FAVOURITE MARYSVILLE & MOUNT BUFFALO PHOTO SPOTS
Mount Buffalo sits high in Victoria’s Alpine region, inside the stunning Mount Buffalo National Park. It’s one of my all-time favourite photography locations. I was first drawn there by striking images of the Cathedral—a dramatic granite peak rising from the alpine plains. It’s the kind of place you return to again and again, chasing that perfect mix of light, weather, and season. I’ve hiked to the Cathedral twice so far, and I’m already planning my next trip.
On the way, I love stopping in Marysville, tucked into the foothills of the Yarra Ranges. The town was devastated by the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, and the bare, ghostly tree trunks that still line the hills make for powerful, haunting photographs. And if you’re a waterfall person, both regions are packed with incredible spots.
(B) Marysville
Marysville is a beautiful foothills town and a perfect base for exploring the Yarra Valley and Lake Mountain. Think rolling vistas, lush waterfalls like Steavenson Falls, and sweeping viewpoints such as Keppel Lookout. But for me, the real draw is the stark, ghost-grey forest of bushfire-burnt trees—thousands of them standing like matchsticks across the hills. It’s haunting, powerful, and impossible to forget.
My favourite view is east of town along Marysville–Woods Point Road. The images below were shot with the long end of my Olympus 12–100mm, compressing the distant hills to reveal their intricate, repeating patterns
Keppel Lookout
Keppel Lookout is my favourite spot in Marysville at sunrise. It overlooks the town and surrounding hills, and it’s only a 10-minute drive from town—perfect if you’re staying overnight. From the carpark it’s just a few steps to the main viewpoint, but if you’re confident on your feet, the cliffs below offer even better compositions. A wide-angle lens works beautifully here, with filters as needed. In March, the sun rises from the left of the scene, giving gorgeous side-light on the cliffside plants and long, dramatic shadows stretching across the valley.
There are heaps of great little waterfalls in this area. Perhaps the most famous is Steavenson Falls. There are viewing platforms for most of these, but it's always a little bit more interesting to get down amongst the rocks with some ND filters to slow down your shutter speeds to create images that are a little more interesting.
The image on the right is a gorgeous tree BURSTING with colour at the Crossways Historic Country Inn as you turn right onto Woods Point Rd leaving town to the east. This was shot in November, so keep your eyes open for foliage at different times of the year.
Lake Mountain
Lake Mountain is just 22 minutes from Marysville, and while I imagine it’s heaving in ski season, I’ve only visited in the off-season. I went up on a cold, wet, fog-soaked afternoon and hiked from the carpark to the peak in about an hour. Even in bad weather, the place was atmospheric and full of potential. I’ll be back to explore it properly—and I’ll share more once I do.
Mount Buffalo National Park
When I've come up to Mt Buffalo, I usually stay in the beautiful town of Bright. There are heaps of accommodation options here, lots of cafes, beautiful trees and hikes in the surrounding area. It's around a 45 minute drive in to the Cathedral, you can also stay at Porepunkah, which is around 5 minutes closer, but with less options. I've stayed at both Bright Motor Inn and Elm Lodge, both of which are reasonably priced, comfortable options.
(C) Cathedral
The Cathedral at Mount Buffalo is one of Victoria's iconic photography spots. A lone stack of granite rocks standing at one end of a plateau. The nearby Hump offers stunning views of the stack with the plateau and hills in the background. The variability of weather conditions combined with compositional opportunities from boulders, trees, perspectives mean that you are guaranteed to come away with some wonderful images. The rock itself is halfway along the 2km Cathedral - Hump walking track. The track is fairly elevated so it may take 20 minutes or so to get to Cathedral depending on your fitness.
The most iconic shots of the Cathedral are taken from the rocky area below the Hump lookout point. Once you reach the Cathedral, continue up the track & you will see an open rocky area to your left. If you leave the track and explore this rocky area, you can find lots of great compositions looking down onto the Cathedral. You can create leading lines using the rocks, you can frame the Cathedral using living or dead trees. You can also choose to continue up to the Hump where you can get some absolutely stunning views down onto the Cathedral and a 360 degree view of the surrounding areas.
For some unique views, there's also some great images to be had on the reverse side of the Cathedral looking back up towards the Hump. There are some cool rocks on the plateau that you can use to frame the Cathedral. Depending on the season you could also find some alpine flowers and plants to incorporate into your compositions. You will get different conditions as the seasons pass, from snow, to water, to dry browns and oranges.
