Remote Australian outback adventure
I was holding my camera over my head as I walked through the freezing water that quickly deepened and was now up to my shoulders. After only a few steps further the water was at my chin and I became quite anxious, as swimming with my heavy camera gear could be an issue although it was safely encased in a waterproof knapsack together with my warm clothes. I had to strip down to my bathers earlier and I kept my sneakers and socks on to walk through this 80- foot narrow water passage.
About an hour before my hike commenced, I awoke to frost on the tent and now my good friend Peter McCafferty and I were deep down in the Hancock Gorge, in the shade and in the water. It was both cold and invigorating. Fortunately, I was now near the shallow end of the stream-bed that I was walking through and neither Peter or I had to swim or tread water. The next part of the trail proved to be challenging as we had to spider walk( with both hands and feet) through another narrow part of the stream and then over very slippery rocks. The effort paid off as we entered into a magnificent cavern known as Kermit’ s Pool, where we started to take some photographs, as the lighting was perfect. The wind was whipping through this
Peter McCafferty Entering the canal underground
Shooting Star Panorama, Karijini National Park, Western Australia Photo by Barry Epstein
BARRY STEVEN EPSTEIN- PhotoAutobiography DRAFT 137 of 156