With a break from the rain upon us, which coincided with the weekend, it was time to make use of our great outdoor playground. On Saturday morning the swell was having a break from resembling a washing machine, providing for a more relaxed bob for Lisa and the rest of the Peppy Plungers. I’m not entirely convinced she had enough time at home to restore her core temperature, before we were heading out the door. She was however as keen as I was to go for a wander, and the combination of her Buffalo and sun soon warmed her up:
We went to Ambergate Reserve. Being close to Busselton, where we would head afterwards, and allowing me to see what may be preparing to bloom. Similar to the Capel Nature Reserve there were positive signs, but I only found two orchids in more advanced stages. A single Jug Orchid (Pterostylis recurva), and a lonely Rattle Beak (Lyperanthus serratus) that had a bud but was yet to flower. While I wasn’t stopping quite as much as usual, Lisa was. Checking out the fungi because some of the children at her school are learning about it:
I did have a quick look to see if I could identifying the above one, but have given up and will leave the children to work it out. After a very relaxing and leisurely stroll we headed into town to get the weekly shopping. Rewarding ourselves with a feed, drink, and game on the foreshore, seeing we were not in any great rush to get home. The next morning it was me heading out in the dark towards the ocean. There was a hint that Ash may have been keen. It didn’t happen when he rightly chose to spend time with his better half, rather than with me on rock:
Despite no one being available, I didn’t want to waste the opportunity to hit rock on such a glorious morning. Wilyabrup was my choice for several reasons. There was a particular orchid, which I have only ever see here, that I was keen to hunt for. Also Howsie and I had been pulling on plastic holds in my shed on Friday, so I was a little weary. In fact my body has been giving me a few warning signs to ease of the training regime I have imposed on myself. Not enough of a warning to prevent me going out, but I do need to be sensible:
Walking to the crag, as the birds were welcoming first light, I took a right at the end of the track to get to the top of the Organ Pipes. Offering shorter climbs that are not too hard, and probably rarely get any attention from anyone else. Meaning that I would have the place to myself, not that anyone else was about just yet. The car suggested it was a mere 4 degrees when I started walking in, so today I was grateful for my Buffalo. The coldness of the rock still made my fingers tingle, and even in my climbing shoes my toes started to feel a little numb:
If only for a very brief moment I thought I may have found a bit of crag booty above. Belying my statement that the area is rarely visited. Sadly it was just an unusually contorted branch. And as I played on my chosen lines, the reason why people don’t climb here much was reinforced. The climbs are a tad runout, and the rock at times feels a little insecure. Not surprisingly quite a few of them are routes I have established. And based on the lack of gear, I climbed them at a time when I was obviously feeling more confident than I did today:
Six routes under my belt, I was packing up the gear a mere two hours after I had set it up. It was long enough for me to feel worked, and also spend time enjoying looking out at the calm ocean. Kinda in the hope of spotting a whale, or at the very least seeing a spout. A task that can be a bit like finding a needle in a haystack, and it was not to be, for today at least. Walking out I prepared myself for another difficult task. Needing to spot an orchid, which I have previously seen under the bush on the side of the track:
Need I say it was a slow walk out. Having almost given up trying to find the very small leaves, I somehow found the little colony. Taking the above image to remind me where to look next time. That will hopefully be soon, as one of the leaves had a bud getting ready to flower. Last year, the first time I saw these Sandhill Helmet Orchids (Corybas despectans), I was a little too late. The few in flower were withering and pretty bedraggled. Fingers crossed for better luck next time, and if there is good weather next weekend for a climb I think I know where I’ll be heading:
Sandbagged 