tarra Valley and then up to Bulga.
- Direct to Bulga. The C483 heads straight at Loy Yang and goes direct to Bulga on the Grand Ridge Rd. This is the shortest route, but the road is narrow, with many many corners. I dont mind narrow country roads, but I know some people do worry about them. I also know city people substantially mis-understand how slow travel on these roads is, and they under estimate how long the trip is.
Best time to visit
I think any time of the year is good for this park. Summer to Winter there will be variation, but both are equally nice.
Accessability
The roads into Tarra-Bulga may be narrow, but they are paved. Any 2wd car can happily manage them. The paths in both Tarra and Bulga are very well made, and mostly (all?) flat. I can recall some steps at the Tarra Valley car park, but even those steps have ramps around them. Beyond that, I can't recall any steps. Neither walk is very long (1km?). Great for kids and no problems for people carrying cameras and backpacks.
Where to stay
At 2:15- 2:45 hours from Melbourne (depending on where you start), I consider this the limit of a 'day trip', but it is doable. I typically stay at Yarram, which has several nice hotels, and several nice pubs. We have stayed at the Ship Inn and Yarram Holiday park. We have seen, but not tried, the Windmill caravan park. There is now accomodation at Tarra Valley, but I have not seen it. Further away from Yarram, there is Traralgon (lots of options), and on the sea there is Port Albert.