14th April 2024

The above photo I took back in 2020 and is the image that pops into my head when I think of Behana Gorge. Beautiful trees arching over the crystal clear water flowing below.

As we all know in late 2023 Cyclone Jasper brought widespread flooding to the area. That flooding damaged both nature and the infrastructure that humans use as they attempt to control/harvest it. I believe the metal wrapped around that tree was washed down from the water plant during the floods.

This location is not far away from where the raging water in early 2023 inflicted injuries on my friend Petr that would later take his life. On this day I was making my way to spend some time at Petr’s spot.

It’s was a very hot day and I decided to as much as possible walk in the water to my destination. As I passed this corner I came across this overturned tree wrapped around a bend.

From another angle you can see that the tree has been uprooted whole. Even the large rocks inside the root structure were carried to this corner. It indeed appears to still be alive.

In the middle of the stream directly opposite the overturned tree are others that have managed to hold on and over time been shaped by the water flow. These trees would have been totally submerged during the flooding.

When the water flow was too strong for me to walk in I made my way through the bush. Here driftwood has accumulated en masse. Some of the rainforest vine like trees act as nets catching the driftwood as it passed down the overflowing river.

I have been visiting Petr’s spot for years before his accident and on my way in I usually pass this tree. The above photo was taken back in March 2021. When I first saw it I thought it might have been the largest piece of driftwood I will every see…….deposited a fair distance away from the normal water flow.

Fast forward to 2024 and Jasper has deposited and even larger tree next to it. I cannot imagine the force required to move a tree that size.

On arriving at Petr’s spot I sat and relaxed with a cup of hot chocolate and enjoyed the afternoon. It really is a stunning part of Behana Gorge.

I was joined by a few birds but without my long lens in my camera bag this was the best I could do. The bird on the left I believe is a female Shining Flycatcher. The male is pretty much all iridescent blue-black and I remember seeing the two together. The bird on the right is a Forest Kingfisher.

My birding lens has now come back to me after repairs so on my next visit I might take it in and just concentrate on the birds.

Of late I have had a sport related neck, shoulder and back injury. The 25kg camera bag days are no more for a while so it may be the only lens I take in if I choose birds.

With the chocolate finished I played around a little with compositions for different photos of this spot. On a previous visit I took some photos from up in the trees so I started climbing to try again. This very heavy piece of driftwood lodged high up in the branches highlights how much the water rises.

That day would result in a not so desirable first in my relationship with Behana Gorge. When I arrived home I noticed two large spots of blood on my jeans. I had for the very first time in Behana Gorge hosted a leech. It had made its way up my shoe and inside the leg of my jeans. There it stayed until full of blood before dropping off and leaving my leg bleeding. Leech bites are itchy for days for me :(