As the sun rises, the awe-inspiring domes of the Bungle Bungle massif are reflected with unwavering precision in the waters of a pool at the end of Piccaninny Gorge. Weathered over millennia into amazing formations of banded stone, the domes rise like a stupendous city in the remote north-east of the state. This pool, photographed at the end of the wet season, is likely to last only a month or so before the arid heat dries it to bare rock. But in the meantime, it awaits the dawning of a new day, adding tranquillity to the harsh world it so delicately mirrors.