Day two of getting out, it’s shaping up to be a fun long weekend! Today would be a little different. For starters we were driving towards Busselton for a 7am meet which is late in my books, and secondly Lisa was joining us. As we drove the back way we passed the floodgates and here we found the biggest flock of pelicans I have seen. Not only pelicans but there were egrets lining the bank, and grebes and darters out in the water. We simply had to stop and take a picture, but sadly as soon as they saw us they started to move on, and then when I crashed in the undergrowth to get closer they dispersed even quicker:
We couldn’t hang about for too long as we were due to meet Lou and Glen, and as we carried on I made a mental note that I should one morning come out this way to do a spot of bird watching. We were heading out to a spot Glen had stumbled across while exploring the 4WD tracks and coastline, another reason today would be a little different. Glen, Lou and I had been talking about this place for a few weeks now, and today it so happened we were all three available. He drove in and got us to a parking spot with a view. From here it was a ten minute walk down the dune, through amazing limestone formations and over granite boulders:
I’d already seen images, and the boulders looked fun. I wasn’t expecting anything too hard, and indeed today was about very chilled climbing. Both Lou and Glen hadn’t been on rock in ages and needed something cruisy and laid back to gentle reintroduce them into the art of leading. This place was perfect, 6-10m high boulders with a few features but nothing looking too steep. How it would be for gear was yet to be seen, and there was a second gully that had slightly higher and steeper looking lines if these proved too easy:
Lisa was along for the ride, just to get out and watch the waves. So while she found a good spot to soak in the location and kick back, Lou and Glen prepared themselves for the first lead. I could hear the clinking of the gear as it was being pulled out of the packs, but my sights were set on the clear looking bay right in front of the boulders. The water looked calm. You could see there was a swell pushing in and based on my observations from yesterday I assumed this would only increase as the morning wore on:
With a leader and belayer sorted I was happy to leave them to it and put my head under the water. The bottom of the bay was covered in a weed that looked unfamiliar to me, I scoured it for some time waiting to see the flick of movement, slight change of colour or a shape that differed from the weed to indicate a fish was darting away. But nothing came to sight. The thick blanket of weed swayed this way and that devoid of any other life, as the swell pushed the water in and then out again. It deepened as I made my way to the reef that fringed the edge of the bay and I started to work my way along this:
A few familiar fish came to view including drummers, morwongs and sweeps, but were quick to dash under the cover of the ledges. I went down looking for them but they went in too deep for me to see them. The edge of the reef had narrow crevices cutting into it that looked to open up at the bases into caves, but with the swell it felt too dodgy to swim into them and duck dive down. After hunting the edge of the reef and ledges for some time, with no new or exciting finds I took a couple of images of the colourful array of sponges, bryozoa, and weed hanging onto the underside of the ledges:
The only other place I could think to try and find where all the fish were hiding was along the boulders. The water was certainly deeper here and it looked a great place for them to be shoaling, but it was also where the swell had the greatest impact and after narrowly missing being thrown against the granite walls several times I decided it was time to get out. Back on the beach Glen was atop the first climb, and Lou was following up. It seemed that it had taken a while to sus out a line , get ready and climb it. It was his first lead in a while so it was great to see, and chatting to them he reckoned no more than a grade 8 while Lou scoffed and said a 4:
The grades really were not a worry today, it was about rope work, placing gear and setting up belays. Lou was up next and fancied a wide crack. There was an off-width that Glen was keen to get her on, but she solo’d most of it before declaring it to be too much of a cake walk and plumping instead for this line. Again nothing too serious and similar to Glen’s lead in grade, but it did give a few more gear placements than the off-width had offered especially in view that we hadn’t brought a rack of size 5 and 6 cams along. Atop the boulder once more the belay was set up efficiently and it seemed that both of them still had the rope work and gear skills needed:
With a lead under each belt eyes diverted to a pocketed wall, it looked fun but would there be any gear? I played on it to check out what it was like, the big round pockets offered no jugs and all the holds were mostly slopers. Also the break at just over half height didn’t seem to provide anything that looked bomber, and there was no gear above or below. During the solo inspection I piked out left to a ledge, as the fall onto uninviting boulders started to get too big. Glen however kept looking up and was convinced there may be a bit of gear in the break, encouraging me to take a more direct line just a little to the right:
Sure enough he was right, a black tricam slotted in but it was right on the edge. I also managed to wriggle a 0.4 Camelot in with the lobes only just catching the rock, resulting in the lobes sticking out of the shallow slot. The move to get above the gear was the crux and smeary. With placements that were not the most inspiring, it took a few attempts to work out the moves and build up enough courage to go for it. Glen and then Lou followed up and the great grade debate began, we plumped for 16 but they both felt it was a very sketchy lead and not one they would take on:
Glen was then eyeing up what looked to be the crag, or should I say boulder, classic. A steep crack and flake line that looked to provide enough gear and holds to make it something he would consider. Racking up he used stepping stones in the pool below to gain access to the route, the low tide today was in our favour. The gear and holds to start were bomber and he seemed to be going not too bad. But I often say footwork is key and for this line it really was, a layback flake and the need to smear your feet:
He managed to get a couple of bits of gear in, but then had to fully commit to laying back with not much for his feet. He was visualising the sequence but couldn’t pull the moves, slipping off and proving that his gear placements were good. The line looked too good to leave, so as he sat below it looking up he offered it to Lou and the response was not surprisingly no way. So he offered it to me and I jumped at the chance. It was stellar line with good gear, but the steepness demanded commitment that was rewarded with improving holds. That said probably a 15. Both Lou and Glen followed up and they both made it hard work due to not committing to the footwork:
As a result the route had taken it out of them, and their arms were tried. So while we checked another line there wasn’t a lot of enthusiasm from either camp. While it may seem we didn’t do a heap of climbing, time was ticking along. This was a result of in-between the climbing there being a fair bit of chat, mucking about and exploring the area to look for possible lines worth attention. The sun was moving round and very little shade remained for Lisa to hide in, so we all agreed it was time to head out. The ten minute walk out was interrupted as we looked at possible lines and took in the views one last time:
The gear was in the back of the tray including Glen’s snorkelling gear and catch-bag which never got used, maybe next time. From the vantage point the cars that had been at Whaleback were still there. Possibly boulderers or maybe people just out for a fish. I’ve heard there may be some trad lines out that way too, and while the spot we had been today was worth another trip Glen and I talked about possibly checking out what may be at Whaleback next time. On the drive back food options were discussed and it was agreed most touristy places would be chockers and the wait would be horrendous. So we had a well-deserved the feed at the relatively quiet Shed Markets in Busselton instead:
Sandbagged 