Bill Hatcher Photography

Oman: Rub Al Khali 2

In Canada the Inuit have many names for snow. I suspect in the Empty Quarter of Oman the Bedouin have a hundred names for sand and the different types of sand. This desert seems to have every texture and shape. It's certainly a place I will have to return, but not in March when the day temps are in the low 40s c. That's around 104 degrees fahrenheit, but it's a dry heat.

No Teeth

Australia has a well deserved reputation for vicious and poisonous creatures. While I was walking on the Cape to Cape track on  Cape Naturaliste I came across this little guy, the Western blue-tongued lizard actually he's really a skink.

I am happy to report this species has no teeth and is non-poisonous, but I still wouldn't try to pet him. This one had a bad attitude and didn't enjoy the attention of a photographer.

If I were an elf this is a place I could call home, Boranup Forest, Western Australia.

Mesa Arch Canyonlands

I am working on a story about adventuring in Canyonlands. I was looking for an opening spead shot that kind of says it all about this amazing park. I didn't need to look further than Mesa Arch at sunrise. I got there before the photo crowds and despite the evening rain the morning was clear and sunny. You gotta like that.

Photo of the Week: Temperate Rain Forest

This was a photo I made last year hiking on a track above the Fox Glacier in Westland National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand. From the coastal plain looking up toward the green hillsides on both sides of the Fox Glacier you wouldn't even guess at the complexity that lies under the forest canopy. 

The forest around the Fox Glacier is a classic example of a temperate rain forest.The Fox Glacier region receives 4.7 Meters (185 inches) of rain a year! Where I was living in Colorado rainfall is measured in inches and 13 inches is an average rainfall in a year.  For comparison in Sydney the average rain fall is 1.19 meters ( 47 inches) a year and in Seattle the average rainfall is 1.09 meters (43 inches) per year. 

Pack Rafting part 2, Tasmania

Here the Dial's, Roman and Rome, set out from Lake Pedder, in the South West National Park inTasmania, for some pack rafting on the Anne River.  The Anne River is a steep creek that has only been boated three times in the past ten years so we knew to expect almost anything. The two days on the Anne turned out to be a classic low water level workout. Each day involved 12 hours of the hard labor of pushing, pulling and paddling our boats over countless rock bars, but we enjoyed some nice boating as well.The photo below is Rome Dial on the Upper Anne River where it drops at about 400 feet a mile. The Anne is beautiful creek boating at the right water levels. During our descent we tried to imagine how nice it would be if side creeks delivered us more water, but despite overnight rains this never happened. 

The first day we made only ten km as we were slowed by shallow water and the constant need to push or drag the boats over rock bars. 

View of the Tasman Sea from Windjammer Wall

This isn't a climbing shot, but it gives you an idea of the steep cliffs at Point Perpendicular. The climbing here is considered the best sea cliff climbing in Australia. We have to agree that the cliffs certainly put your right over the water. We climbed at Point Perpendicular on the only day I didn't bring a camera with me. On the morning I took this photo high winds kept all the climbers off the sea cliffs. But the wind didn't ruin the spectacular views on top of Windjammer Wall. 

Another canyoning adventure: Juggler Canyon

I have been told you know it's October in the Blue Mountains when the Waratah flowers are in bloom. These beautiful red flowers are the floral emblem of New South Wales, Australia. We saw lots of red yesterday on a canyoning adventure to Juggler and the Grand Canyon canyons near Blackheath. The La Nina rain cycle has hit OZ with a vengeance with about 150% of normal rainfall in October. 

On Friday the forecast was good so  Melanie, Rich and I went into the mountains. In spring the canyons are wet from winter rains and intense with color. As usual the most critical route finding was the initial hike to located the head of the canyon. Once we found the right canyon we knew it was five rappels to the end of the canyon.

On the hike into the canyon Melanie discovered why it's called razor grass. We soon had her hand patched and started down the first rappel.

 

The first rappel was a short nasty slime pitch of green goo. If we hadn't brought a rope we could have used a sled to descend this section. At the bottom of the ramp we were surprised to discover a sparkling pool of cold mountain water. Once the rope was pulled we were committed to the rest of the canyon.

We carried our wet suits because we intended to do the Grand Canyon after descending Jugglers Canyon, but on the fourth rappel Melanie took a bad fall and bleeding and bruised she had to limp out of Jugglers

The Tasman Sea

As most of you know Sydney is located on the south eastern coast of Australia with a excellent view of the Tasman Sea. I don't know if I have posted any photos of the Tasman on this blog, but then I am drawn more to the mountains, forest and deserts of this country.  Sydney's coast is a surfers paradise, but not on this particular winter day last month at Bouddi National Park north of Sydney.  

 

Tiger Snake Canyon canyoning

This past weekend I was invited to go canyoneering in the Blue Mountains. This canyonering trip was organized by the outdoor club from the  University of Sydney. Our destination was Tiger Snake Canyon. I was told this is a dry canyon meaning there would be no swimming. But on the first rope drop my camera was tucked into my dry bag because we had to jump from a ledge into a shallow pool. What dry really means when canyoning in New South Wales is there was still plenty of water in the canyon just no swimming or extended time spent in the water. 

 

What follows is a series of photos from the days trip. I decided to improved the miserable light in the canyon by using a collaspable soft box. The softbox was a curious thing to squeeze through the passages.