Being school holiday I thought I would take Friday off and have a short week. No reason other than it would be nice to spend a bit more time at home with the girls, and ease into 2020 more gently. On the flip side the weather has been good for a few days with off shore winds and low swells. So I took advantage of the conditions with three snorkels in three days:
On Friday morning while Lisa was out at cross fit I mentioned that I was likely to head out for a snorkel. I took a chance and messaged Geoff and Nana to see what they were up to and my luck was in they were home and keen to get out. Better still they were happy to drive past the point. I’d heard tales from several people about the great snorkelling here:
Straight off the beach it looked similar to where I go off my local beach. I was however greeted by a shoal of Robust Garfish. The extended snout and distinctive black spot give this species away. Not to be confused with the Southern Garfish, which is not found so easily due to over fishing. So much so that in 2017 and 2018 then banned people from fishing them:
Not too far out from the shore I was greeted by a sea of green, and there was no obvious end in sight. There was weed as far as the eye could see, the lush kelp was interspersed with many varieties of weed, the one that caught my eye the most being this plant that had fluorescent blue tips at the end of each leaf. It looked like a Christmas tree:
For some time there seemed to be no fish about. I spied the odd Wrasse playing hide and seek but not a lot else. Then it changed and there seemed to be fish everywhere. It started with huge shoals of bait fish, and then something a bit bigger. A large shoal of Southern Silver Drummer came past, and every so often would come back round for another look at us:
I also spied a McCulloch’s Scalyfin, an elegant looking fish that is more often than not solitary and while common round these parts are wary and keep a safe distance. I feel like they are also inquisitive, as they will watch you and poke their head out to see what’s happening, only hiding away if you try to get too close:
The reef in this area was mostly shallow but every so often, a crevice would open up and the walls would be covered in a variety of weed. Below Nana is sporting her anti stinger outfit, and while we didn’t see too many I think she maybe onto a good thing. Here we found a swim through, something I’m not particularly keen on mostly because I can’t hold my breath for too long:
Geoff however was up and down like a yoyo, not as covered up as Nana but he was sporting some robust gloves. He wasn’t afraid to dive down and stick his hand about in the hollows in case there happened to be an unsuspecting cray fish, not that he had brought a catch bag in case he had a lucky find. One was spotted but it was too quick and too deep in the reef:
While it was good fun to duck dive down and check out what lay beneath there was also plenty to see just below the surface. There were several large shoals of Western Pomfred. They were really well camouflaged by the kelp despite their large numbers, but when you got the right angle they created a beautiful mosaic pattern:
There was also large numbers of the Australian Herring, interestingly I can’t find this in either of my fish books. It is also known as a Tommy Ruff, but even that didn’t come up in the books I had. It is the fish that most people are after when they are fishing off the beach. It is not in fact a Herring like the in the northern hemisphere Herring, and is part of the Perch family:
I had to include this next image. While there were many shoals of small fish, these ones in particular caught my eye. Very distinctive colouration and body shape, but do you think that helps me to identify them! I have given up and am not sure what they are. The shape seems to me to resemble a Hulafish more than any other species, but the colouration doesn’t match:
I spied the above fish at the bottom of a deeper crevice, here the walls had a myriad of Sea Fans and this red one caught my eye. You can also see some in the image above. By now I was starting to feel the cold and my ability to duck dive down and hold my breathe was reducing, so it was time to consider making my way back in:
However I had to go down a few more times as Geoff spied a cray fish shell. They are known to usually moult once a year, although the frequency reduces as they get older. After shedding their protective shell two things happen, firstly they need to hide away until their new shell hardens up and secondly they become hungry and need to feed. A prime time to catch them:
Despite going out up to 150m, the reef can still be very shallow and there are even patches that stick out above the surface. This image was taken as I was making my way back in, I was hoping that these Cormorants were going to fan their wings to dry them but no such luck. Not wanting to disturb them I didn’t get any closer and wandered back in:
Back over the sandy patch before the shoreline I saw a small creature bobbing about in the water. It seemed to be waving it’s body back and forth to generate movement and was going up and down as well as along. It was not until it rested on my finger that I realised it had legs. I’m not convinced but it may be a Polychaete Worm, as they can have legs but usually more than this creature:
On Saturday morning Lisa and I headed out to meet up with the climbing crew. It was a great morning but she caught a bit too much sun so when I mentioned that I intended to go for a dip in that afternoons off our local beach she declined. As I got ready to get in I saw a pod of dolphins. So I whacked the flippers on and went straight out, and bingo timed it perfectly:
After witnessing the life beyond the point the little patch of reef that I visit so often now seems pretty drab. However, after seeing dolphins I felt like it had been a worthwhile dip. Then I noticed a whip like tail sticking out of a ledge. When I investigated a Stingaree that I think is a Sparsely Spotted Stingaree, due to the colouration and fringing white edge, popped out:
With two great finds already I was happy and I just bobbed about checking out what else may be lurking. Other than a few shoals of small fish, which I won’t even try to identify there wasn’t much else. I did run into a particular stingy bunch of stingers. So with a slightly sore forehead from bumping into them I decided it was time to head in, content with my finds:
Sunday morning Elseya was at work, so after dropping her off we met up with Esky and he drove both Lisa and I out past the point. A bit further from where Geoff and Nana had taken me. It was Lisa’s first snorkel this season, and in truth probably for a several years. Esky had his float and marker in tow, under which his catch bag hung in case he found crays:
The water was clear and immediately a Western Shovelnose Ray swam under Lisa and I and allowed us to follow it. We probably disturbed it as we swam over it, and we are lucky it didn’t bolt in a different direction. This allowed us to watch it for some time but eventually it had enough of prying eyes and swam away:
The reef here was extremely shallow, so much so you could stand up in the water. This suited Lisa as it was her first snorkel in a long time. The only problem with it being so shallow was that it was possible to seemingly trap yourself in the labyrinth that the reef created. And then had to work your way back out and around, which did happen to Lisa at least once:
Our next big fund was another Catshark. I thought it was a Black Spotted Catshark, but it is much darker than the previous one I found and the field guide doesn’t indicate that they can be this dark. Regardless of that it was a great spot by Esky, and Lisa was having an awesome first snorkel. She didn’t however fancy going out much further so we left her in the shallows:
The fish life increased as we went out, slightly deeper but still shallow enough in places to be able to stand up if needed. A shoal of Southern Silver Drummer’s stayed close, and in the clearer water the patterns on their face were much more distinctive. They again didn’t seem too afraid, I’ve heard they are not good eating so maybe it’s because are not at risk of being speared:
As I checked out mostly what was close the surface Esky was busy looking underneath, ever hopeful that a cray may be in reach. He had a weight belt on to help him stay down, something that can be, and I find is, tricky. That may be something that I could invest in, possible also a wetsuit which would keep me warm and allow me to stay out for more than an hour:
Again there were different types of weed to the last spot, the one that I really liked was this purple cabbage looking one. It was a strikingly different colour to the more common greens and reds, making it stand out. But also the leaf shape and clustering was quite unique, but not unique enough for me to be able to figure out what it was:
Finally an image of me as I was duck diving down to check out one of the many deeper sections. This was yet another great location and I can see that we are going to have to come out this way more often. There is certainly a greater abundance of life, more variety of locations and to boot also less people. Also Lisa has already expressed an interest in getting out again soon:
On our way back in I spied a coral that I liked and this is the last image. It was hidden under a cave and it was my last duck dive. I headed back in, as Esky tried fruitlessly to find and catch a cray. He came back empty handed. Lisa was already on the shore but had spied a Smooth Ray, Flathead and also what she thinks may be a tube anemone. It has certainly been great weekend in the water:
Sandbagged 