Pinnacles Grand Tour 3-Day

Regular price
$1,095.00 AUD
Regular price
Sale price
$1,095.00 AUD
Tax included.

Per person in twin-share accommodation.

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Group size
Min 4, Max 6
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Meals
Meals included
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Transport
Air Conditioned 4WD
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Accommodation
Included, Tour starts and ends in Perth

PINNACLES, NEW NORCIA & SWAN VALLEY GRAND TOUR (Overnight Stay at the Abby of New Norcia & the Pinnacles)

Heading out of Perth, the lush green wine region of the Swan Valley will take us to the untouched bush & wetlands of the Chittering Valley, in the northern hills of the Darling Range.

Our first stop is the Abbey of New Norcia. Established in 1847, New Norcia is the only monastic town in Australia, take a moment to appreciate and discover the history behind the Spanish architecture-style monastery. The seasonal wildflowers, fresh local produce and beautiful countryside will make this journey a day to remember, and perhaps a place to revisit!

The town offers an abundance of historical old buildings to test your architectural photographic creativity. At the Abby, we'll share quarters in the monastery guesthouse and enjoy a simple home cooked meal served in one sitting at the same time as the monks. After dinner, we'll do a short nightscape photography initiation, in preparation for our evening at the Pinnacles. Monks can be seen time-to-time walking outside the monastery, please respect their privacy. 

 

EMBARK ON A JOURNEY THROUGH ICONIC LANDSCAPES, RUGGED COASTLINE SNOW-WHITE SAND DUNES AND BREATHTAKING SCENERIES.

 

Date
Duration

PINNACLES 3-DAY PHOTO TOUR



The second & third part of our journey will take us back towards the coast through the rolling hills and iconic landscapes of the Wheatbelt. Finally, the Nambung National Park is one of the highlights of the day; the Pinnacle Desert offers a splendour of photographic opportunities, casting dramatic shadows with the ever-changing light. Martial has been exploring this part of the world for many years and will be there to assist you with your lens selection and camera settings.

Built-in 2010, the new Indian Ocean Drive will take us back to Perth through an amazing diversity of landscapes, flora and spectacular ocean views. As we approach the sand dunes you could be forgiven for thinking they were snow-covered mountains as the sand is so stunningly white!

Tour Highlight and Inclusions

This Exclusive small-group photographic day tour has been carefully put together, allowing you to experience a diversity of breathtaking Australian landscape on our journey to New Norcia before making our way to the iconic Pinnacles. We guarantee a wealth of photography opportunities, including small group tuition, practical notes and one-to-one support tailored to your individual needs while on-location learning the importance of image composition, available light and night photography techniques.

    • Experience a unique itinerary specially designed for photographers
    • 3 Full day photography tour
    • Daily breakfast, some lunches and 1 dinners
    • Twin-share room in specially selected accommodation
    • Refer to 'Date & Cost' for single room supplement
    • Comfortable air conditioned 4WD/ Bus (incl. 2 water bottle pp p/day & snacks)
    • National Park Fees & all entrance fees to exhibits & locations that we visit
    • Overnight stay at the Abby of New Norcia 
    • Lunch and wine tasting in the Swan Valley vineyards
    • Late Lunch at the renown Lobster Shack in Cervantes
    • A varieties of wildflowers (seasonal)
    • Architecture, landscape, nature & macro photography tips
    • Capture the essence of the 18th century Abbey of New Norcia
    • An array of iconic National Parks landscapes with plenty of photography time
    • Scope the Wheatbelt, Western Australia’s farmland
    • Breathtaking drive trough the vast Wanagarren Nature Reserve
    • Iconic Grass Tree landscapes, Sand Dunes and other spectacular sights
    • Short accessible walks to explore some of the best photo locations on tour
    • Explore the unique Abbey of New Norcia
    • Sunset and Twilight shoot at the amazing Nambung National Park (Pinnacles)
    • As it is our own personalised photo tour, we can stop when and where we want!
    • Professional photography advise
    • Fully escorted tour in English and French
    • Photography group of 2 – 6 participants maximum

Dates

Dates:  Flexible with dates between January & December

Cost: $1095.00 pp | single supplement $ 275.00

Covid Special Offer: Extend your Tour to 4-Day for an extra $275.00 pp* (available for a limited time only – 2 guests min.)

Spouse, companion & non-photographer welcome.

Take 5% off of the total costs of any tours when you sign up for 2 participants or more tours* (*conditions apply, not valid with any other offers, applicable only for direct online bookings)

Escape the busy tracks and experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn how to shoot dramatic scenery from sunrise to sunset, and capture some of Australia most breathtaking landscape along the coats. This Pinnacles photo tour is offered as a stand-alone tour with option to add a pre – Perth tour extension or a post Extended tour down WA’s Southwest or the Golden Outback. It is a perfect tour to include a non-photographer companion.

