Steve had organised to go for a fish with Alan this morning, but Will was not too keen when she heard about the dawn start. Steve explained to me it was the best time to catch those elusive fish, and sure enough a good number of people were already there when we arrived. Justin and I had joined Steve with an aim to make it for first light, it was close:
Steve set himself up on a rock and practised being a garden gnome, while I gave Justin a quick tour of the area pointing out the lines that are and are not mentioned in the guide. While it may seem that I have only just recently sent images from Castle Rock, it felt worthy to do so again as this time there are a few new angles:
The two of us polished off three easy lines on the west face. Well Justin did as he led them all, as he was keen to get more practise with trad climbing. I was on strict belay and seconding duty so I could be ‘sensible’. Steve meanwhile had been given a more suitable rod, bait and lures by some friendly fisher-folk and having resumed his garden gnome position promptly watched them reel in plenty of skippys while he caught nothing:
Hence he decided to give the fishing a rest and come and play on the rock. So we sent Justin up one of the longer lines and he again ate his way up the route placing bomber (as confirmed by Steve) gear. Having three of us climbing allowed me to run round like a mad chook scoping the best angles. From atop his throne Justin was lucky to see, for his second time, dolphins and this time they even put on a bit of a display jumping out of the water:
Steve was keen to jump on Lou’s favourite line, doing so in style and of course using only tri-cams. We followed this with Justin having his first bash with the Australian own brand carrots. I was about to send him up the line, when he looked in a puzzled at the little plates as if to say what the hell are these for. I’m pleased to say he didn’t drop them and better still crimped his way up the line:
As we were climbing Steve heard the familiar call of here they come… the salmon (all eight of them) where ‘running past’. So he dashed for his purchase, but was once again unsuccessful in catching a feed. Like a yoyo he was back with us and followed up the slab just as Will and Alan rocked up. Now at this point I was contemplating going for a bit lead on minty freshness, but was very happy when Steve decided to take the lead off me:
We all three had a fine old time on this steep, slopey line and then being all fired up Steve wanted to up the ante. So while the two of them did that and Alan and Will fished I jumped in the water for a snorkel. I’m told a school of salmon literally ran circles round me several times, but I didn’t see them and no one managed to catch any of them. I was however very chuffed to see a heap of other scaly creatures including this (in UK language) Place:
I popped my head up once in a while and saw that Steve was making quick work of his chosen line, for which he successful used his fishing rod to rod-hook the first bolt to make it a bit more sane. As I got out the guy on the far right of this image hooked a salmon (finally someone did), but it managed to get away before he pulled it in. I then followed Steve, while Justin swam with the fish after which we all agreed it was time to wrap things up. But not until Steve had just one (unsuccessful) last cast:
Eventually we headed off after another brilliant morning out in one of our many local playgrounds, leaving Alan and Will to fish. As we rolled back into the Capel pub carpark Steve got a message with an image of Will proudly showing-off a salmon they had just caught.
The intention was not to climb this weekend but Lou wanted to put some gear in to test her headspace. It’s been a long time since her fall and while she has got out once in a while, it has not been regular enough to truly get her back on the horse. So late yesterday afternoon, with a crew of young an old, we headed to Castle Rock for a variety of different pursuits:
I started my fun with a snorkel. I have been getting out heaps at my local beach but have not often strayed to foreign waters. This place I knew would be great, and unlike my home beach the water here was crystal clear. I have a stack of images but have only included this one of a Yellow Horned Blenny guarding his home made from an old barnacle, and just below him is what I thought was a Goby but might be a Threefin:
After my swim with the fish I got out to find Lou half way up a lead. Nana on camera duty and Craig and his boys were watching from above to see how she was doing. We opted for Castle Rock due to the short easy lines on this face plus the fishing, as the salmon are running and that meant Geoff and Craig kept an eye on the water:
I however managed to convince Geoff that seeing he was here he may as well have a climb. So I led one of the short but fun lines next to Lou. He too hasn’t been out for a while so was not keen to go on the floppy end, but thoroughly enjoyed the second:
There were also those in the group who were not keen to snorkel, climb or fish. They loafed about on the rock, soaking up the heat while the sun was out and high enough to offer some warmth:
Craig didn’t spy any salmon but was keen to throw a line in anyway. So he wandered round to the better spot with a nice rock ledge from which he and his boys could feed the fish. Only Charlie was successful catching anything and hooked a Zebra Fish, which was one to put back in. Despite there being a stack of fish out there, as I had seen them earlier, they didn’t get a feed today:
Lou was kinda happy to have had one lead and wanted to throw Denis on lead, but he has yet to try a full trad lead so was a bit hesitant. Instead we steered him towards a very cool and very aesthetically appealing (for the people with cameras) bolted line:
While Denis was upping the ante, Geoff and I played on another fun easy line. We made short work of it as we (read into that I) was keen to get back down and see how Denis was faring. It seemed that Denis scaling this fine face had attracted the attention of others too, including some walkers who had stopped on the path:
In addition a couple steered their tinny in our direction and anchored not far away, so there were all eyes on Denis taking on the mega face. He certainly gave it a good go but just couldn’t commit to the face. It did however allow for some specky photos. We all offered him good advice, which included a fair bit of niggling just for good measure:
As the image above shows the clouds were coming in and Denis finally gave up as the rain started to fall. By the time we were packed up it had set in and everyone scarpered for their cars. I helped Craig with the boys and the fishing gear and we were last to arrive at the previously heaving, but now empty, carpark pretty damp and cold:
A few of us decided that it was then time for a bit of nosh. So we headed into Dunsborough for a feed. This is something I would normally not be a part of but Lisa was keen so we went along. I’m glad we did and the food was awesome:
It was a bit of a bumbly late afternoon session but came with buckets full of fun.
