5m fall and being rescued out of a gorge...not so much fun!

---

We were up really early again to get on the road. We had a long drive ahead of us. We left Exmouth at 6:30am and we arrived in the mining town of Tom Price just after lunch time. We ate our lunch in the park and then stocked up on any supplies we needed. In the afternoon we drove the one and a half hours into Karijini National Park.

We were staying at the eco retreat out there which has all solar powered heating for the showers and eco tents with bunk beds in them. Is a really cool place to stay in the middle of no where haha. We all got changed and headed down to Joffre gorge which was right behind the tents we were staying at. Took us only a few minutes to get to the start of the gorge walk.

We were just starting to make our way down into the gorge when disaster struck. I was trying to get down onto the next ledge and must have lost my footing and could feel myself starting to fall. I don't remember the actual fall because I must have blocked it out of my memory. I don;t remember landing either but my tour guide, Beau, was by my side as fast as he could. He sent some of the group up to the reception at the retreat to call in the paramedics because it didn't look good.

You know in the movies when someone takes quite a fall and their limbs are kind of all over the place? Well I guess thats how I looked when I landed. I must have hit my head because it was bleeding a lot. Beau gave me his shirt and we put that on my head to soak up some of the blood. I was able to roll myself into more of a sitting position on the rock where I landed. But it was extremely painful.

Lots of others from the tour were there making sure I was ok and gave me water. There was no way I could get myself out of this gorge. Turns out that I fell about 5 meters! Pretty long drop and nothing cushy to land on but myself. The owner of the retreat made her way to the lookout that was on the other side of the gorge from us so she could check up on us and update us on the paramedic situation.

I think I was in quite a bit of shock because I couldn't stop shaking. Some workers from the retreat were able to come down and bring us some blankets and more water. The paramedics had to come from Newman which is 2 hours away. We were down in that gorge for quite some time. The first paramedics arrived along with the SES who are the volunteer rescuers. They did a quick assessment of me and luckily I was able to feel all my fingers and toes.

With the help of a few people I was lifted down onto a soft stretcher and then a hard stretcher was slid in under that. I was strapped down onto the stretcher and wrapped with some blankets. It was not the most comfortable position but we didn't want to risk anything. It had already turned dark and was getting colder. I was given some painkiller that you breathe in but it really only takes the edge off. I was also given some oxygen.

Then, my stretcher had to be moved all the way to the bottom of the gorge so they could bring me up on the other side. That was not so much fun. It felt like I was laying there for ages and I could hear rescuers all around me trying to figure out the best way to get me out. Quite a terrifying feeling thinking you are trapped down there.

Finally a guy was able to abseil down from the lookout to where I was. A plastic cover was attached to my stretcher to cover me from any falling rocks and my stretcher was tied up to the ropes. Ben, the guy who abseiled down would be with me the whole way up as the rescuers above pulled my stretcher up. We had just started to go up a bit when I felt the stretcher slip a bit and my head was pointing down and my feet pointing up and a rock was coming closer. I have never been so scared and helpless! Tied down to a stretcher and no control of falling.

Ben was able to stop me before anything happened and straightened out my stretcher. It was a slow climb to the top and quite a bumpy one as it is a gorge so I was in a lot of pain and kept hitting the side. All I could do was keep breathing and watch the stars getting closer. Finally we made it to the lookout where I was brought over the edge and then had to be carried up the steps to the waiting ambulance.

I tried to relax in the ambulance but I was still really scared. I was given more painkiller and more oxygen. The worst thing was i got a dry throat and had to cough which caused me so much pain. It was an hour ride in the ambulance back to the Tom Price Hospital. It was a bumpy ride which wasn't so much fun either.

Once at the hospital the doctor assessed me. My shirt had to be cut off of me. She determined that I didn't have any spinal damage which was a huge relief. But, she told me part of my head would have to be shaved so she could stitch it up. I was given proper painkiller and then taken for xrays. My feet weren't feeling so good either so they got xrayed as well. All my clothes were stripped off me to warm me up as they were wet from where I fell. I was taken to my room and had to roll from my stretcher to my bed which was so painful.

This is also when I realized I hadn't gone to the bathroom in like 8 hours. They wanted to wait until my painkillers kicked in but I couldn't wait. It was the longest, most painful walk of my life BUT I was so glad I could still walk. I was a very very very lucky girl because I fell really far. Once the painkillers kicked in I was able to drift into some sleep.

The next morning the doctor came to see me and let me know the results of the xrays. My feet were both ok, nothing broken but I have 4 broken ribs on my right side. No wonder i'm in so much pain! The tour guide and the owner of the retreat have both called to make sure i'm ok. Fiona (the owner) brought Ulli in later in the afternoon to bring me some of my stuff.

I have a private room at the hospital with my own tv and food gets delivered to me. I can get up using my own power and walk to the toilet but it takes almost all of my energy to do so and it hurts. But it could be worse so i'm in pretty good spirits. Telling mom and dad on the phone what happened wasn't easy.

I've been in touch with my travel insurance and i'm very thankful I have it and that they are covering me for this. It's been a lot of back and forth for me between the hospital and the insurance company but I wont have to pay anything out of my pocket.

The tour left on saturday and my accident happened on the thursday but I wasn't not feeling anywhere near ready to be back on the tour so they left without me. I did arrange to be picked up by the next tour that was coming through so I will spend a week in the hospital. Slowly but surely i'm getting better. Each day is getting better and i'm able to be up and walking around laps of the hospital.

---