If you're lucky, you can get some amazing sunrises and sunsets here, lighting up the clouds in a breathtaking, sublime show
If you're shooting at sunset, I recommend you pick out a landmark tree or distinctive rock that can guide you back to the trail. Don't forget to bring a head torch as it will get really dark, really quickly and you'll want this going back down to the carpark as the path can be indistinct in parts in the dark. This goes for sunrise shots too, where you may be hiking up in the dark.
(D) The Hump
The Hump is another 1km from the Cathedral, which takes you to a peak that sits above the Cathedral and gives you some stunning 360 degree views down onto the Cathedral and the hills around.
(E) The Horn
The Horn is Mt Buffalo's highest point. It's around a 10 minute drive further on from the Cathedral. I would have to say from a photographic perspective it's not as exciting as the Cathedral-Hump, but it's definitely worth climbing up to take in the exhilarating view from the top of the park. If you're planning your time, I would do this climb for fun in the afternoon before spending time at the Cathedral. There is an observation hut at the car park which is pretty interesting and if you were here in the right light you could get some great shots. The climb to the top is not long, around 1.5km but quite steep.
Hikes Near the Horn
Back Wall Hike
Between the Horn and the Cathedral, there's a large car park called Cresta Valley. From the spot there are a number of great hikes that will take you across a huge variety of the alpine landscape. Obviously these are accessible only in the warmer months, as in winter they will be covered by snow! There are a few main hikes, one is Dicksons Falls, the Back Wall Hike and the South Buffalo Hike. The Back Wall and South Buffalo Hikes are each around 4 hours return. Dicksons Fall is around 1.5 hours return.
I've hiked both the Back Wall and South Buffalo Hikes, and whilst they are both great, the Back Wall hike I found more rewarding. Both hikes take you through a large variety of landscapes, from boulder strewn plains and bogs, to grassy meadows, to hills covered in bushfire burnt trees and boulders. Make sure you take plenty of water and snacks, because you will be climbing up and down the hills, and it can be heavy going on the knees, particularly if you're carrying a lot of camera gear! It can also get very hot in the sun, and the weather can change very quickly, so make sure you are dressed appropriately. At points the trails are barely marked, with only footsteps of previous hikers to follow. I lost the trail on a number of occasions! If you are going to try to make the end of the trail for sunrise or sunset, you must bring torches and take care, it can be VERY easy to become disoriented at dusk and in the dark with hours to hike back in pitch black. Make sure you let contacts know of your plans.
When I was at the Big Drift in Wilsons Prom, visions of Tatooine were flying through my head, going through these hikes I was having visions of Mordor!
Buffalo South View Hike
The Buffalo South View Hike is more about the destination than the journey. The scenery along the way is mostly boggy valleys between small hills on the way to an outcrop from which you can see the Horn, the Hump and the Cathedral in one stunning vista. The hill at the end of the hike was ravaged by bushfire, and makes for a dramatic and eerie hike. The boulders at the top have been fractured and smaller stones exploded in the intense heat, which can be really interesting to see. The hike is not particularly hard, it's relatively flat for most of the way, only really rising towards the end climbing up the final few hills up to the viewpoint. Again, the trail is very lightly marked, and particularly at the end it's really, really easy to miss the trail and become disoriented. I missed the trail and had to double back at one point, so I was *really* glad I had decided to get back to the car before dark.
The day I visited grew quite overcast, which suited the landscape quite well. I had planned to stay for sunset but the cloud cover was quite strong, and I wasn't confident that I would be able to find my way back in the dark, so I left the crest to hike back to the car park before dark. I drove to the Horn for sunset, and was rewarded with some beautiful colours, but with my car about 50 meters away rather than 2 hours!
Ladies Bath & Eurobin Falls
There are quite a few falls in the area, two that I've visited are Ladies Bath and Eurobin Falls.
Ladies Bath falls is an easy walk and a cute little waterfall. There's a natural pool that you can swim in, and in the 1930s, apparently this used to be a popular spot for a dip on the long train trip from Melbourne before the final leg up the mountain.
The image on the right is looking straight on to the falls, which I find a little ‘flat’. This trip there wasn’t much water flow, so this angle really minimised the volume of water in the falls.
There is a better composition to the left of the pool shooting right towards the falls in a 'profile' view. That’s the image on the left which gives more interest and prominence to the falls. Don't forget to bring your ND filters to slow your shutter and smooth out the water, and your polarising filter to cut out surface reflections and down into the pool.