The sun was shining again last weekend so I did risk another snorkel and while it’s wasn’t all that clear just putting my head under water and checking out what I might find was refreshing. I came across a few more gems that are worth sharing, such as this image of the creature that lives inside razor shells. I managed to sneak up and snap a good shot before it sensed my presence and snapped shut:
The other cool find was this little Stingaree, and by itself was nothing amazing as I often see them. However, if you look more closely you will notice that there is also a Sand Flathead, which followed the Stingaree around. I wonder if it may be the same Stingaree that I saw last time with a fish companion, maybe this one prefers fish as friends:
Yesterday I decided to risk another dip but I timed it wrong and the clouds came in as I was in the water and it rained. I stayed out and did see an octopus in the open, but with the poor visibility and cloudy weather I wasn’t able to get an image. I duck dived down to it, but it shot away at lightning speed and I was unable to find it again:
It cleared up a few hours later so I went back out. With the sun penetrating the water, when I went down, I was able to see some cool things. I found another razor shell, camouflaged with weed growing all up its sides. Bobbing about on the surface some three to four meters up it is hard to spy these, so sometimes it pays to just keep ducking diving up and down to see what you might come across:
I was also able to get this clear image of a Western Smooth Boxfish, I see them regularly but they do not often let me get this close. For a bulky and not very streamlined fish they can really motor when they want to get away. I’ve found from experience it is futile to try and keep up with them. The blue tinge on the fins looks stunning when they catch the light:
I’ve also been pulling together a decent collection of images of the many corals and sponges here. I reckon this is a Leaf Plate Coral but will be happily corrected, the pink sponge make the image for me. I’ve tried to get a good image of this coral for ages but seeing it is usually under ledges or in rock holes it is hard to get to and the light is often not that great:
Now for somewhere different. Yesterday afternoon a mob of us went to a place called Castle Rock, the intention was to climb. But I’ve snorkelled there a long time back and had memories of masses of fish, so I brought both my underwater and rock gear with me. I was very pleased I did as the water was crystal clear. There is no reef to be seen and the rocky coastline gives way (underwater) to a sandy bay, this means there is no weed and less particles to be stirred up:
At my beach the bommies are limestone with lots of, crack, pockets and caves but these are made from smooth granite boulders. These large barnacles don’t have an issue with sticking to the smooth surfaces and when they die off the shells make the perfect home for other creatures. I’ll take a stab in the dark and say this is a Coral Shell, but what really caught my eye was the Blenny living inside the barnacle:
The two prominent antenna give Blenny away, and my guess is this is the one below is Yellow Horned Blenny. I’m not that sure about the one above but it may be the same. I’ve only seen these guys once before. Years back I found one in a large Turban Shell back at my usual beach. I happened to have picked up the shell and he popped out and darted away. So I was stoked to find not just one but a few of these guys here:
You may also see in the image above there is what I thought at the time to be a Goby, at the base of the barnacle. Having checked my books this may have been a Threefin. Both of these fish use their lower fins to hold onto the rock, like claws. They seem to jump about rather than swim as they hold onto the rock to avoid being swept off. I’ve included the image below to give you an idea of scale:
There were stacks of other fish about, such as these Zebra Fish. I spent a lot of time hovering above them just watching and while I did take a fair few images most are of solitary fish so I could try and identify them. I lost count of how many other fish I saw and was pleased that my memory of this place held true. It is so very different to my local beach, so I’ll have to get here again soon before it gets too cold:
There were many big shoals of fish, and out above the sandy bay were thousands of bait fish. It’s easy to see why this place is a favourite for people fishing. So one more image from Castle Rock of a shoal of small but very pretty fish. These seemed to change colour, as they swam past. A great way to leave these waters, as I made my way back to the others who were climbing, fishing and/or just chilling on the rocks:
Now for something completely different, it tipped down on us late yesterday and as I drove Elseya to work this morning the early sunlight on the cobwebs along this fence line caught my eye. Covered in water droplets it looked amazing, so I stopped on the way back to take a few images. For those who don’t like spiders I suggest you skip the image after this one:
There are hundreds of Golden Orb spiders on this fence. Both webs and spiders were covered in water making for some very specky watery images, which is the loose connection that I used to sneak these images in. So after this slight change of topic the image after this one will be back to snorkelling:
