Notes from the f ield
Adventure destinations don’t come much more exciting than
Antarctica. For writer and photographer Justin Gilligan, whose trip formed part of his prize for winning the 2017 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition, visiting the frozen continent was a bucket-list item. “It has always been a dream of mine to go to Antarctica, and this expedition exceeded all expectations,” he says. “A highlight for me was crossing the Antarctic polar front, a convergence zone where warm subantarctic water sinks beneath cold Antarctic water. From this point in the expedition, icebergs were a common occurrence and I just couldn’t get enough of them. Each had its own distinct shape, and I became lost in a visually complex, ever-changing seascape where blocks of ice the size of suburbs drifted without anchor.”
An equally thrilling expedition was in store for adventure photojournalist Justin Walker. Tassie’s Franklin River had loomed large in his life since the 1980s when, as a child, he watched the campaign to save the river from being dammed unfold on television and in the newspapers. Decades later, and as an experienced paddler, the opportunity to spend nine days rafting the
Franklin meant finally ticking this untamed waterway off his paddling bucket list. “I have been lucky enough to paddle some amazing waterways around the world, but whenever anyone asks me what my favourite river is, I simply say, ‘the Franklin’,” says Justin. “Paddling a truly wild and
free river through one of the world’s last remaining wilderness areas is a definite life memory.”
Writer Peter Meredith went on a rather less adrenaline-fuelled, but equally engaging, river journey in New South Wales. “I believe a journey through a landscape empty of people is one-dimensional. The people I meet on a journey add layers of meaning not just to the experience, but also to the very landscape itself,” he says. “So it was with my exploration of the
Macleay River with photographer Don Fuchs. The people who are part of that scenery, who survive and earn a living in it, who care about it and for it, who are active in its protection, who study it for its benefit were its major component. I was impressed by the knowledge and commitment NPWS rangers brought to their work; I was moved by Indigenous elder Aunty
Ruth Dunn’s depth of feeling for the river and her people’s struggles since European settlement; and I was inspired by coast and estuary officer John Schmidt’s passion for the river and its welfare.”
More waterborne adventures were had by long-time AG contributor Quentin Chester, who explored the remote wildernesses of our northern coastline from Darwin to Cape York with Coral Expeditions. “After 20 years away, it was an utter privilege to be back in Arnhem Land, especially on the coast,” he says. “The Saltwater People have such a rich history and the communities welcomed us warmly with their stories and art. Aboard the Coral Discoverer you’re travelling in such relaxed style it’s easy to forget how remote this coastline is. But it’s the premier way to access this region and the experience of the expedition staff really shone through.”
Among many memorable experiences, Quentin says his highlight was a simple pleasure: “The chance to cut loose into the stony rises on the Wessel Islands. To wander the craggy crevasses with rock figs overhead, fruit doves cooing and rock-wallabies scooting past was a super-charged moment – and so evocative of walking the fantastic escarpment country of Kakadu and the Kimberley.”