BEST National Park in NSW, Australia? Camping, camp fires, stargazing and hiking EP8

On our #biglap we roadtrip to the #WarrumbungleNationalPark, arguably Australia’s most epic mountain range to climb mountains and capture astro videography.
If you’re into van life, own a caravan or just want a laugh, on the road we put on a show of how not to tow a caravan. Our caravan DETACHES FROM OUR CAR mid drive!! Thank god we had a high lift jack.
The Warrumbungle National Park in New South Wales is Australia’s first dark sky park, meaning it’s one of the best places in Australia for astronomy and stargazing. Dunc literally KZbind “how do take Astro videos” yesterday and the end result is very cool.
The mountain range was formed over 17 million years from an active volcano and the jagged rock face made for an interesting climb / hike up. We chose the Breadknife and Grand High Tops #hike, we can highly recommend.
Enjoy!!
We’d like something to show the grandkids, so we’ve set ourselves the task of making videos of our Australian travel adventures weekly. If you want to follow along and see if we love (or hate) not having a routine or more than 6 metres of living space…or if you’re just looking for holiday inspiration, then SUBSCRIBE!
Dunc and Soph x
Follow along on Instagram - / ifnotnow_ds
Music by Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsou...)
Maps created using Google Earth Studio.

[@louisaklimentos7583]

This is amazing !

[@IfNotNow]

Awww thanks Louisa! It really is a beautiful national park. Definitely worth the visit!

[@evdoxiakarakasidis271]

After viewing Bread Knife hike and that the night sky, I totally forgot about the caravan drama. This episode is sheer MAGIC!!!

[@IfNotNow]

Thanks for such a cool comment! This episode certainly didn’t start the way we thought it would 😅😅 if you haven’t been to the Bungles you definitely should!

[@Vinceventuring]

Warrumbungles is so high on our bucket list. I looks awesome there. Glad we found your channel so we can follow along with your adventures ❤️

[@IfNotNow]

👋 mate it’s so good. We were only there for 2/3 days so managed just the one full day hike and we’re itching to go back and hike some more. Plus now Duncs got an FPV drone which would capture some sick footage in the Bungles. Hope you manage to get there, it’s definitely worth it and Mudgee and Orange are worth the visit to break up the drive.

[@ianem5134]

Loving the channel!! The videography is extremely good 😎 Can't wait for more eps to come out

[@IfNotNow]

Ian Manhuyod thanks so much for the feedback, that means a lot as we’re learning as we go. The next vids shouldn’t be too far a long now :) wishing you a great week ahead.

[@nickhayley]

We just got back from the 'Bungles, ourselves! We really loved the breadknife hike! If I had stayed for longer, I would have pushed myself a bit more and gone a bit further. Sitting back after dinner, looking up at the sky was intense! In about 15 minutes I think I saw six satellites pass overhead. Cheers, Nick

[@IfNotNow]

That sounds epic. The night sky is incredible out there isn’t it! Once you get away from city lights we love staring out at the stars and watching for shooting stars. The hike is cool isn’t it, so much variety in the landscape. We’d love to go back and do another couple.

[@JohnPettienne]

So lucky with the hitch where it came off. We have a do35 hitch on our van. I will be triple checking it every time from now on. Stay safe n have fun.

[@IfNotNow]

We know! It really could have been so much worse. Although now we triple check the hitch each time too.

[@ypravindra]

Damn night sky video/photo graphy. I am obsessed with star photography, you did very well. Thumbs up

[@IfNotNow]

Hey Ravindra, Thanks heaps for messaging. Considering it was our first time attempting to shoot the stars we’re pretty please with how it turned out. We’re still trying to work out how to know in advance which way the milky way will move so we can get a good composition... at the minute it’s a bit of a lucky guess 😅

[@CamKhmer]

love your channel, you guys done amazing videography....well done keep the good work.

[@IfNotNow]

Thank you so much guys :)

[@stevelewis2444]

Great video guys, definitely deserve more subs, keep up the great work

[@IfNotNow]

Thanks heaps Steve. We think so too 🤣😉

[@DanRoach]

Man you guys are lucky with the van given how much worse it could’ve been! That night sky time-lapse was 🔥

[@IfNotNow]

Ahhh thanks DR! Yep, caravanning is a learning curve. As is Astro videography haha. Glad you liked them!

[@ulaa-explorewithmyfamily5801]

Stunning Astro video!

[@IfNotNow]

Thank you! Dunc learnt how to capture Astro the night before - how cool is it watching the milky way shift across the sky?!

[@kenwilliams5521]

I run the same hitch on my van. I however have always had it with the pin facing towards the van and it has never come off. I live by what you said in he video, green is good 🙂. I am enjoying your channel slowly working my way through them in order now.

