There’s a certain joy that comes with the preparation for a road-trip, adventure, or a week away. Deciding what to pack, what shoes to run in, making sure my camera batteries are charged, which outfits can be worn the most times without needing to be washed, making sure the snacks are packed and most importantly, that my Spotify playlists are synced offline. Off little notice, I pulled together a small group of friends for a trip down the south coast of South Australia to head over to Kangaroo Island. Earlier this year, Kangaroo Island experienced it’s worst ever bushfires. Half of Kangaroo Island (215,000 hectares) was scorched with the destruction of the land and agriculture being described as ‘apocalyptic’. I have fond memories of Kangaroo Island from my last visit 4 years ago, however, I was very intrigued to see how the landscape had changed since the fires. Aside from adventure, one of my main objectives was to create photo and video content for an event I’ll be hosting later in the year in Kangaroo Island.

 

Drone photos from Jackson Groves.

 

EXPLORING KANGAROO ISLAND

 

Before arriving on Kangaroo Island, I wrote a list of places I wanted to visit, photograph, and run through. We had four nights booked on Kangaroo Island and based ourselves out of an Airbnb in the middle of the island. I wrote out a brief itinerary for each day which consisted of a sunrise mission, a small adventure, run, and a cafe pitstop to refuel. As night came around, we made our way home for a group cook-up, numerous cups of tea, and hours of editing. These kind of days are my favorite as they combine the ingredients of training, adventure, time with friends, and creative flow. I find it hard to explain the joy of sorting and editing photos to my friends that aren’t photographers. There is something cathartic about sitting down with a cup of tea and tunes playing in the background as you look over the images collected throughout the day. Once sorting the images and choosing the ‘selects’ (best photos) it’s always an enjoyable process to sit down in ‘post-production’ and bring the images to the point where they are ready to be shared. Days like this remind me of traveling which is probably why I enjoy them so much.

 

 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

 

There were countless moments throughout the week that brought a smile to my face but there were a few standouts that stood out a little more. After a chill morning by Snellings Beach, we ventured down to the South to look at the red dirt roads behind Vivonne Bay. Upon arrival, we decided it was an ideal place to do our running session for the day. I had a 30-minute ‘pick-up’ run which meant I had to increase the pace I was running in 10-minute increments. Jackson and Declan dropped Nathan and I off to do our warm-up before we took off to do the session. As Nathan and I ran along the dirt roads, Jackson drove alongside us with Declan hanging out the window taking video. The red dirt road was perfect to run on as it was softer than the bitumen roads but more responsive than running on grass or trail. For a runner, it was a dream to run on. In my mind, I imagined I was in Kenya running on the red dirt as the professionals do.

 

 

After a big day of adventuring, each night I would gather kindling and logs for the fire. The simple process of building and starting the fire was calming and relaxing. It was pleasant to switch off from technology and listen to the crackle of the fire as I sipped my tea. I don’t take moments or weeks like this for granted. We were also incredibly lucky with the weather, as it can sometimes be extremely windy in Kangaroo Island during July.

 

 

RAVINE DES CASOARS – FLINDERS CHASE NATIONAL PARK (KANGAROO ISLAND)

Check out the vlog of our run that Jackson put together.

 

WHAT’S NEXT?

 

I get this question a lot and this week I have an answer for you. I’m about to knuckle down and work on the event information so it’s ready to launch. If you like running and are looking for an opportunity to better yourself, keep your eyes peeled. I won’t say too much more for now.

Enjoy the collection of photos below, we had a lot of fun shooting them!

Kind Regards,

JL

 

KANGAROO ISLAND GALLERY

Photos were taken by Joshua Lynott, Jackson Groves, and Declan Hartley-Brown.

 

 

 

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