The Bungle Blog

How do you describe the Kimberley’s to someone who's never been?

Sun, 14 Jun 2020 01:14:38 GMT

Umm, it's, err, well, it like....?

Do you show them a photo? Perhaps? What is the feeling you get when you are taking a photo of the most amazing thing that you have ever seen? How is that feeling when you look at that same photo a year later? How is that feeling when you show someone else that photo when are attempting to describe the beauty you saw when you were taking that photo?

Landscape photos look great. But do they do the subject any justice? From my experience the answer is ALWAYS NO NO NO.

The beauty in the Kimberley is breathtaking. The red colours of the rock formations in the gauges, the ranges, the cliff faces and mountains.

Photos, videos, words, paintings help to portray the beauty, BUT something, that other something that evokes a feeling and an emotion that cannot be shared, carried, or taken away is the feeling you get when walking, sitting, looking and feeling these natural wonders. Sp how do you write an article about a place that words simply cannot describe ?

You just need to be here.

Lets do that at the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park. This is the place to meet, great, park, stay, eat, explore, chill, enjoy, share stories and the overwhelming feeling after spending time inside a “timeless” place. Untouched, undamaged by humans. A deep sense of spirtuality, dreamtime stories must be rich in these parts.

Take a photo, attach your current emotion to that image and share your feelings of wonder with your friends.

Take my word for it, do not pass go, just get here! We can share the experience later over an outback bbq, sitting around the fire pit with a cold beer, wine, or a hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Natural wonders: What did we do before cameras?

Sat, 13 Jun 2020 08:08:15 GMT

Do I take the photo, or do I just look in awe with 100% focus?

If you haven’t seen the movie “The Adventure of Walter Mitty” please please please watch it. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen. If you like adventure and photography (generally they go hand in hand), or even if you don’t like taking photos, but like looking at them, that movie is for you!

There is an all-star cast, a cracking soundtrack, special effects, a love story, humour, and themes of life, fulfilment and emotional “urges”. There's a scene I want to tell you about, but I won’t, as it would be a spoiler alert if you haven’t seen it.

Why am I telling you about this movie? If you have seen it you'll know the scene i'm talking about. I think about it ALL THE TIME. I love photography, and I love the Kimberley’s. I hate myself for loving photography too much. Why? Because I get anxious if i'm looking at something amazing and I’m not capturing it.

Why I just have to capture the scene...

A memory for me to look back on
To show my friends, family and the world how good this is - and to encourage people to come here!
To share via Facebook, Instagram... to stroke my ego and get “likes” and to make my pages look pretty!

What I hate about this...

I am not "in the moment” of pure appreciation of what I am looking at
I'm missing more of them or the subject because I am too worried about batteries, lighting, shadows, angles and filters. Have I got the right camera? The lens? Should I be doing a video, or a slow-mo, or a “live” photo, or a time-lapse?
Is this a HERO image? Could I make money from it?
I need people in the photo for size and scale,
Is the lighting ok,
I need to come back later because the sun was in the clouds.

The Bungle Bungles is one of those places the is a feeling of timeless awe rather than a place to fill your Instagram with HERO shots.
WHY the hell am I ranting on about photos and me and movies when writing a blog for a caravan park????

I’ll tell you why...

You need to get here, rain hail or shine, camera or no camera. Your eyes are the most powerful camera in the universe that takes the perfect image EVERY millisecond of every day. Your brain has a cloud storage of infinite GIG storage and its FREE. No monthly payments. Well sorry, you have to drink water, eat good food, breathe oxygen, get sunlight, talk and touch other humans or animals and make sure you move around every day! So there is a small investment ;-)

How to plan your Kimberley holiday?

Fri, 12 Jun 2020 06:52:23 GMT

It's time to wander out yonder... are you ready?

Top Tip #1

Take the time to plan (speaking from someone who loves to NEVER plan! I like to “wing it” and see where the adventure takes me. I tried this travelling overseas, Rome, London, Spain, and even here in the Kimberley. It doesn’t work. You end up spending 50% of your time in these places trying to work out how to get places, reading reviews, where do I stay etc etc. That time should be invested before you go whilst sitting around when you would normally be mindlessly watching TV or Facebook or news feed scrolling.

Top Tip #2

Better yet still, get professional help! Not a psychiatrist (well maybe)!

Top Tip #3

Don’t we all need a bit of that!? A travel agent or better yet still a LOCAL Tour Guide that knows the region, the dos and donts, the weather challenges, the river systems, the gravel roads. Scotty Connell , Ed from Instyle, or me �� They will save you thousands of dollars and hours of time. Don’t research let someone who has been doing it for 10-20 years help you. They can help you in an hour what would take you 100 hours. Even if you don’t want to pay to do their tours, offer them $200-$500 to make you an itinerary based on your things you like. It will save you thousands of dollars and more importantly TIME!

Top Tip #4

TIME is the essence. The Kimberley region is bigger than you could ever imagine. One false move, one wrong road, one flat tyre could cost you a week or 2 stuck or stranded.

Top Tip #5

Local guides know all the little tricks that you might never see on Trip Advisor or Wiki Camp threads.

I suggest whatever your plan is. Double the time you want to spend your favourite destinations. Once you are there, you will see why. You will thank me for it.