Observers/ non-photographers companions can either tag along while you are out taking photographs, or do their own exploring of the surroundings and we’ll all meet up in the evenings to share a few stories of the day’s events.

 

Optional Activities:

Guided Tour of the Abbey of New Norcia  / 1hr.

Full payment at booking is required to secure your spot.  

What is included?

  • A unique itinerary to New Norcia & Pinnacles specially designed for photographers
  • Breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack, incl. 2 bottles of water pp
  • A taste of fresh local produce for lunch
  • Comfortable air conditioned 4WD/ Bus
  • All entrance fees to exhibits, national parks & locations that we visit for photography
  • Martial’s expertise in guiding and photographic instruction

Level of physical difficulty: 2 out of 5

This New Norcia & Pinnacles 3-Day Tour starts in Perth and finishes in Perth. It is suitable for beginners and experienced photographers of all ages. A moderate level of fitness is required (some walking).

Itinerary

Pinnacles National Park Photo Tour (3-Day Tour)

Special Offer – Extend your Tour to 4-Day for an extra $275.00 pp* (available for a limited time only)

This New Norcia and Pinnacles Day Tour starts & finishes in Perth (departure times are subject to change with the seasons). Heading out of Perth, the lush green wine region of the Swan Valley will take us to the untouched bush & wetlands of the Chittering Valley, in the northern hills of the Darling Range. We'll enjoy lunch at one of the Swan Valley's top vinery.

Our first overnight stop is the Abbey of New Norcia. Established in 1847, the town offers an abundance of historical old buildings to test your architectural photographic creativity.  We'll share quarters in the monastery's guesthouse and enjoy a simple home cooked meal served in one sitting at the same time as the monks, in the guesthouse dining room. After dinner we'll head out for some astrophotography weather permitting.

Monks can be seen time-to-time walking outside the monastery, please respect their privacy.

The second & Third part of our journey will take us back towards the coast through the rolling hills and iconic landscapes of the Wheatbelt. Late lunch at the world renown Lobster Shack and the Nambung National Park are the highlights of day-two; the Pinnacle Desert offers a splendour of photographic opportunities, casting dramatic shadows with the ever-changing light.  Martial has been exploring this part of the world for many years and will be there to assist you with your lens selection and camera settings.

We'll explore the Pinnacles Desert after lunch and set-up at a chosen location for Sunset, Twilight and Stargazing photo session. Western Australia has some of the darkest sky, and the Pinnacles Desert is one of the ultimate place to capture the night sky, so shortly after sunset, once the day light goes down and the night sky start appearing, we'll set-up for nigh photography and wait for the magic to happen. 

In season, we'll also have to opportunity to capture the mighty Milky Way!

Built in 2010, the new Indian Ocean Drive will take us back to Perth on day-three through an amazing diversity of landscapes, flora and spectacular ocean views. As we approach the sand dunes you could be forgiven for thinking they were snow-covered mountains as the sand is so stunningly white!

A perfect add-on before your NEW NORCIA & PINNACLES NAT’L PARK Photo Tour is our PERTH HALF DAY TOUR or following straight after our NN PINNACLES D/T join us on our 3 DAY WAVE ROCK Photo Tour extension.

Photography Outline

Nature, Architecture, Landscape, Wildflowers in season

In addition to great daily photo opportunities and night excursions, we will also touch on the following photography topics, including:

    • Dare to go manual Vs Auto camera settings, when to change
    • Working with available light [read & understand the light]
    • What lenses should I use
    • Understanding your DSLR camera
    • Camera settings for macro
    • Camera settings for landscape photography
    • Camera settings for nature photography
    • Image composition, the golden rules and how to break it!
    • How to read your histogram and how to fine-tune-it?
    • Depth of Field calculation, be in control
    • Camera settings to take the perfect shot every time
    • Image composition, the golden rules and how to break it!
    • Adjust your image exposure in relation to your subject
    • Capturing raw

 

Personal Items and Weather Conditions

Temperature can range from: 8C in winter to 45C in the peak of summer

Average monthly rain for this time of year: 1day/ Jan-Feb- Mar and 11day/ Jun-Jul-Aug

Be organized and pack smart. Sturdy shoes, hat and sunscreen are essential. We will email you a more detailed and updated recommendation list on what to bring with your booking confirmation depending on the time of the years and weather conditions. I recommend packing a basic easy to grab jacket or lightweight rain coat, etc. in a smaller backpack or in your camera bag in case the weather changes suddenly.

