Unto the Coastal Wilds We Go

In a remote section of the far east of Victoria the coastline remains relatively inaccessible, except on foot. 

To explore the wilderness way out there on the coast, far from the modern connections of mobile phone networks, road access, and any hint of humans, apart from the occasional bush track and segmented campsites, it’s the perfect way to switch off and enter the freedom of mind that only the pedestrian nature of placing one foot after the other can foster.

For someone who has scant history walking more than 10 kilometres, the prospect of hiking along the coast, on sandy beaches, and through undulations of thick bush and forest for the distance of nearly 40 kilometres split over two days, was an ambition that sat beyond the actual possibilities. Add in a couple of nights camping and it edged up to the realm of incomprehensible. Throw in a full support team, and only the necessity to carry a day pack, and the potential just ramped up a bit.

The Photography Assignment

Approached by a regional tourism organisation, my photography assignment was clear. Embed and blend into the hiking group of up to eight people, including two support leaders and on-the-trail guide, and capture authentic and real images of the essence and story of the hike, for future marketing, promotions, and social media purposes.

So then, in the mid Summer of season 2025/26, I embarked on the four-day experience to photograph this new premium coastal walking experience.

When: January 2026 (Four days)

Tourism Experience: Premium Supported Multi-Day Coastal Wilderness Walk

Client: Regional Economic Development Organisation

Assignment: Embed and blend into the hiking group to capture authentic and real images of the essence and story of the hike

Deliverables: High quality digital images for future marketing, promotions, and social media purposes

It’s wild to consider, the footsteps and tracks we traipsed upon during the hike.

Tracks and imprints that have probably existed for tens of thousands of years, tread over by the Indigenous people that lived upon and looked over these lands that meet the seas of Bass Strait in Victoria. And to consider, that in the scheme of history, just over 250 years ago, there is the recorded first known European sighting of the mainland of the eastern Australian coast on April 19, 1770, spotted from the HMS Endeavour ship. And it’s precisely where one’s feet touch the soil and ground as the tour explored this remarkable coast. 

To photograph then, this walk into the remote and historic places we might otherwise never know, it is to take in the grand seemingly ever expanding space, and to wonder and awe at the small and fragile. To observe the contours, textures and colours of the land and seascape, and to feel the essence of how we as people respond to the vastness, and the beautiful details as we slowly wander and drift over the pretty sands.