“Road Trip Activities #2 – Beachcombing”

Turtle embryo in shell

Tasmanian Devil tracks

Shell Christmas Tree

Sea Hare

Eighty Mile Beach

Beach artist at work

Shark and ray egg cases

Gantheaume Point dinosaur footprint

Rockpool starfish

Hooded Plover Eggs

Dead seal skull

Dead crocodile on the beach

Humpy town in Cape York

Pondalowie Wreck

Chambered nautilus shells

Shell

Seadragons washed up on the beach

With three inquisitive young children there’s nothing better to keep them occupied that a few hours beachcombing on a remote beach.

The excitement of finding some fascinating creatures in rock pools, animal tracks on the sand, sea-bird eggs concealed immaculately by their coloured camouflage alone, would find us relentlessly exploring one beach after another. Sometimes we would find a sad carcass abandoned by the ocean, seals, crocodiles, turtles, sea-dragons, even a dolphin, but more often a treasure would left for us to marvel at, the chambered nautilus shells, colourful starfish, shark’s eggs and shipwrecks.

Unknown objects often had to be researched and extended the education process.

Collections were often converted into natural works of art too, a sea-shell Christmas tree, kids art projects for school, or just random creations.