[@IfNotNow]

That’s really interesting, we hadn’t thought about putting it on that way. From memory when we purchased the van the guys at Apollo / Coromal had attached it that way so we didn’t think to change it around. Good advice, we’ll give it a go. Also cheers for the message. I hope you’re managing to get out and travel still during the various lockdowns and restrictions? Safe travels 🦶

[@greghall14]

Thanks for sharing your “awesome” video guys, i truly enjoyed it. Safe travels.

[@IfNotNow]

Thanks Greg! Sadly we’re going to have a few weeks pause on uploading our next videos as we’re navigating a few tropical islands for the next few weeks and therefore won’t have access to computers etc to post / edit. Stay tuned for the next few weeks though :)

[@RobVanElven]

Just found this channel. Great shots and fun to watch the adventures! Happy travels.

[@IfNotNow]

Hey Rob. Thank you SO much for messaging. We thought that making videos of our travels would be such a great way to remember each place in vivid detail. And as a bonus we get to share how incredible this country is 🥰

[@sassy9734]

Stumbled across this video today, awesome drone photography of this hike and fantastic night photography for novices. We are headed there in a month and can’t wait! Although those steps done look fun😳

[@IfNotNow]

Thank you so much Sassy. The national park is honestly so stunning, we couldn’t believe that it isn’t more we’ll known. The walk is definitely definitely worth it, and you’ll get a glute work out that’s for sure. Hope you have fun x

[@amansidhu1816]

Great content mate, liked and subscribed. I do motorcycle camping and was looking for exactly what you delivered !!

[@IfNotNow]

Thanks heaps! Warrumbungles are pretty specky. A long ride out would be incredible.

[@seisum]

*If not now……….when* hits hard that name

[@IfNotNow]

Doesn’t it. It struck a cord with us, we found ourselves naturally saying it so often when we were deliberating to get on the road. Glad it resonates 😊

[@bobpfaff2258]

I had a horse float de-couple once with 2 horses in. It was a hire float before I bought our own float. What is vital is heavy duty rated chains and shackles.

[@IfNotNow]

Oh gosh, I hope the horses were okay? We’re you travelling at speed? We figured out that we must not hitched on properly as the green button wasn’t popping out properly as it should. We’ve learnt our lesson now 😅

[@aussiesimleague1631]

Great video. Magnificent landscape. I really liked the video although it's a shame some of the best footage is shot from a drone that is not permitted to fly within that part of Warrumbungle NP. A permit is permitted to fly a drone within Warrumbungle NP but this only allows a small area within the park. The area near or around Breadknife is a designated drone exclusion area. A permit to fly in that section of the park is not possible. Maybe a disclaimer is needed as will deter many people who see this and think its OK to fly a drone in that area. Thanks for the vid👌

[@IfNotNow]

Hey👋 We are glad you liked the video and appreciate the feedback 👍. We agree a disclaimer is a good idea to discourage others; however, Drones in national parks around Australia is a delicate problem to solve as lots of national parks have blanket, no drone rules with no ability to obtain permits. This is sad for videographers who love to explore and show off the best of these landscapes, and for Australia tourism as we know that these videos directly influence travellers visiting these national parks. That being said, often, after a conversation with rangers, they approve our request to fly in these no drone zones as long as we agree to follow their rules, which are usually the same as the CASA regulations, i.e. don’t fly close to people etc. Don’t get me wrong, if there are restrictions in place to protect certain wildlife, restrict access to indigenous sacred sites and keep people safe, I agree with educating and limiting access, cameras and drones like they do in Uluru national park but a blanket ban across many states in Australia feels excessive and restrictive, and dare I say, a little lazy approach to dealing with a new technology. I apologise for my lengthy response, but you have touched on one of the most frustrating problems we have faced when travelling and trying to do the places we visit justice when we post them in our videos. 🤙

[@aussiesimleague1631]

@@IfNotNow After seeing your footage I decided to apply for a permit myself to fly my drone at Warrumbungles in a few weeks time. This was the response... "Thank you for your application for recreational drone use in vicinity of the Breadknife in Warrumbungle National Park. Unfortunately this area is a designated drone exclusion area, and we cannot provide consent for recreational drone use there. Flying a drone for recreational purposes is prohibited in most of Warrumbungle National Park as drones may affect visitors, interfere with park operations or pose a threat to wildlife. In particular, there are a lot of birds of prey which nest and roost on the cliffs in the Warrumbungle's, and interactions between these birds and drones are likely to have a negative impact on the birds (and sometimes the drone). Flying a drone within the campgrounds, on popular walking trails or at lookouts may impact on visitors safety, expectation of privacy and enjoyment of the natural values of the Park." Not sure a conversation with park Rangers would have altered this view. But good luck to you for getting your flight in and showing everyone how spectacular it is.