Crystal Brook Falls
Crystal Brook Falls is definitely on the stunning side of the waterfall ledger! These falls are really easy to access, only a short 2 minute walk from the road on the way to the Mount Buffalo Chalet. There is a handy viewing platform perfectly positioned for a great view, which for your safety you should definitely stick to. You can also access the falls and lookout from a short 2.5km walk called the Gorge Heritage Walk from the Chalet car park.
The Crystal Brook Falls lookout vantage point is from the top of the falls just before they cascade down the gorge beyond. The best time to photograph the falls is in the morning when the rising sun will light the wall of the gorge up. I've only been in warmer months, but in the winter this can be absolutely spectacular with white snow. The flow was quite low the day I visited, I imagine on a high flow day the water pouring over edge of the cliff, framed by the two cliffs on either side, would be spectacular to capture.
The Gorge
The Gorge is a quick stroll from the Chalet car park, complete with toilets, picnic spots, and a string of brilliant lookouts (with more on the way). Granite boulders sit right beside the car park—climb over them or wander around to reach the viewpoints. The whole area is safety-fenced for a reason: there’s a sheer drop below, so stay inside the rails.
If you’re lucky, you’ll spot abseilers working the cliff or a paraglider launching from one of the ramps. The lookouts face straight onto the gorge wall—the wall that catches first light as the sun edges over the horizon.
It was howling up here at 6am when I shot these images. The light changed insanely fast: the top-left frame was taken at 6:00am, the bottom-left at 5:58am, and by 6:02am the sun had already slipped behind cloud. The bottom-right image? Shot the day before at 8:20am—completely different mood.
Mount Buffalo Chalet
From Victoria's High Country.com.au "Perched on the top of Bent's Lookout, the breathtaking views stretch out over the famous Gorge. Built in 1910 by the Victorian Governemnt, the chalet was Australia's first ski resort, and has served generations of skiiers, hikers and families over the years it operated." The Chalet is currently closed, but has undergone restoration works, with an additional $3m in federal funding awarded in October 2020. The gardens and exterior of the building are available to inspect, and I found myself imagining it's visitors in the 1900s strolling around socialising after a day's skiing. After a quite exhausting weekend of hiking, I did take a moment to sit in the gardens and relax, breathing in the stunning aroma of so many gorgeous flowers
There is a very large car park and visitor area just below the Chalet, with toilets, picnic facilities and quite a few hikes that you could easily fit into a day trip from Bright. The car park is pretty much at the top of the Gorge, offering some stunning views across the valleys below.
Hikes Near Chalet
There are some great walks near the Mt Buffalo Chalet - near Lake Catani, and to Billsons Lookout. The Lake Catani hike takes around an hour (or you can just drive here). Billsons lookout is a fairly easy walk through beautiful bushland.
Porepunkah Plantation
Porepunkah is a laid-back little town just a stone’s throw from Bright, known for camping, canoeing and easy family stays. Across the road sits a massive pine plantation you can explore—though a 4WD is your best friend if you’re aiming for the top. Expect winding tracks, dead ends, and plenty of runners, hikers and mountain bikers grinding up the hillside.
One morning I crept up those switchbacks before sunrise and was rewarded with a valley glowing in deep pinks and reds. I’ve also been shooting a series on human impact in the landscape, and the contrast here—freshly logged slopes meeting a tidy line of plantation pines along the ridge—was impossible to resist.
Danny’s Lookout
After a weekend in Bright shooting Mt Buffalo, I followed the Great Alpine Road all the way towards Metung. Mt Hotham is only about 50 minutes from Bright, and the drive winds through some seriously beautiful high-country scenery.
I pulled in at Danny’s Lookout for a quick 20-minute stop. It’s right off the main road to Hotham village and opens up to huge sweeping views across the ranges. In the harsh midday sun the mountains felt a bit flat, so I hunted for alpine plants to use as foreground interest instead.
This whole area is packed with incredible hikes and views. I can’t wait to get back with more time—and better light—to really explore it.
Dinner Plane
Dinner Plain is one of those rare Alpine towns that feels more like a carefully designed village than a ski resort. Just beyond Mount Hotham, it’s a mix of snow-gums, bold timber architecture and wide, curving streets that seem purpose-built for wandering with a camera. In winter it’s all muted tones, mist and falling snow; in the warmer months the landscape opens into rolling high-country plains dotted with wildflowers and weathered huts. What draws me back is the quiet — even on busy weekends there are pockets of stillness where light filters through the gums or skims across the frost-covered grass, making it an endlessly rewarding place to photograph.
