It’s been a while between posts and, even though I haven’t put in an appearance here, I have been busy working on a million projects…honest!

After spending a fantastic Australia Day aboard the True North I was keen to try out some of the sharpening techniques that Nick Rains discussed and, with all of the storms that are flying around Australia at the moment, I thought this image was fitting. (Pleased with the result on the hi-res file…it’s hard to see the effects with this squished up jpeg!)

It was taken last year on our hike up Mt Kosciusko, the very top of Australia. There was a storm rolling in, we were kitted out in our warm waterproof jackets and hiking boots and I grabbed this shot on the way up. On the way back down we could barely even see the hut, never mind photograph it so, like many others before us we took refuge inside Seaman’s Hut until the worst of it had passed over.  We sat inside munching beef jerky and yearning for a hot cuppa. There’s a visitors book inside full of messages from other hikers who have made the trek from Charlottes Pass, some caught in snow storms, some spending the night so that they can be at the peak for the first dawn of a new year and some just looking to take a 5 minute break from the 18km round-trip.

It was built in 1928 as a sanctuary for travellers after Laurie Seaman and Evan Hayes died on the mountain in 1928. They were skiing on the mountain and were caught in a blizzard and probably didn’t stand a chance. The hut was built by Seaman’s family as a shelter to help prevent further deaths on the mountain.  Although we were in no danger that day it was still a very welcome sanctuary for our weary, wet bodies!