Natalie Hampel, The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side (Single Shot 2018)

Ken Duncan’s images have been my inspiration to visit the gorges at Karijini National Park and one of the main reasons for my travels to WA. I planned the trip to every detail and of course nothing went to plan. The afternoon we arrived, more than half of the gorges were closed due to rain. It was June and rain is very unusual at this time. The park rangers expected it to last 24- 48 hrs. Overnight it had flooded so much that in the morning they announced that every single gorge was closed as well as the 2WD access tracks and most unsealed roads. There was a mass exodus. Every single person left except for us and another couple. The camp site was silent. I was still hopeful I could go on a Photographic Tour though the Gorges and a helicopter tour at the end of the week. The forecast still showed the rain would clear, but as the days rolled on so did the rain. I put all my energy into this helicopter tour. It was going to be our only chance to see these gorges which we drove 1000’s of kilometers for. I was on the phone to the helicopter pilot every single day, multiple times a day. They said we only needed the clouds to lift for 2 hours to give us a window of opportunity. The last night of our stay I walked out of the dining hall and looked up into the sky and saw stars for the first time in a week! I screamed with excitement. The next morning I woke up to clear skies. Thankfully, I got my window of opportunity. I must have done something to please the weather Gods because several days later the helicopter pilot contacted me to let me know that after our flight it had been raining ever since!

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.