Last weekend the tail end of a cyclone was due to make its way down the west coast with the threat of wind and rain. So before it was due to hit us I went out for a dip, in what looked like reasonably clear and calm waters. Our neighbour was fishing and said that only minutes before he had seen big schools of herrings pass by and there had also been a good sized pod of dolphins jumping about and playing in the shallows:
It felt cool, the water temperature is definitely going down, but the water didn’t look too bad as I made my way out across the sandy patch before the reef. Before I got that far I spied a Stingaree with a friend. I’ve yet to figure out what species of fish his friend was. Despite very distinctive markings, body shape and eyes I’ve not found it in my books. Often these little Stingarees won’t mind me duck diving next to them to take an image of two, but this time he didn’t want to stay still:
That said he wasn’t in a rush to get away either. So I kept going up and back down to check him out. Eventually his friend became too nervous to stay out in the open so popped underneath the Stingaree, and if it wasn’t for his eye you’d miss him. I did finally leave them alone and headed out to the reef but as the water became deeper I lost sight of the bottom and it seemed pretty pointless staying out looking into the darkness:
This weekend with four days off I had to give the waters another go, so I ventured back down yesterday. Just to show that I don’t rush down blindly in hope of seeing something underwater below is a strange looking fella that I almost stepped on. My guess is it’s probably a type of earwig, but it is the first one I have seen with this colouration and I have never seen one in such a defence position:
The water looked equally as ominous as the pincers above. Sure enough as soon as I was in I knew I was flogging a dead horse. Not only was the water cloudy with sand and particles swilling about but the weed was on its way in. That said seeing I had made the effort to wander down I stayed out for a while heading to where I knew the reef was a bit shallower… it didn’t help and there was very little I could see:
I did however come across a mob of little thumbnail sized jellyfish on the surface. They seemed to be in patches and looked to be a little like the stingers that are so annoying and can be a little painful. These however didn’t have the same long trailing tentacles. If you look carefully you can see a second one in the background and while I was careful to avoid them I did get a little too close on one occasion… they certainly were not the friendliest. So with stinging jellies about and murky waters I cut my swim short:
Today the sky was blue, well it was early in the morning but not by the time I had decided to risk another dip. This time I drove to the other end of Peppy Beach as the water there had on previous occasions proven to stay clearer than our end. Unfortunately I was proven woefully wrong as the image below shows. At least I got to see my faithful friends the Banded Sweeps and I also found a shoal of Western Pomfrey so it wasn’t a complete loss. I decided not to head out too far and stayed close to a few bommies, which were surrounded by deeper water that was thick as soup:
I get more nervous when the visibility is down, but in truth if something really wanted to make a snack of me the visibility wouldn’t make an ounce of difference as it would happen in a heartbeat without me being aware. I digress, and can say that despite the conditions I was very happy I went out as I stumbled across a nudibranch a species I have not seen before. Previously I have only seen the Harlequin species. I can’t find a common name for this one but think it is a Dendrodoris Nigra. The swell was pushing me back and forth and this guy was tucked away in a crevice, so while I got to watch him for a bit it was very hard to get a good snap:
If it looks calm and the sun is shining I might brave another dip tomorrow, but I already know that my hopes of clear waters are next to zero.
