Yup... that's what beer feels like...
This evening: the mud of Morecambe Bay...

I wonder if ducking out of the frame as soon as the flash had fired would have helped.
Here's a self portrait that I took last night. Holding still for the 15s exposure (after the flash) was a bit tricky and caused a weird shadow with my hat, but I still like it
Have you tried setting your flash in "second curtain" mode? Intead of firing at the beginning of the exposure, it would fire at the end of the exposure.
Rear curtain fires the flash at the end of the exposure instead of at the start.
It wouldn't make a difference in this case. The shadow is because there is light behind you. When you move slightly you block that light and under expose that portion of the image. The flash freezes you so there isn't blur but the background is what's throwing off the image. This is why there isn't a shadow in the lower portion of the image where there isn't a light source behind you.
I thought about that, but wouldn't that just cause me to ghost with the long exposure (I suppose if the flash exposes it enough you might not be able to see anything through). Next time I go out it's something I may experiment with.
Have you tried setting your flash in "second curtain" mode? Intead of firing at the beginning of the exposure, it would fire at the end of the exposure.
Thanks for clarifying. So would there be a way to get a similar image without the shadow by doing anything other than "hold VERY VERY still"? I'd be curious to know what the best workaround is (if it exists).
Acearchie is on the right track.The ghosting only really occurs because your head is every so slightly moving during the exposure with such a relatively bright background. If the flash fired and you ducked I think you would get away with minimal ghosting especially since I assume there is little or no illumination on the hedge due to it being backlit.
Nice one! Colours look fine, a fine effort especially considering you have no ND filters.
What are your impressions of Australia? - how are you coping with everything being backwards and opposite?
Not really C&C but a few more ideas for while you're here:
Sunrises beach shots (the sun rises over the ocean on the east coast).
It's a great time this time of year, sun rise is around 7am, with all these clouds around you could get some good colours if it's patchy.
Pretty wet weather with massive swells at the moment, could get some good wave shots from a distance (not long exposures), just be careful.
Ocean rock pools. There are heaps scattered along the east coast, the hand rails often provide good leading lines.
Bonus if they have hanging moss lit up in the sun.
Light houses, jetties, boat ramps, etc.. are a few more ideas.
Hope you're enjoying your holiday!