Today back at Peppy Beach Geoff joined me for my morning snorkel. After such a great three sessions yesterday I thought it would be worth another go today. We went to the River Mouth end, so not my usual spot. As we walked in we could see dolphins out there and also three young black swans. It looked relatively calm but it was hard to read whether the water would be clear or not:
Unfortunately it was not that great, but that didn’t stop us. We headed out probably further than I would have gone alone in these conditions. Partly as I knew there were some good bommies and reef out there so was keen to show Geoff them, as he hadn’t gone out to this section before:
While we didn’t see masses I did add a few new corals and sponges to my collection. Unfortunately I didn’t find any black nudibranchs, which was what I was hoping for. We bobbed about moving from bommie to bommie and going down to see what might surprise us. After half an hour we started to cool off and decided to head back to shore:
On the way back we came across a good sized stingray, the largest I have seen this season. So I followed it round for a while as it lazily wove around the rocks, and while I managed to get pretty close the light was not on my side to be able to get a good image. Finally I stopped and just watched it disappear into the soupy water:
Back onshore the three swans had also come out and where busily preening themselves. I’m still a little surprised when I see swans bobbing about on the ocean, as I associate them with fresh rather saltwater. That said these guys seemed very at home here so we left them to it and headed home for a well-deserved hot cuppa:
I’ll stop saying this will be the last snorkelling email of the season, as I seem to have proven myself wrong too many times…
This morning Justin and I wandered down to the Bookshelf where the plan was for him to have a crack at trad. It was a crisp clear morning and the moon was still bright in sky as we walked along the rocky shoreline:
Being his first use of trad I set him to work on placing a heap of gear, without any info. The deal was to place wires, hexes and cams, so I could then check out and talk about the pros and cons of the placements. It soon dawned that this trad malarkey was a bit more fiddly that it may first look:
As Justin was busy working some gear in the rock I sat and watched the moon and waves. The swell was clean and broke in great sprays on the rocky ledges. Better still, with a seaward breeze all morning the rock was in great condition. The Bookshelf is one of the few crags that you can sit with your feet dangling practically in the water. It may be a very short face but the scenery and location more than make up for it:
After checking the placements and giving a few pointers, it was time to get on the pointy end. The great thing about this place, is that unlike most others in the SW of WA the low grade climbs have heaps of gear, which make them great for a trad intro. The one rule of the day was to stitch each climb up:
As the first lead was being finished the morning sun was hitting the top of Willyabrup and I noticed through the morning a fair few people milling about on the top. Reckon it’d have been a busy day there but we had this little crag all to ourselves:
After a successful first lead and belay set up, I suggested Justin check the crag out (without the guidebook) and pick a line that he liked the look of. He seemed to be drawn to the far end where the wall was that bit higher and also a tad steeper. His eyes were fixed on One Too Many, which proved yet again to be aptly named:
While I did wonder about his choice, as I knew it was double the grade of the first lead, but again it had a heap of gear opportunities. So with a bit of encouragement to keep placing gear he made his way up and a couple of times rapidly back down this line. The gear was good and held when it needed too, and eventually he topped out:
Another great thing about the Bookshelf is that you get heaps of practice setting up belays, and as the morning wore on Justin was getting quicker at them. The only problem with that being that he would be up for the next lead, after all he did come down to learn trad and that can only be done by leading:
After taking a bit of a hiding on his chosen climb I picked the next few leads. Carefully selecting lines that were never too hard but for which the gear was a bit more fiddly to place due to the stances. He made short work of them and was clocking up some good leads, placing solid gear:
I eventually steered him to what I reckon is one of the best routes here. It was a bit more sustained but not as hard as his second lead. The climb probably felt harder as I kept ‘suggesting’ it was time to get another, and another, and another piece in. His arms were definitely starting to tire on this line:
So for one last climb I led a route and let him have a relaxed second, as the sun was swinging round to hit the main face. That meant it was time to call it a day and plod back up the hill to the carpark where, as suspected, there were a heap of cars and even more coming in as we drove out:
It would seem that Justin has been totally taken in with trad and is super keen to get back out and place more gear. My work for the day was done and another person has been converted!
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…
Sandbagged 