Luke Vandenberg

Home
Australia
Melbourne, VIC
Luke Vandenberg

Australian film-maker, adventurer, farmer who loves to take his kids on experiences outdoors, teachi My name is Luke Vandenberg.

I am passionate about taking my children on wild adventures and teaching them life lessons through story telling and nature.

05/10/2025

Some shots of my latest merch!! All goes towards helping the channel.
You can find the Link in my bio, or visit thebeardedbushranger.theprinterbar.com
If you are interested in stickers then send me a direct message or email [email protected]

03/10/2025

Well I've finally done it! Some merch is now up and available to purchase. Link in Bio
First of all these are design concepts I came up with that I wanted to be happy with and would wear myself. The shirts are 100% cotton and I'm happy with how they came out and the quality of the shirts!
You can find the Link in my bio, or visit thebeardedbushranger.theprinterbar.com
This is a great way to help support the channel and get something in return! This is just a beginning step and from here I would like to look at selling some more specialty bush crafty stuff!
If you are interested in stickers then send me a direct message or email [email protected]

22/09/2025

Some photos from my new video.
Inspired by the mountaineers of the late 1800s and early 1900s, I head out with Leigh to the Bluff in the Victorian High country, to test ourselves in heritage gear and how this kind of equipment performed for the old timers. Video out now on Youtube.

16/09/2025

4 years ago I headed out on my first ever snow camp with my eldest two children. For a coastal boy this was new territory. We all shivered the night away (at -7.c) with cheapo kmart styled camping gear. I was a rookie and it showed, but a new interest was sparked.
One year later I rolled up a good sleeping bag into a swag and headed out with my mate to explore 3 days of remote backcountry in the snow. This has been a yearly tradition now every July, and the following year (2024) saw me head out again with him, with a mixture of modern plastic lightweight gear, and some waxed canvas stuff.
But I was inspired by those Canadians doing snow survival camps with no sleeping gear, so that same year I did my first winter survival night sleeping out in the open by a fire to keep me warm.
This year of 2025, I've managed to head out 4 times in the snow, determined to do it with only traditional style gear. Canvas, wool, leather etc I wanted to prove this year that you can easily get by snow hiking and camping without the modern stuff, and do it just like old mountaineers did. Including hot tent camping for the first time with , traditional gear survival challenges with no sleeping bag and exploring hidden huts. This last week I headed out with Leigh from to test out a prototype chair frame pack of his, we spent 3 days climbing the bluff and had some pretty awesome alpine conditions. The idea being that I was inspired by the hikers and mountaineers of the late 1800s and early 1900s. I now feel fully confident to hike and camp in cold wet snowy conditions in our high country, but also feel locked in and comfortable to do it with only heritage gear. This is entirely possible and is a wonderful way to camp.
The mountains and the alpine country will continue to be a place I go for adventure. 2025 was a great season, and I'm looking forward to how I can push it even bigger and better for 2026.
Video will be up on Sunday, so stay tuned.

24/08/2025

New video on the bearded bushranger channel.
This area of the high country had a lot exploring during the early 1900s, including a track that was commissioned to be cut through the mountains as a way to connect mining and logging towns, as well as access for early tourists. As a result, little shelters were built as a place of refuge in the cold winter weather. I explore one of these remaining relics of history in a hut that feels lost to time. It was bloody cold out here on this night and I really only had the hut and the fire to make sure I could get through the night.
Video up now

09/08/2025

Some images for my upcoming film / documentary on the history of the Australian whalers. This may be my favourite film on the channel I've made so far. Not because it was some epic adventure, but the amount of research I did before hand to really dig deep into the life of an early whaler in this country had me learning a lot and appreciating the struggles those early pioneers went through.
I spent 3 days camped near portland, a historic whaling settlment, with my boat looking for migrating right whales. I used only traditional camping gear, clothing and food that a late 1700s, early 1800s whaler could of used, as I look more into this unique history of our country.
Max Collwell writes in his book 'Whaling across Australia' The average person, if asked to name the creature on which Australia's first industry was based, would almost certainly say that it was the sheep. He knows more of the exploits of John Macarthur than of Captain Thomas Melville, and yet Melville pioneered an industry which was just as important as wool. People are more familiar with the deeds of Ned Kelly than they are with those of Captain James Kelly, who faced as much danger in his forty-nine day voyage around the Apple Isle as Captain sturt did on his voyage down the Murray. Collectively the exploits of our whalers were a part of 'the great reaching out' which filled in the outline of our coast and put dots on our remote interior. Land explorers set out in search of new pastures and settlement followed. Whalers reached out in search of new whaling grounds and settlement also followed.
Video will be up on my youtube channel.

20/07/2025

New video up on the bearded bushranger where I head up to the Vicco high country in the middle of winter with and
We spent 3 days in the tipi hot tent and cooked up a feast, and hunkered down with the snowy weather that hit us. It was a great trip full of laughs, banter and awesome scenery.
Make sure you check it out.

10/07/2025

Just came back from a 3 day trip into the heart of the Vicco high country with a couple of legends &

Thanks to we were able to test out the tipi stove tent and put it to the test. I couldn't recommend this type of camping enough! Especially when you can sled your gear in on a tobbogan, and you have some pretty crazy weather to endure. And we had almost every type you could think of .. From drenching cold rain, calm blue skys, gale force winds, and heavy dumps of snow that made the drive out this morning a wee bit sketchy.
A great trip and a good video to come.
Photo taken last night when the moon actually came out before the big dump of snow started to hit.

06/07/2025

New video on the bearded bushranger youtube channel! I head out for a night in the snow to get through it with no tent or sleeping bag and only heritage gear a stranded stockman might have on them.

22/06/2025

I bought a traditional wooden rowboat / sailboat. 5 goals in 5 years. A while back I posted how I had 5 goals over the next 5 years related to the bearded bushranger and outdoor adventures. These were goals I wanted to achieve that would make me rather more competent out in the bush, or a new skill got to do with how the old timers explored this country. Well I recently purchased myself a wooden Dingy. Something I have wanted to do for a long time. I've done a bit of canoeing and lots of kayaking, but I wanted something that would suit the heritage feel of the bearded bushranger .. A water craft to explore the lakes, rivers, estuary's, bays and inlets in. It is also a sail boat, and next up will be to take sailing lessons so I can utilize this thing to the full. I just put up a video on my youtube channel where I take this beauty out for an overnight camp and talk about some of the history of boating in Australia. Have a watch.

08/06/2025

I love visiting old tin shacks still standing from a bygone era. Or looking at old photographs of the iconic tin bush hut often used during the gold rush era. I made my own tin shack on the farm and recently camped out in it during a storm, doing some improvements on the fire place and chimney. New video on the channel for anyone interested.

21/05/2025

A few weeks ago I went up into the mountains for a few days to explore the peaks, valleys and high-country plains. I was inspired by the first bushwalking clubs of the late 1800s and early 1900s, who popularized the idea of heading out to the bush for a few days camping and walking. These men and women were pioneers in their own way, perhaps being the roots of the 'lightweight hiking' movement in Australia. I wanted to camp with only gear, clothing and food that these men and women had available to them as they explored the bush over 100 years ago. I went deeper into the history of our bushwalking culture in Australia and experienced what those old timers went through back in the day.
Video on my youtube on Sunday.

Address

Melbourne, VIC

Website

https://www.youtube.com/c/LukeVandenbergFilms

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Luke Vandenberg posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Luke Vandenberg:

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company in Melbourne?