The outback of Australia is normally dry. Very dry!
April 2006 was near the end of the “Wet” and the Shaw River was becoming shallower.
We were unsure of the condition of the road surface beneath the water and I wanted some photographs. So I went through first.
Very cautiously.
Then I set up and watched the rest of the convoy come through.
It wasn’t really deep but the flow was definitely dragging the wheels downstream. I was standing in the water and even at ankle depth there was power in the water.
And so we all got through – and as the lead car reached shallower water, the driver speeded up, successfully splashing me!
I was able to shield the camera.
Ærchies Archive - Digital Detritus 
What a wonderful set of photos.
And a very exiting story!
Happy Weekend!
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……. and smiling at the same time – tee hee. I’m glad you managed to ford-ge ahead …….
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Ohhh those are really cool shots, archie!
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Water can be fun and wonderful or very scary!
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great catch for this week water theme. Mine’s up too hope you can drop by. Happy weekend!
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great post for the theme. Driving through water makes me nervous.
have a good weekend!
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Great photo’s glad you kept your camera dry! 🙂
view mine if you wish here thanks..
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Perfectly done for this week water theme. Happy weekend! Mine’s up too hope you can visit.
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This is a river that runs right over the road? On purpose?
Great shots!
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kinda scarey, but very cool. great shots =D
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Brilliant shots — scary!
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@ Daddy P, Did you outsource that?
@ byrningbunny, for 50 weeks of the year, that river is completely dry. Then it rains 🙂
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Great set of shots. I can only imagine how powerful the river is even when shallow. Have a great weekend
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Great water shots for this week! 🙂
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Great sequence shots! I could see how powerful the water flow was even though it was shallow.
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That looks WET! And I think I detect a look of unholy glee on the driver’s face!!!
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Awesome fantastic, different ones from what I have seen so far! brilliant PhotoHunting!
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That was a brave move indeed. Good story and watery as it comes.
Have a great weekend!
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Very daring of you to continue your drive through that water!
Nice pictures. Thanks for sharing.
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I love that first photo a lot! Wonderful perspective.
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It’s beautiful to photo shoot water running on a concrete road though in real it’s hassle for the motorist on the go…….But nice entry…. mine is here:http://bighuggable.blogspot.com
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Great shots of the trip across the flooded road. Excellent for the theme. Happy weekend.
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That looks exciting!
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You are much braver than I – I would not have tried to cross!
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almost worldwide
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That is unusual for Australia to have that much water… Have a nice weekend….
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Whoa! That’s a lotta water!
Thanks for stopping by mine 🙂
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I’m glad to see there is rain sometimes in that extremely dry place. These are great photos Archie.
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Fascinating series of piX. Glad your camera wasn’t splashed (naughty driver). ThanX for stopping by today via the hunt.
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Wow! I like water, but not on the roads.
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That must have been so strange to drive through.
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Those are great water shots! I would have been afraid to drive through it!
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Thanks everyone, just a few answers, The outback is normally dry – but when it rains it RAINS – and the rivers can rise to the top of that 2 metres sign in the space of minutes. Yet a week later the crossing will be dry again. The scary bit was not being sure of the state of the road beneath the water. I was also glad the camera wasn’t splashed and yes – there WAS a look of unholy glee on that driver as she accelerated past me 🙂
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The trick to driving through waters like that is to not go driving through waters like that.
The other trick is, if you just HAVE to go through, keep your foot on the gas so that the water doesn’t block the tailpipe and stall the engine. Keep your windows open.
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I had a visit from that lady with the unholy glee on her face … today, actually. She is well. And you really should find a copy of the one which proved how strong that water can be … show your shots of the Nullagine and the ones that happened last week! Comparison is everything!
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@ Bunk, all vehicles in this convoy had snorkels. Sometimes that is the only way to get around this giant country 🙂
@ Buff, you mean the incident from last weekreported here?
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Wow. We’ve had a lot of flooding around here so I know how dangerous and scary that is
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As mentioned in the news today, the Philippines is being battered by a strong storm.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080622/ap_on_re_as/philippines_typhoon
Flooded streets like the one in your photo are every where here now..
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This is quite a familiar scene from where I am. Good thing your rides are quite sturdy.
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WOW! Luckily you managed to shield your camera. Otherwise… ahaha….
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Nice story with the photos.
Parts of US is flooding, others have water restrictions.
Crazy weather!
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thanks for dropping by….that how it is australia eh? 🙂 o well, hope ur weekend was good. 🙂
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Great idea for the theme. When I visited Australia I went camping in Cairns and there was the most terrific rain storm while I was there. We got completely washed out and had to stay in the washrooms overnight with hundreds frogs and other small creatures looking for somewhere safe.
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To all my Phillipines readers, take care and I hope you are not washed away.
misty, Indeed – and we don’t even need nearby rain to do this. It may rain 400-600Km away in the catchment area and two days later the flood suddenly appears downstream. With no one in these vast distances there is little warning!
Vic, you were lucky nothing larger and more slithery dropped in for a snack 🙂
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I like how you approached this as a photo journalist.
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Very cool photos. I really enjoyed visiting your blog.
This was my 1st photo hunt. 🙂
Suzanne
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