Bill Hatcher Photography

Sea Kayaking on the Shoalhaven River, NSW Australia

This weekend Melanie and I had two free days and the weather called for rain. We decided the best avenue for exploration was to see some new country from our sea kayaks.  Melanie and I headed south from Sydney 2 hours to paddle the Shoalhaven River Gorge in Morton  National Park.

Paddling a kayak on the quiet reservoir waters of Lake Yarrunga past stands of dead trees is not normally my idea of high adventure, but we have wanted to check this place out since last year when we paddled the Kangaroo river, the major tributary to the Shoalhaven. This was an overnight trip, but it took only a

Warren National Park, WA

On my second day exploring WA I saw this view of a Karri forest with the iconic red dirt road. Most of the old growth Karri forest of WA has been cut down, but a few big stands still remain in a few National Parks and some isolated trees in state forest. In the later part of the 1800's when the trees were being felled the wood was shipped back to the European markets and used as paving blocks for roads in London and other cities. I heard that they still dig this wood up in the streets of London. 

This impressive stand is just above the Warren River along a one way road through the park.

Perth, Western Australia

I am back from Western Australia and decided to wait to post images from WA since I was too busy to post on the road.

I only spent a day in Perth, this city is said to be the most remote big city in the southern hemishere. The photo here is looking at the city sky line on the banks of the Swan River. Take note of the cycle path, these cycle and walker dedicated paths are everywhere in Perth.  That gives this city big points in my book. I was up and around exploring the city for a couple of hours in the morning. Not much cycle traffic in the city at 5 in the morning. They don't recognized day-light savings out here so sunrise is at 5:10 am. That means i have to be up at 4 am to catch the sunrise. It's going to be some long days for me while I am out here.

This is my first time to Western Australia so there is some country to explore. I have four days to myself before I leave for my assignment into the bush. The first stop on my tour will be the Southern Forests of WA.

Yellow Boat

I usually don't get excited about new gear unless it's the latest new camera, but I just ordered another new packraft from Alpacka, I have two now. I plan to pick it up at the Alpacka shop in Mancos, Colorado and I'll have it just as the temps start warming up for boating in Australia.
The new boat is yellow and has yet to be named. Any ideas for a name that doesn't include the word banana or lemon cream puff?

This is packrafting in yellow boats on the Picton River this past year.

Photo of the week: Murrumbidgee River

Sea kayaking upstream on the Murrimbigee River past a big red gum tree lining the bank near Gundagai, New South Wales. In places the strong river currents would grab the bow of the boat. Going upstream was a practice of eddy hopping to avoid fighting the strong currents in the main stream. Paddling down stream was much easier, you just needed to watchful and not wrap the boat on submerged logs. Photo was made using my Nikon D-3s with the 24-70 2.8 at 24 mm.

 

 

Murray River after the floods

I just returned from my second visit to the Murray River in Victoria. The Murray is Australia's longest river and the level of the river is just dropping now after many months of flooding.I wanted to see for myself what the river looks like after the flood. Many areas are still not accessable by road so a boat is the best way to view the river. The photos here are of the river red gum trees that line the banks of the Murray below Barmah. It was remarakable to see the tangled root systems of these tough old trees.

 

 

Broken Hill

Click the link below or (here) to view images I made for a story feature Broken Hill: After the Rains published this month in Australia Geographic magazine. The Australian outback around Western New South Wales and the Darling River Basin look very different now following months of local heavy rains and flood waters flowing from Queensland. The best part about this assignment was the chance to witness a once in a lifetime phenomenon and a desert transformed. When shooting the aerial photos for this story I discovered every dry lake bed filled with water, the rivers over their banks and the red desert turned green. And it appears the continued flooding in Queensland will bring even more water to the desert. 

 

Weather and Photography

Next Week I am loading up the sea kayaks for a trip down south. I'll be spending five days on the Murray River. I am excited to spend time on this river which is Australia's longest river. Plans while exploring the Murray include a chance to paddle through the recently declared Barmah National Park, located 40 kilometers upstream from the river town of Echuca. This park protects a remarkable forest of river red gum trees that are the iconic tree of the Murray River. These red gums require periodic floods as part of their life cycle. Currently the Barmah is in flood and a boat will be the best way to view the forest.

Of course before leaving on any trip I check the seven day weather forecast and I am pleased with the report. The chance of rain is 90% during my entire week on the river and in the Barmah forest! I am excited for this weather because it means there is a higher liklihood of good storm light and better saturated colors in the rain soaked forest.

Being on a river during a storm is a great photo opportunity since storms often follow river basins and can be the catalyst for dramatic and quick changing light conditions. My last experience with river storm light was just last month while packrafting down the Huon River in Tasmania. I've included two photos I took during that trip. 

As we paddled down the Huon River I would try to position myself  between my two packrafting mates, Roman and Cody Dial. This position allowed me to shoot a boater both downstream and back upstream. That was the perfect place to be when I saw this remarakable rainbow form above Cody downstream. I stopped paddling and was able to shoot a few frames of Cody as he continued downriver. 

Then I waited for Roman to appear. As I sat in my packraft the rain moved upstream, the rainbow faded and I was soon getting drenched as the cloud passed over me. The cloud continued upriver and just then the sun broke through as Roman came in sight. The sun illuminated the rain drops perfectly against the dark forest.

I was able to frame Roman in the corner and fill the rest of the photo with the falling rain drops. I guess that is what's called getting lucky with the weather. My fingers are crossed that I'll have the same opportunities on the Murray.

Photo of the Week

When I started this blog a couple of years ago my intention was simple to post stories from my photography adventures downunder. Originally I planned to post something from an adventure once every couple of weeks or so. I am changing that focus a little by adding the "Photo of the Week". This might be a photo taken during the week or a photo I've pulled while editing images from a recent assignment or filling a stock request. "Photo of the Week" is a chance for me to share something cool that I saw or photographed during the week-look for it on Monday or if you live on the other side of the dateline Sunday. 

I will also continue posting my regular adventure stories.

The photo below is my first in the "Photo of the Week" series. This is a photo I made yesterday in Marramarra National Park. Melanie and I were paddling home after an overnight kayak trip to explore the Marramarra Creek that flows into the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney. To get this shot I climbed a tree to find the right composition for this unique stand of mangrove trees at the entrance to Big Bay. The trees are about to be submerged by the rising ocean tide.

camera Nikon D-300s lens 16-85 3.5-5.6 @ 16 mm   settings: 1/80 sec.  f7 iso 200

Packrafting the Franklin River Tasmania

I am just returning from packrafting the Franklin River in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park in South West Tasmania with Roman Dial and his son Rome. The Franklin River is Australia's equivalent of the Grand Canyon for its sense of remote wilderness and challenging boating. We took 5 days exploring the 100 kilometer long canyon from the confluence with the Collingwood to Sir John Falls on the Gordon River. Click here for Roman's video from the adventure.

The rivers fast moving waters offer kayakers, rafters and especially packrafters with day after day of challenging white water. Our first camp, perfect for three people, was the Huon Pine camp ten kilometers down stream from the Collingwood-Franklin confluence. The Huon Pine that is this camps name stake is over a meter wide and is estimated to be almost 1,500 yeas old. This Huon, seen in the picture above, has a perfect view of the Franklin and grows just above the high flood zone 18 meters above the river level .

Scouting river left on the lower rapids of Thunder Rush in the Franklin Rivers Great Ravine. Our portage around this rapid involve a high portage requiring some fixed line and a short rappel back to the river.