It had been a little while since we have had an outdoor social gathering, so seeing it was Easter the word was put out that for those interested and/or not working we decided to head to Welly Dam. It has to be put down as one of the latest starts on record. Steve was first to arrive soon after 9 and Justin got there 20min later. Lisa and I were next to arrive at 10, but within another 45min more people drifted in and we soon had a mottle mob in attendance:
Whether it was the fact that it was the Easter weekend, a late start or that people we munging out on hot cross buns (Steve note Lisa handing them out above) I can’t say. But whatever the reason it seemed like everyone was in more than usual casual relax mode and the sense of urgency to cram in the lines or indeed to even consider another route seemed lacking:
While I was not climbing today, as my last visit here had aggravated my shoulder a little too much, I encouraged people to tie in and take on a few lines. It ended up being one of the busiest times I have seen at Welly Dam, due to two other groups also turning up. So there were ropes everywhere. Some people had their first introduction to the fine faces here, such as Justin taking on and making easy work of the fine Pocket Knife:
With all these ropes going up it was inevitable that some stayed up as top-ropes. Every route that got led got a good workout with numerous people following up. One of the other mob had turned up from a bit further south and included Aaron, who while receiving my emails for a while now I had not till this time meet. The other group strangely tucked themselves away in a corner and didn’t interact with anyone else:
I usually have a reasonable measure as to what climbs people will have a good crack at and enjoy. But today I hadn’t accounted for the less than focused mood of the day and it seemed that on more than one occasion people could have accused me of sand bagging them. That included Denis who should have eaten up Rock Therapy, but instead did a bit of wavering and whining from the start till (eventually) the end:
Then there were those (well one person) who self-inflicted a sandbag on themselves. Wiggins had decided a few weeks back his next project was going to be the impressive Long Goodbye. Personally I reckon it is under graded and poses one of the most mentally exhausting challenges at the dam. The mantle at half height being one of the best and sketchiest moves in the quarry that can really mess with your head:
I couldn’t resist a second image of Wiggins on this route which he did get to the top of, but it took a lot of energy and a number of good falls. It was a solid first attempt at leading this route, and afterwards he admitted that it may take him a while to get a clean lead of this one. When he does he may need to finesse this section so he can make a more efficient clip. Despite what it may look like he was far from being in a solid stance and many watched him making the clip expecting a fall:
Several people were “getting back into it”, and so the opportunity to jump on numerous lines with ropes on them was ideal. Andrew, Lou and Alan all took advantage of the many lines and Andrew even decided to have a bash on a lead, that said he may have left it a little late in the session, as he enjoyed a fair bit of air time tackling his chosen lead:
Not climbing myself I was able to take a bit more time with my photography and while I have images of people on most climbs here, this time I could get in a few angles that I wouldn’t normally. When I arrived Steve had a rap on Savage Sausage Sniffer and he eventually jumped on it for a lead but said he wasn’t feeling that confident. It didn’t show as he cruised it all the way to the “Mikey pinch”, only to miss the pinch and attempt to use a less effective hold… one which sent him flying with the finish only inches away from his fingertips:
While Denis’s head wasn’t altogether in it he soldiered on and knocked up a fair few lines. It seems that he is no longer haunted by the memories of March flies eating away at his legs as he clung onto the holds, and he is back into liking it at Welly Dam. Today was in fact amazing no flies or mossies and the rock was in great condition, and yes Howsie despite the late start I even heard and say the Red Tails flying by:
As the day wore on the temperature was rising and the arms were feeling heavier and heavier. Even on top rope people were sitting back and work things through, slipping off holds they really shouldn’t and general not looking quite as committed as they had at the start of the session:
Even those leading seemed to be failing off routes they shouldn’t. Whippers were being taken left, right and centre. The concentration on faces was evident as they both worked out how to make the moves and battled with the nagging doubts of whether they were capable in their current state of weariness. It was great to see that despite the relaxed nature of the day it still took a fair beating before defeat was accepted:
It was a great day out, even though I didn’t do one climb, and after five hours of watching, chatting and eating hot cross buns it was time to head off and leave the die-hards to continue lounging about on the grass relaxing in the shade of the trees. I’ll leave it at that other than to say have a great Easter and on Sunday morning keep your eye out and you will be sure to find all those hidden treasures:
This morning 4:20 felt way too early to be getting up. However, within ten minutes I was in the car heading out at 5:45 rolled into the carpark. It was still dark a sure sign of summer being over and autumn being here. Denis and Justin were already there, so without further ado we shouldered our packs and started the short ten minute walk-in. There was very good reason for an early start here, as we didn’t want to local residents to be too awake during our visit:
We started on one of the more gentle routes at Wallcliffe, a nice long slabby route called Working Bee. Denis was all fired up and we didn’t even discuss who would jump on lead, before he racked up and was raring to go. As the image indicates we had timed things perfectly, light had started to come in during the walk in (it never takes long here) and by the time we were climbing dawn was well and truly upon us:
We pulled the rope each time and all three of us led the first route. It’s a fun line, nothing too serious and after today we may think a tad over graded. The rock was sharp, being a newer line on which the limestone edges had as yet not been worn down. After that route and with everyone a bit warmed up I suggested to Denis he jump Flow Selecta next, a definite bump up:
One reason for suggesting this was that as the morning started warm up I knew that the local residents would get more lively, and this particular climb crossed over a few of their homes. I’ve found that the bees here are pretty placid, and if you leave them alone they do likewise. That said it is best to climb here in the early morning, and preferably on cooler days when they are more subdued:
The location of the hives change yearly and you never know when a route will be out of action, and there had certainly been some changes since my last visit here which was in June 2016 with Kym. Denis had to do some off-line manoeuvres to avoid a hive half way up the bottom wall. He seemed very relaxed climbing round and at time over the hives (this one being in the pocket above the bolt):
He worked his way up the route, having to weave about a bit more than usual so he got pretty gassed. Luckily for him his go go gadget arms helped him past the crux, which is the short wall below where he is in the image below. Having got past the crux and steep lower wall he got to take a break and admire the view:
This crag is one of the few local south west ones that is not a coastal crag, it sits on the side of the Margaret River not far from where it meets the ocean. When the sun is out it hits the north facing wall early and becomes an oven. But today was cloudy and wonderfully cool, helping also to keep the bees in a very happy gentle mood:
Next up we jumped on Motion Builder, which is protected low down by a steep bouldery move over the initial roof/bulge. It’s a fierce move before the pace eases, but has the ability to sap a lot of your strength. At the top there is a left traverse, which today was right over a protruding hive. It was not a place to fall, so I didn’t:
Both Denis and Justin were showing signs of tiredness, which may seem strange as this was only the third climb. However, Wallcliffe is not a forgiving place, being steep and technical and for most routes pretty sustained. As such the climbs tend to have long sections of full on climbing with limited chance of rest, so will take advantage of any sign of weakness in your style or headspace and smash you:
Justin was pretty shattered and there would be no more leading for him, he had left blood on this last route and narrowly missed crashing into that bee hive at the top. It was a near and lucky miss. Denis however reckoned he may have enough to give one more climb a good shot. So what better than to put him on The Sting:
Being an older route it has carrot bolts, so he had the joy of also needing to fiddle the plates on before clipping the bolt. The first attempt on the first carrot was unsuccessful and the plate landed on the deck. So he had to go again, this time with the plate ready to use in his teeth:
This climb is un relenting and may seem harshly under graded, especially when you are fatigued as Denis was. It keeps you working small flakes and crimps on a steep territory, while continually needing to equally work your feet. Despite resting several time due to exhaustion, he confessed to really liking the climb. That was however only after finishing it off and getting back down to ground:
So with the two of them looking pretty worn out we decided to head back to the long slabby section we started on and do one more route, Borrowed Souls. Justin went up second opting to second rather than lead it. This route is probably one of the most gentle and relaxing at this place, read into that easiest but also in that the angle of most of it is very forgiving:
Denis also said he’d second it and looked pretty uncommitted when he first started off. That said he climbed it clean and I think the change of pace was a good way to finish the session off. Next time however I may have to push them a bit harder as there are number of high quality (harder) lines that are simply calling out to be climbed:
Last weekend we were not heading out anywhere so I had the chance to get into the water on both days. Saturday I wanted to check out a new spot along Peppy Beach so headed out early morning, only to be greeted by a bit of a swell and water that felt cold. It was not unexpected as the winds were due to be up all weekend. The swell made viability poor (as the image below shows) and also made it hard to stay in one spot for any length of time:
I did however spy not this fish, but the filter feather that is just below it. These feather feeders pop out their filaments to capture particles, but I have not until now managed to capture an image of one. They seems to be very aware of their surrounds and every time I have even got close to one it pops back into its protective home at lightning speed:
This was a doubly special moment for me as the damsel fish that appeared just as I took the above image is a fickle little fella that I have also until now not managed to get a decent image of. So I was very happy to capture the above and then below image of him, the fluorescent blue makes these fish visible from afar but like the filament feeders they speed into a hidey hole when you get close. I never use flash photography with my underwater images so what you see here is what I get to see, and note the feathery beast is now in hiding:
I also had a closer look at these plants, as the reef was fairly shallow in places I could get a great close up look. I’ve seen them plenty of times before but never paid them much attention. While it was a bit choppy the sun was out and the light in the shallow water was great, so it was the first time I noted all the filaments on these guys that make them look a bit ghostly:
It didn’t take long before I was a bit over being buffeted about so I popped my head up to check my bearings before heading back in. Just as I did so a gannet flew out of the water nearby and passed me by. Not sure if it was a sign to say time to head off, but I took it as so and headed in:
The wind didn’t relent for the rest of the day or the next morning and it looked pretty average out there. Then early Sunday afternoon it seemed to turn, and while being windy the bay calmed down. So back I went for an unusual afternoon snorkel, with the sun full on my back. I was pleasantly surprised at how clear it was. There were a heap of jelly fish floating along in the current, not stingers but these blobby guys:
I went a bit further out and I was stunned at how clear it had become in such a short time. The colour of the kelp looked amazing in the bright sun and these kelp covered bundies were shrouded with small fish, these being Western Pomfrey:
I also spied a tiny fish no more than a few centimetres long, I tried several time to duck dive down and creep up on it but each time it sensed me and frantically swam away. It quickly became lost from sight, as it merged in with the colour of the kelp beautifully. I had to include this image of it with its little bulging eyes. I reckon it was a very young box fish of some sort:
I continued on my journey and stayed out longer than normal with the early afternoon sun on my back keeping me that bit warmer. I didn’t see too many new things but did spy this beautiful delicate coral. I’ve not seen one like it before so spent some time duck diving up and down checking it out. Soon after I decided it was time to head in:
Lisa reckons that every day this week the sea has been flat as during her before work walk on the beach. When Saturday came and it was a total loss, high’ish winds and a reasonable swell making me decide to not even bother going in. This morning I was up and out early for a climb, so on the way back swung past the beach to find it relatively calm. Of course I went back and had a dip, while it looked calm the swell was pushing the water about manically and it was very murky, but I did find yet another filter feeder which had an amazing delicate looking pattern/shell:
Not sure of my chances of getting out next weekend, but you never know…
This morning Denis and I headed down to Willies to take Justin out. He’s over from California making wine for a few months, and admitted to being a bit rusty and only having climbed sports before. We got the base of the crag and I misheard Denis, as I thought he was keen to lead Hope, but he has as yet not come out of the dark side and today he was not keen:
So after leading Hope and letting the other two warm up, we threw Justin on the sharp end on Setting Sun. He romped up the line without a hitch and despite not having climbed in a while was looking confident and strong:
He also got to place his first piece of trad, rather than run out the last five meters above the final bolt. So he at least was prepared to come out of the dark side and even asked if there was a good trad line for him to jump on later in the morning:
Next I gently steered Denis to Pascals Route, in part as I had brought my big camera and in part as I really felt it was a line he would enjoy. He stormed up the lower wall opting not to place a cam and run it out to the first bolt. He then had to place his first ever bolt plate and got past the feisty fingers section of the upper wall:
The crux comes at the fifth bolt and I really thought he had it in the bag, looking calm and confident on the small holds and smeary feet. Until he slipped and took in some good air time hoisting Justin upwards off the deck:
He didn’t waste time and climbed back up, didn’t take a rest and climbed on making short work of the place where he slipped the first time. But you could tell he was feeling it as this image shows, maybe we bouldered a bit too long and hard last night:
He then ran it out all the way to the top, including the 3m headwall, without placing any cams because he wasn’t sure if he could trust his placements. Good job he managed the last bit otherwise it would have been one heck of a big fall. We will have to wait for another day to draw Denis into the light:
As Justin made his way up a pod of dolphins cruised past, but the boys were too focused to notice. We racked up another three lines after that by which time Denis and Justin were spanked, and it felt like a good time to wrap things up:
I passed the beach before going home to see a flat almost milk pond sea. So I couldn’t resist heading out to see what I might see. While I didn’t get to swim with dolphins I’m pleased I went out saw heaps of great sights including this sleepy stingray:
Last weekend as we came back to shore on the boat we crossed over what looked to be a good reef not too far from the beach. So the next morning I decided to head out there to see what I could see. This is the view I get before I brave the waters, you can see dark and light patches but it is hard to know where the reef will be, as the dark can also be a weed bank:
The first bit of reef I came across was very different to my usual spot where I snorkel. The water was a bit deeper and the reef was in the form of bommies. They look a bit like towers or mounds that poked above the sea bed, with deeper open water around them. It give quiet an eerie feeling as you can’t tell what may be lurking in the deeper areas:
This time the water was really clear and the visibility was such that I was prepared to brave it and keep going. With these types of reef the weed and coral growing up the sides is pretty cool and gives the sea bed a whole new dimension. The usual banded sweeps were quick to spy me and start drifting along with me, and if you look carefully you’ll see a small shoal of fish in the bottom left corner:
My knowledge of fish identification has really been tested lately, and despite having taken images it is often still really hard to be sure. I think the ones above were some type of cardinal fish. With the clear waters I braved going out further over the next open patch to get to another reef. As I approached it there was an obvious mass of fish. These ones I recognised immediately as gobble guts, in quantities I have never seen before:
It was amazing slowly drifting through these huge shoals of fish as they slowly parted to allow me through, without any sense of urgency or fear of my presence. Despite having seen these fish heaps of times I spent ages going backward and forward through them. Eventually I decided to move on and found another area where I was followed by a growing band of merry banded sweeps. It seemed that in this area the fish stuck together in great numbers, unlikely the small shoals I normally encounter:
As I carried on searching the area another sizable shoal came by. As they shifted direction the sun would reflect of them slightly differently resulting in a range of striking colours. Despite trawling through both of our 400 plus page fish books numerous times I am at a loss as to what these fish are, so if anyone out there has any idea I’d be keen to hear:
I was getting cool now and decided it was time to head in when another bommie caught my eye and this one was shrouded with western pomfred. Despite getting pretty cold I simply had to hoover about and again was able to drift through the shoal without them darting off. While this is the best image to show what they look like, it doesn’t show the mass of fish that ranged in size from a few to ten centimetres is length, so relatively young still:
I wandered back along the beach and waters resembling a milk pond. I was however too cold to be tempted back out, but I did sit in the water watching these three crested terns enjoying the warm sun, atop a bit of limestone reef sticking out with. Eventually I headed off as I had to pick Elseya up from work:
We are now enjoying a long weekend due to a public holiday on Monday and Friday being been a pupil free day, so I was home with Elseya. Yesterday morning Elseya and I had things on until late morning, and usually by then the wind would have picked up and the waters would start to get choppy. On this day however it looked like I was going to be in luck and risked going in despite the late start:
With the cloud cover the water was darker and murkier than normal, so visibility was pretty naff. I was however glad I had gone in as when I hit the reef a shoal of what I think were anchovy literally engulfed me. Bang went my theory that I didn’t see too many big shoals at my usual patch. Thousands and thousands of these guys were all around me. Whenever I duck dived down they would dart this way and that and leave me in a vacuum surrounded by fish:
I have to admit that I was hoping the big shoal would attract the attention of dolphins. It was not to be and after frantically following the cloud of sliver sprinters around for quite a while I let them slowly disappear in into the murkiness. As I passed over a small sandy clearing amongst the weed I spied what I thought was a large bodied sea star, but it was better. This is only the second tube anemone I have found. Luckily a break in the cloud occurred as I went up and down to get a closer look. This allowed me to get a few great images, which almost look like paintings:
The wind had picked up and the water was getting more and more choppy, and swimming against the current was becoming hard work. So I bailed. As I left the waters and looked back a reasonable sized pod of dolphins drifted by in exactly the same place I had just been, oh well maybe next time. This morning I went back out at my normal time of early morning. Lisa had gone to Pilates and Elseya was at work, so I took advantage of the blue sky and calm conditions:
As soon as I put my head under water a school of southern garfish was not far away. These guys mostly swim just below the surface and are very, very skittish. Whenever I have started to move towards them before they sprint away and I’ve even seen them jump out of the water to get away. As such I didn’t bother trying to following them but bobbed about waiting to see what they would do:
I was very lucky and they got really close, allowing me plenty of time to have a great look at them. This one is almost touching the surface of the water and you can see the reflection above it. While we have never done much fishing, this is the only fish that Elseya has caught off Peppy Beach. She caught one by the tail while reeling her line back in:
I moved out just a bit before I saw another shoal of fish, small white fish I can’t identify. I did one duck dive to get a closer look but found myself face to face with a heap of stingers. Check for the four darker tentacles behind each stinger below. The bottom was littered with stingers and there was no way I was going to hang about with them. So I left the fish (and stingers) alone and moved on:
There seemed to be a fair bit of activity this morning with lots of fish out and about. This is not the best image I have ever taken but I included it as I really like the brownfields wrasse. These slender green fish with a white underbelly (bottom left) have a striking colouration and always look amazing. Although the effect is a little lost with the weed behind them. The fish in the top right is a southern goatfish, a bottom feeder and another species that is quite skittish:
This is a humpback boxfish and is the first one I have seen. It is a fully mature male at 20cm long. Compared to most of the fish I get to see this one looked like a giant, and didn’t seem too afraid of me so I followed it for a while. Eventually I duck dived down and it didn’t swim off straight away allowing me to get this image. You can’t tell from this picture but the eye protrudes a fair way and from the side looks to be in a bubble, this made the fish look a tad comical and goofy:
I also found the familiar tell-tale sign of a crayfish, two long antenna poking out from under a rock ledge. I haven’t seen too many of these guys this year (other than those Brian and Esky caught last weekend), so took a quick image before it darted deep into its hiding hole. I thought I would include the image despite the murky water and poor image quality, in the hope that next time I head out I’ll come across a mob of them:
Just for a change from fish I also took a few images of some very colourful ascidians, or sea squirts. It’s been a while since I have included any of these. They are pretty amazing and amongst the more drab green and grey background they really stand out. They have both a mouth and an anus and when undisturbed a continuous flow of water is passed through filtering out particles. When they detect your presence both orifices close up:
I’ve noticed in the last few weeks that the water seems to be cooling down and my three quarters of an hour of getting lost in this underwater haven, is now more like half an hour. As I headed back to shore I was again greeted by a big shoal of the little white fish I first saw. So I’ve included one last image, but it is not the best one I took. I liked this due to the shaw’s cowfish that is lazily swimming away from me:
Despite the water definitely cooling down I will still get out again this year, and with all the treasures I’ve been lucky to see over the last few trips I wonder what I’ll see next…
Last weekend there were no plans to go anywhere, so I took advantage and had two dips in our local waters. It was still pretty murky and the swell was shifting the water backward and forward over the weed so I was not too hopeful to see much. But as is usually the case there will be something to see if you make the effort. On the Saturday I came across a small shoal of trumpet fish, which hung about me for a long time:
I also saw heaps of fish out and about, mostly individuals or shoals of juveniles and other than that the only unusual find was a four legged sea star. These fellas are hardy as and can lose a limb of two and still keep going:
Unperturbed by the lack of significant finds I went out the next day. I passed our neighbour who was fishing off the beach and popped in a mere fifty yards away from them. I’d only got ten yards from the shoreline when I was surrounded by hundreds of herrings. I hovered about with these guys for ages ducking down and swimming through them. Maybe I should have encouraged them to shift along the beach to the fishing lines, but I left them to their own devices and that was to head the other way (my neighbour didn’t get one bite):
It was a calmer day with clearer waters so I headed out further than I would normally, probably about a 100m offshore. The water doesn’t get that much deeper even that far out but when it is murky and less calm I tend to hug the shoreline a bit more. Again there wasn’t a heap of new things to see but I couldn’t resist this image, as I liked the colours so much:
I did spy something and went down to investigate, to find the top of this Pinnidae, which is a large saltwater clams sometimes known as a pen shell. We are always excited when we find these washed up on the beach and even more so when we find the two halves complete and unbroken. The largest we have found was about a foot long. I have however never come across a live one, and this was the only image with the shell open. After this it somehow sensed I was there and clamed up. Only about a fifth of the shell is poking out of the sand:
This weekend the weather is due to come in on Sunday so I went for a wander down to the beach this morning. Our neighbours Brian and Eske, were stood by their boat looking at their phones and the shark Apps trying to decide whether to head out for a spot of diving. I told them not to be sissy’s and just get out there, when they offered for me to join them and snorkel while they dived. Their intention being for me to the shark bait:
After almost getting bogged in the soft sand the boat was launched and out we went. They reckoned we would be about 200m offshore in a water depth of 6m or so. While they used an electronic depth gauge to find a good spot (i.e. with reef) they also used a more traditional technique to see if the chosen spot would suit their purposes:
This comprised sticking your head in and seeing what is down there. While they were looking for reef, they also wanted a reef system that looked like it may be the home of crayfish. While I was going to bob about on top they would be below hunting for a feed of shellfish:
After kitting up it was time for them to roll out of the boat, which I thought would make a good picture. It kind of did but I missed the best shot of Brain hitting the water. This was due to the boat had rapidly rocked back upwards as he left it, sending me flying off the other side. Eske was in stiches as I swam round the back and hauled myself back up:
The water was about 4-5m where we were and it felt soooo much deeper than where I usually head to off the beach. I was a tad surprised not to see heaps of fish, or fish bigger than I would normally but I did find this very cool plate coral:
The boys were darting here, there and everywhere listening for the distinctive crackling sound of crayfish as they scavenge about clicking their claws. They were also looking under all the rocky ledges for the sign of antenna poking out. I bobbed about and stayed a bit closer to the boat than they did. Popping down every so often to see what I could see:
It was pretty cool watching the air rise up from below, looking a bit like jelly fish that got bigger and bigger until their exploded into heaps of tiny bubbles. From this image you can see that the visibility was not the best and if you looked out into the big blue it was hard to see too far, and hard to see what may be lurking:
I did go down to check out what they were up to but without any weights it was hard work getting down and then even harder trying to stay down. So they were relatively short stints, not that they would have noticed me as they focused on hunting their prey. You can see a long black cord hanging off Brian’s foot, both of them have these tails which send out an electric pulse that is supposed to deter sharks:
I would normally be in the water for about 45 min but only managed half that time out here. The water was a bit cooler, the duck diving was harder work and to be honest it’s more fun snorkelling in the shallows where the visibility is better. That said it was fun and I’m pleased I went out. Back on deck the wind was picking up and the boat was rocking back and forth, as I waited patiently. Eventually Brain retuned, flippers coming into the boat first, and it took another ten minutes or so for Eske to return:
They had both caught a cuttlefish each and a few crays, they checked the sizes to make sure they were legal. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to get down to the bottom and stay longer as it would have been great to see a cuttlefish or two. Seeing them splatted on the deck oozing ink wasn’t quite the same! Happy with their catch we headed back in, the boat smashing onto the small waves sending shock waves up my spine, and making for a less than comfortable return trip:
Back at the shore you wouldn’t have noticed the waves and it seemed perfectly calm. It was a good experience heading out and seeing a different part of the reef. But I don’t think the deep is for me and I reckon I’ll stay in the more shallow waters next time I snorkel, unless I get myself some dive gear…
Since the summer holidays ended and school started we have got back into our usual routine and my trips below the waves have not been so frequent. I did nip out this morning and was very happy to see this fella again, looks like he may be a resident so I’ll have to keep an eye out for him. One day if I am really lucky I might just see him out in the open:
I was also lucky to have this McCulloch’s Scalyfin swim around me, and for once not seem terrified. I’ve seen him just about every time I go out but he will normally very quickly scoot off to some rocky hidey hole. This time he same round feeding off the weed and giving me a bit of a show before lazily wandering off:
While I saw all the usual suspects I did also find a hermit crabs. At first I thought I had just found some pretty shells but as I went down to check them out this one moved. If you look carefully you can see the trail he left behind him, and his eerie orange eyes looking at me:
Driving out this morning at 4:20 I got a text from Howsie to say he had just woken up and will be late for our 4:30 meet. There was no point in going back home and disturbing the household. So I drove to Capel, parked up and closed my eyes for 20 min. Today we were heading to the Terrace at the northern end of Willyabrup, and when I told Kym of the planned destination he said so who are you going to sandbag on this trip:
As we walked in the moon was still high in the sky and the clouds out on the horizon were turning from a morning red/pink to the daytime yellow/white. It was very specky to watch and made the slightly later than expected arrival worthwhile. On the way in we had a chat about our chosen place to climb, it was misty for most of the drive and this location is very unforgiving in damp conditions. The skies cleared as we approached the coast so we decided to stick to the plan:
We did a couple of warm up routes to see how we were going. There are a few lines that I had never been on before. I’d always looked at the far left climbs and felt they were not worth bothering with, which I discovered had been to my loss as they were really good. I didn’t give Howsie a choice, it was his lead first and he was looking good until the top when he started to waiver and finally slipped. Second time round he topped out, at the grade we pondered whether it was the first sandbag of the day or just a bit damp:
The rock seemed in pretty good nick if truth be told. However, both of us confessed to feeling tired and not quite up for anything too hard so we kept the grades reasonable (sorry Kym). That said you’ll be pleased to know your route Time and Space got another ascent. The right hand approach had Howsie foxed and again he slipped (severally times), until he tried the left approach and pulled it off. I reckon that goes to prove that you probably did it the hard way on the first ascent and could be accused of putting up a sandbag yourself:
My turn and I did a repeat of a classic line that gets steeper and more pumpy the higher you go, I’ve done it a few times but it is not a line to be taken on lightly. I have to admit that since having built the boulder wall I have probably not give myself enough recovery time, and it showed today as it didn’t take long to pump out. I dug deep and made a few female tennis player noises before reaching the final thank god holds. Howsie, got close but was again struggling and fell partly blaming his broken four hour sleep (mostly self-inflicted I might add):