Light weight rain jacket and rain pants. You don’t have to go all out here, but it will also help you to keep warm at night. * I really suggest a rain jacket if nothing else, the rain gear will keep you dry when walking in the parks. I have a pair of Teflon rain pants & jacket, super light and perfect to keep in you camera bag in case of a sudden change in the weather.

A warm jacket, long trousers and a jumper or light jacket during the winter month is a must. It can get really cold late afternoon with the seabreeze all year round.

Hat and sun screen protection.

Equipment

Camera Equipment.

Your favourite DSLR camera, a multi focal lens (i.e 18-70mm) or fix lens, the wider the angle the better, and a medium to long-range lens (i.e. 80-300mm), plenty of memory cards and fully charged batteries. A small steady tripod & cable release for long exposure is essential. Don’t forget to bring your camera manual if you are not 100% sure about your camera functions. Please note that for better results a recent DSLR digital camera is preferable (0-5yrs old) as technology changes. Polarizer filter, Neutral Density and grabs filters are not a prerequisite but are great tools to have for long exposure and colour saturation.

This workshop is suitable for beginners and advanced photographers of all ages, however a good sense of humour and minimum fitness is recommended. Sturdy shoes, suitable warm cloths, drink bottle and a good camera bag!

Tour Extensions

A perfect add-on before your NN & Pinnacles Nat’l Parks Photo Tour is our Half Day Perth photo tour or after your Pinnacles National Parks Photo Tour to join us on a 3 Day in the Golden Outback – Wave Rock Photo Tour

Take 5% off of the total costs of any tours when you sign up for 2 participants or more tours.

Perth-by-Night Photo Tour | Perth Photo Tour

Flexible with dates |  Available all year round

Click here for more information »

 

Golden Outback | Wave Rock Photo Tour

Flexible with dates |  Available all year round (Jan-March N/R)

Click here for more information »

Cancellations, Refunds, Guides & Weather Policy

Cancellations and Refunds

Cancellation Policy: A 25 – 50% non-refundable deposit is required to reserve your seat depending on the tour that you have selected - refer to individual itinerary. Seats to be paid in full at the time of booking or within 4 weeks of departure on all Australian tours except all extended tours; 8 weeks for Karijini, Exmouth to Broome, Golden Outback & Southwest WA, Margaret River, Kalbarri Coral Coast 5-Day and Wave Rock, and 12 weeks on all extended European & USA tours including: Paris, Zermatt, Venice, Tuscany, Italian Dolomites, Swiss & French Alps tour and USA Canyons & National Parks. Cancellations less than 30 days on day tours no refund; 12 weeks for all extended tours, including: Karijini, Exmouth to Broome, Golden Outback & Southwest WA, Margaret River, Kalbarri Coral Coast 5-Day and Wave Rock, it also includes all our international tours & workshops: Paris, Zermatt, Venice, Cinque Terre, Tuscany, Italian Dolomites, Swiss & French Alps tour and all the North American tours. Deposits non refundable except tours cancelled due to sever weather, mechanical failure or minimum numbers not met; full refund will be given. Minimum and maximum numbers are at the discretion of the operator. Tours already commenced no refund. No refund for tours missed due to lateness & sickness. Travel insurance and public liability (in the even you accidentally damage someone else property) are mandatory on all our extended tours and highly recommended on day tours as well. Check-in 15 minutes prior to departure. Maximum 1 baggage* per person i.e. Camera bag water bottle jumper (Extra luggage* allowance on all extended tours (1 pp – personal effects) NOTE: We cannot guarantee that you will see kangaroos emus or any wild animals on our tours nor wildflowers as they are seasonal. For MasterClass workshops extended tours and international travel policy please check our website or individual tours.

 

Tour Guides

Our tours leader is Martial Fatton – Blue Tongue Tours Owner/ Operator, however we reserve the right to provide a photographer of our choosing, which we guarantee is competent of their position. Your assigned photographer might change from initial notification until the tour departure due to illness, engagements or any other reason deemed necessary by Blue Tongue Tours, not limited to the photographers listed on this site. While we do our best to match you with a photographer of your choosing if requested, for these reasons we cannot guarantee a specific photographer for an individual tour.

 

Inclement Weather Policy

In the event of inclement weather, before the tour commences, you have the option of a) continuing the tour as planned and we’ll do our best to concentrate the tour to areas sheltered from the elements. At prior request, we can provide an umbrella. Or b) rescheduling the tour at no additional cost (availability permitting). 

Itineraries are subject to change depending on weather and other circonstances beyond our control. Changes in the itinerary are always made to provide the best possible experience and safety of our clients!