[@misbah4716]

Dude this is absolutely amazing. Watched the entire video without skipping a part. Where is the stargazing actually located?

[@IfNotNow]

Cheers!!! The bungles are cool hey, we’d love to go back and do a few more hikes. Yeah I was pretty happy with my first attempt at an astro, not perfect but it’ll give me something to work on. We went up to the Siding Spring Observatory. It was closed to the public but we figured being next to an observatory would be a good call. So we just parked up near the gates 🤟😆

[@colinross6259]

Demanding walk, what a view, keep putting that drone up Dunc, I could've handled a bit more night sky, still good.

[@IfNotNow]

Cheers Colin. It was pretty windy but the drone handled it well and captured the bread knife well I reckon. Noted on the Astro - that took about 3-4 hours but we’ll see what we can do next time 😅🤙

[@stefangouws4473]

Hey guys, my wife and I recently came across your videos! Great content! I recently got the Sony A7siii and was wondering if you could give me some tips for shooting astro! Thanks 😊

[@IfNotNow]

Hey Stefan. Cheers for the message :) and for thinking my astro footage is worthy of giving tips 😅🤙 kzbin.info/www/bejne/joG5dnifjr-Eeas This was a video I found really helpful when I started trying to take photos of the night sky. That being said I usually find myself setting a 13 second exposure for most of my shots. If you are thinking of shooting a time laps then you will want around 240 shots which you can set in your interval settings on the Sony. Let me know how you go 👍

[@stefangouws4473]

@@IfNotNow Thanks for the great advice! Will definitely be trying it out on our next trip! Looking forward to your next video 👌🏼

[@IfNotNow]

Awesome. Hope you get some good shots. Also, next vid is currently uploading 🤙😀

[@jimmyintel]

Amazing photos

[@IfNotNow]

Thanks James!

[@vurhd]

Great video guys! What camera /lens/drone set up are you using?

[@IfNotNow]

Hey. We’re using the Sony A7iii mostly, with Sony E-Mount 16-35mm f4 FE ZA OSS lens, DJI mavic air and a go pro 8. Pretty happy with everything but looking at a longer lens too

[@vurhd]

@@IfNotNow Thanks heaps, looking forward to the next episode

[@IfNotNow]

:) next vid is coming in the next few days.

[@Jollyswagman7]

Speed bumps are for safety though🤔

[@IfNotNow]

Haha yes, the irony!

[@darynmck]

Did you have a permit for flying the drone in the national park, I was just there and as far as I’m aware its a no fly zone....

[@IfNotNow]

Hi Daryn. You’re right, some national parks across the country have restrictions or require permits. For the Bungles you can request a permit using this form: www.environment.nsw.gov.au/-/media/OEH/Corporate-Site/Documents/Policy-and-law/recreational-drone-use-application-form-190306.docx?la=en&hash=B9A3DBF5542F9B3135B4E6C65AA5196627E6E7A4

[@darynmck]

@@IfNotNow Thanks, absolutely aware which is why I asked, it just helps when people like yourselves can mention that in your comments etc because as you know, everyone will think they can fly anywhere and that our national parks become a free for all then that means all of us flyers will be stopped even more, and we don’t want that. I’ve just come across your channel, love my drones, love my Sony’s and love the Warrumbungles, keep doing what you do and enjoy your adventures

[@IfNotNow]

Ah yes very good point. We will aim to drop it into the videos / descriptions more often, also don’t want people to get fined for not knowing! Ah yes we love our Sony too. Keep adventuring and happy exploring!

[@graemestephens1894]

You need to find out WHY the van came off !!!

[@IfNotNow]

Hey Graeme. With the type of hitch we have, we realised that if you don't reset the locking pin and put it back on it can still come out green but not actually be locked. Now every time we make sure we reset the green pin and we haven't had the issue since :)

[@graemestephens1894]

@@IfNotNow Cheers .. something to look out for.

[@natsapasfamily]

First time watching your channel, great adventure and great video. Love it 🥰 May I please ask what camera you used when you recorded (the one you used when hike) thank you.

[@IfNotNow]

Ahhh thanks guys, really appreciate the message. Yeah we were using the Sony A7III and a go pro from time to time ☺️

[@bobpfaff2258]

Does you girlfriend ever help .

[@IfNotNow]

Ha. Soph’s a legend and does heaps, she’s just a bit more camera shy than me 😉

[@bonggakadong4319]

too much of you not the place

[@IfNotNow]

Hi Sana. Thanks for your comment + feedback. We're always wondering what the right balance of showing our life v showing the places we travel so this is good to know!