Welcome to my state-of-mind

Hello again!

Here I am back from the great trek west. And what a wonderful trip it was!

Caro and I travelled to the cobbold and copperfield gorges in western queensland. Control freak that I am I insisted on doing all the driving which amounted to 1000kms round trip, and 200km of that was on the most bulldust-ridden bone-jarring excuses for dirt roads you could ever imagine...the corrugations were so deep that I had to keep an absolute death grip on the steering wheel as the car tried endlessly to drift out on every corner. The dust was so thick it was impossible to see sometimes and not a chance of looking through the rear window! Then there were cattle on the roads and plenty of 50 metre long road trains that we had to get right out of the way of. It was ever so exciting!
Plus we were in the middle of nowhere on roads that noone travels on for weeks at a time, with no cell phone coverage and no one knowing our whereabouts...so I really didn't want to break down or get a flat..

The final insult at the end of one of these roads was a river crossing so wide and fast flowing my heart was in my mouth as I was waiting to get washed off the causeway, and just when I thought we had made it, there was a huge hole in the ground and the river nearly won! Going back was worse as I had to get through the hole and back onto the causeway...Poor little car got pretty rough treatment...And it's only a gammon 4wd with a mere 20cm clearance..

But when we got there it was all definitely worth it...how awesome to see these magnificent gorges with their luscent green waters and the plethora of wildlife that clusters around them...Such a vivid contrast to the horribly dry harsh country in which they lie.

Cobbold gorge was exquisite, but was only accessible by going on 'the tour' which was costly and a trifle boring in places. However once on the boat inside the gorge all was forgiven! I only wish I could have been there without the crowd, having a lovely nude swim..with the freshwater crocodiles, and the myriad shining fish..

We had never heard of the copperfield gorge until someone mentioned it in passing, so we took the shortcut (huh!) on the way home and I am so glad we did. It is completely undiscovered and totally undeveloped. No signs, no fences, no guardrails or warnings..and practically no people...my idea of heaven! And it is a huge gorge which is invisible until you are practically falling into it.

But this is where I suffered from extreme idiocy! I had been using the camera the night before on 3200ISO and forgot to change it back the next day. A combination of tiredness, blindness and stupidity meant that all my shots of the gorge are spotty as heck! I couldn't see the screen, couldn't find my glasses and etc etc but there is no excuse! Suffice to say IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN! I am going to post some of the shots anyway but y'all will have to forgive the poxy quality, despeckling just doesnt cut it.

Before I went away I invested in some good leather hiking boots and I must say they are the best thing I ever bought for photography..ah the freedom to race across jagged rocks and the surety of knowing I could scale the shale sides of the hills and stay surefooted..they saved the day when I had to make a huge leap across the nouth of the waterfall, and I was sooo terrified, falling down wasn't an option!

On the other side of things my tripod broke before I went away so I borrowed a friend's only to discover that it too was broken so I was reduced to kneeling in front of it...I can see why it is worth spending the megabucks to get a sturdy one, especially as the k20D is a heavy piece of work...

Anyway folks, if you're ever in northern Queensland pencil in the gorge trips, they are startling pieces of geology and awesome natural wonders not to be missed...

I hope you enjoy the images - bearing in mind that in cobbold gorge all the shots were from a moving boat with extremes of contrast to deal with...I had to pretty much point and shoot and hope for the best...they didnt cater to photographers at all..

Now it's time to get my gear ready for an early morning photo shoot I have with a pregnant lass who is keen to do nudes...it will be interesting as we have never yet met and I have no idea what she looks like although she sounds very nice on the phone...

Cheers mates!

Make the most of the moment