It was clear the higher grades would have to wait for another day. But we were not quite finished with the Terrace, Howsie was in two minds for his next lead one being three grades harder and looking more intimating. It was a choice of the arête or the face to the right, and it is obvious which he took. Although it took him a lot of procrastinating at the base of the arête and face before he made his mind up. That said the chosen line was very good and one I’ll have to come back to and lead myself. We reckon it may also be a sandbag for someone who just managing to lead the grade:
One of the reasons that Howsie got a little spooked before finally making his choice to take on the arête was due to a huntsman. After he had tested the webby hold the spider literally jumped from its purchase into his face. All I heard was a girlish squeal (like I am one to talk after my last lead) and then I noticed something ‘floating’ down the crag. I couldn’t resist and had to take a snap of the fury fella who had bravely tried to take on Howsie:
We rapped back down one more time to even up the number of lines and I took on the face. The last time I led this route It had me blubbering up it whinging that it was over graded, pumpy as hell, had minimal gear – i.e. a sandbag. This time I was psyched up and once I had placed the first couple of pieces and launched up the wall it all clicked into place. Again probably a sandbag at the grade, so Kym your words make sense. Howsie loved it but was unsure if he would have been up to leading it on this day:
We were both feeling a tad weary from the Terrace and decided to head down to Beginners Wall to finish off on some proper easy stuff as a warm down. Howsie hadn’t been here before and so went for a wander and got all excited when he spied a new looking sling sticking out of a horizontal. The crag booty was a No.2 Camelot that was firmly wedged in, but there was no point trying to get it out. While the wires had corroded away, it was a bit weird as the sling looked in great nick and the condition of the lobs indicated that this was the first (and only) time this piece had been used:
Before we get back to climbing thought I’d include an image of this king skink who was wedged in a horizontal right next to where we had dumped our gear. We were both a bit surprised as this one seemed particularly pale, we’ve only ever seen them a dark colour and the speckled white that was very evident seemed a bit out of place:
Lou you may well remember this route, I think I told you it was a 14. I honestly thought it was at the time! While you had a little bleat you still managed to get up it, as did Howsie today. Despite feeling stuffed he stuck at it and quickly moved past the great crux layback sequence, it’s just a shame it is so short:
Steve not sure if you will remember this little chestnut. We must have been talking curry for some reason as we called it Hot (your sister line to the left being Spicy). Today it certainly had me questioning what I was doing, but seeing I’d led it before I knew I could do it. So I just went for it and ran it out rather than hanging about trying to get gear in. By now the sun was sneaking round and the wind had turned bringing with it the salt spray. Definitely time to wrap the mornings adventure up:
We’d had a great view of the main area of Willyabrup the whole time we were out and hadn’t noticed any movement on the crag. It still surprises me that often on a day out on the south west crags we get them all (or relatively so) to ourselves. We agreed that we need to get out on trad more often, despite both of us having been training on our boulder walls our leading heads seemed somewhat rusty:
Now Marnie an apology is in order (from Howsie) as he mentioned to me, once we were at the crag, that you had been keen to get out. So don’t shot the messenger when you read this, I’m not the fall guy.
I didn’t get out for a snorkel this morning, despite the conditions looking good. Instead I decided to have a climb on my boulder wall, which was great fun in a different way. Then the day got away with us and before we knew it mid-afternoon had arrived. We then decided to head down to the beach and despite it looking a little choppy the water seemed clear enough to head out:
I seem to be seeing a heap of giant snails in their bailer shells at the moment, with this one having a shell at least half a meter long. The swell was pushing the weed back and forth quite vigorously so it was hard to stay down and wait for the perfect picture. I really liked the algae growing on the shell itself, and unseen in this image there was also a large shoal of tiny fish bobbing about in between the patches of weed:
As I came up a good sized shoal of Weeping Toada swam under me and into the current. I would have liked to have dived down into them to get a close up shot, but there was no way I could keep up with them against the current. Instead I bobbed about above them and enjoyed watching he light reflect of them, as they wove their way ever onwards. After leaving them to carry on without me I spied an unusual movement and went down to check it out:
Luckily for me this octopus had decided to take shelter from the swell under a shell, which also happened to be in an open spot so my view was not obscured by weed. These creatures are very intelligent and would normally wait for me to break eye contact, and then be off like a shot. But the conditions must have been not ideal for him and so I got to have a great opportunity to see him and dove down several times:
I didn’t find too much else but bobbed about being buffeted by the waves and occasionally having to clear the snorkel as a wave went over my head. This little Biscuit Star lodged in a crevice and partly concealed by weed did catch my eye. Yet another species of sea star to add to my growing list, and a very pretty one at that. I then headed back to shoe and left this and probably a heap of other treasures to hold on tight to their purchase:
Hope you can hold on to see what I might find on my next snorkel,
Sandbagged 