We set out on this rafting expedition in February 2024. There were 10 of us including the two guides, two boats, and a couple hundred kilos of gear and food. We set off from the Collingwood bridge and the first day was about rafting down to the Franklin River. The expedition then followed the Franklin River for 11 days until we made it down to the Gordon where we were collected by boat. The days were physical and mentally challenging, and I realize how "I didn't have time to get scared" is such a good descriptor of this adventure. We had two incredible guides who knew the river like the back of their hands and we all had full trust in them to take us down the "5th most dangerous river in the world" safely! The beauty of this river is impossible to explain and I could have spent months just taking it all in and photographing it. I am so grateful that the Franklin is protected and still untouched. Here are my favorite images from the trip.
The above photo James took at the Nasty Notch with my camera and I love how it makes the water look like glass.
The below images are from Irenabyss, which was the first point the river became completely still. We camped at Irenabyss for two nights and hiked up Frenchman's cap.
These images are from the Frenchman's cap hike. I didn't get to the top, I strained my feet during training and Geoff taped me up so I could get halfway. I think I turned around at 730 meters vertical or so. One day I will come back and hike all the way to the top!
These following images are my black and whites from the Frenchman's hike. I was really looking forward to taking this mountain in monochrome and I love how they turned out and how dark and moody they are.
The valley you can see going through the mountains is the Franklin River.
This little creature is a quoll! This one has a walk through our camp site and I was happy to get a photograph of them!
This photo above is a rapid (I believe this is the Churn) which was too sketchy to raft down and hence our guides took the boats down without us in them. You can see the difference in the river above and below. The changes were so drastic and we had moments where the river was big and dangerous and loud only to pop into complete stillness moments later. It was so cool.
These photos are from the Coruscades, to me the most magical place to camp on the river. Above photo is looking back up river and below photo is looking down river. The landscape is so much larger than it looks in the photos. The boulders were so large I really struggled to climb between them, I really wish someone else would have been awake so I would have had a person in the shots for scale.
Below photos are from Rock Island bend, the most famous spot on the Franklin River. This area was photographed by the great Peter Dombrovskis and his photo became the campaign photo for the protest which ultimately ended up saving the Franklin river from being dammed. We stopped here for lunch and I got to photograph it too, my goal here was to emulate Peters swirly water.
Of course I wanted to photograph this spot with James and Geoff in it. Geoff, who was one of the people in the campaign, and James Franklin, his firstborn who was named after the river. It was such a full circle moment that they got to experience the river and this adventure together. I am so lucky that I also got to come along!
This is at Newlands Cascades where we slept under the overhang of the rock you can see on the right. It was a little claustrophobic at first, laying under such a large piece of rock but as it started raining in the evening it got really cosy to sleep in such a warm and dry place. You can see James below.
This is from our last campsite on the Franklin, called the Madagascar. The stars that night were gorgeous.
Below images are from the Lost World Slot Canyon, one of the wildest places I have ever experienced. We hiked upstream through a hip deep creek in a canyon, and it felt like we were in a prehistoric place. I can't believe they almost flooded this which would have destroyed it forever!
Lastly, this is the group of brave individuals who were part of this adventure, From the left
Front row (all the people in red jackets): Geoff, Therese, James, Pauline, Ash
Rear row: Kevin, Blake, Dan, Dan, James
It was such a pleasure traveling with this great group!