Natural World

Unreported shark attacks along the south coast!

Posted on April 1, 2015 by John Sear

On our travels along the southern coastal bits of the country we have noticed an alarming number of shark attacks that go unreported. The evidence of these attacks can easily be found as the poor victims body parts are strewn across many of the beaches we have visited.

I have even personally witnessed one such attack in the water in Sydney and can report that luckily the victims are already deceased. The sharks are actually just doing their duty of cleaning up the dead carcasses of cuttlefish. Cuttlefish have a relatively short lifecycle usually only living 2-3 years. They breed and die shortly afterwards, providing a vital food source to any hungry scavengers. All that is left after the clean-up process is the brittle internal cuttlefish bone that can be found washed up on the beach. We have frequently found these cuttlefish bones bitten in half, or covered with shark teeth indentation marks (see photo).

Basically it is the case of nature taking its course and nothing sinister as the heading might have implied.

Victims of shark attacks

Victims of shark attacks

 

Categories: Animal Action, australia, Beach, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, Natural World, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, West Australia | Tags: | 2 Comments

Diving Busselton Jetty

Posted on March 29, 2015 by John Sear

Busselton Jetty is 1.8km long and has it’s own train service to deliver tourists to the end where they can visit the underwater observatory. I wanted to scuba dive the famous jetty and with the nearby Dive Shed having trolley and gear hire I was keen as mustard to get in the water.

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Unfortunately my camera strobe malfunctioned during set-up so I had to improvise by using a torch instead. This meant increasing my ISO settings and opening up the aperture, not what I like doing for underwater shots, but I was stuck with what I had. I put the trusty Canon 100mm macro lens on and started the long walk from the dive shop.

The Dive Shed rent out trolleys to transport your gear to the dive site, and whilst I don’t mind a bit of a walk with my gear I was glad I rented one. The entry pontoon lies 200m from the end of the Jetty, with two well designed ladders for exiting with fins on.

The underwater life lived up to expectation. Whilst many old jetty pylons lie on the floor providing cover for many different critters, corals, and sponges adorn a large proportion of the upright ones. Many of the fish were new to me, being Indian Ocean based but there were a few familiar ones and I was happy to find a number of very colourful nudibranchs(sea slugs). The water was shallow at 8m, allowing along dive but after 2 hours in 19 degree water I was ready to get back in the sunlight to warm up. Visibility was pretty good (over 10m), the only thing you need to be aware of is to keep over 10m away from the underwater observatory (for obvious reasons).

A big thumbs up to the Busselton Jetty dive and thanks to The Dive Shed for being so helpful with the gear and briefing of the dive site.

Categories: Adventure, australia, Big Lap, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Natural World, Photography, Photos, Travel, Travel Adventure, West Australia | Tags: , , , , | 4 Comments

Heading to Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park

Posted on March 25, 2015 by John Sear

Still in the forests a damp night was spent at Big Brook Arboretum campsite. Venturing into the Arboretum the following morning unveiled luxuriant colours in the bark patterns, vibrant orange bracket fungi, water droplets hanging patiently from the underside of the fungus, and abundant birdlife all around. Unfortunately for us the birds could be heard, but not seen, as most of them appeared to be high in the tree canopies.

Big Brook Arboretum
Big Brook Arboretum
Bracket fungus
Big Brook Arboretum

Still in Warren National Park a trip to Beedelup Falls was required, but the relative lack of waterfall in the area meant it didn’t offer much to photograph. The kids had fun on the suspension bridge, then Xavier slipped into the river and we decided to press on again.

Turning west towards the coast again we had the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park in our sights, and Conto campground. One of the features of this region is the abundance of Grass Trees, with their fire-blackened stems and almost spherical arrays of leaves sprouting from the top.

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Conto was such a peaceful spot, one or two nights ended up being a five-night stopover. Despite the presence of many caves in the area, with nearby Lake, Mammoth, and Jewel caves being the tourist showpieces, we felt we had seen enough caves recently and saved this for next time. Instead we used Conto as a base to explore nearby Margaret River (next blog), do some more geocaching, and a bit of fishing. With our Camprite trailer next to a water tap we could sit and watch all the wildlife come for a drink, from swarms of bees, to western rosellas, splendid fairy wrens, and silver eyes. Golden Whistlers and scarlet robins danced around the branches overhead.

More importantly it was time to get some schoolwork done so the distance education packs were brought out to get ahead of the curriculum before Easter break.

Categories: 4WD, Adventure, australia, Australian Outback, Big Lap, Camper Trailer, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, Mitsubishi, National Park, Natural World, Photography, Photos, Travel, Travel Adventure, West Australia | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Further adventures in the SW forests of WA

Posted on March 25, 2015 by John Sear

The next day we witnessed the devastation of recent fires in the region, particularly in the D’Entrecasteaux National Park. At first our road leaving camp was green on one side whilst the other side was charred and devastated. Amazingly, it was not barren though, and typical of much of the bush here, fire plays a huge part in the natural cycles. Though the fires had torn through huge areas of forests in recent weeks, and we even witnessed many trunks still smouldering and smoking, with the rains of recent days the grass trees were all flowering, and new growth was already appearing from the trunks of many eucalypt trees.

Regrowth begins
Flowers emerging
Trees still smouldering
Fire stopped at the road
Flowers follow the fires
Fire damage

We took time to visit two local icons, the Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree and the Gloucester Tree, two of three giants in the forests that you can climb in the Warren National Park. Not for the faint hearted, the Bicentennial Tree was “pegged” in 1988 and has 165 steel spikes hammered into the trunk in a spiral up the tree to a height of 75 metres. With no safety harness, climbing is not recommended in wet or windy conditions, or for those who fear heights. With combination of all three how could I refuse? Firstly though, we had to beckon the kids down, who were already fearlessly climbing up towards the first platform. Despite the rain the views above the canopy were fabulous, with the exception of the vertical one down. Descent was interesting as with each step backwards you get a good view to the ground between each spike! Happy to have survived the challenge I then watched as a man calmly ascended in bare feet. The Gloucester Tree was very similar, not quite as tall, but a single climb to the viewing platform, and an easier climb due to less of a spiral making it more ladder-like.

Stick Insect
The Gloucester Tree
Barefoot up the Bicentennial Tree
Bicentennial Tree
View over the canopy

Halfway up the first tree, much to Xavier’s delight I found a stick insect that obligingly took the fall to the ground where Xavier pounced on it for close examination. Another great day in these majestic rainforests of the south western region of West Australia.

Categories: Adventure, australia, Australian Outback, Big Lap, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, National Park, Natural World, Photography, Travel, Travel Adventure, West Australia | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

West and back into forest

Posted on March 22, 2015 by John Sear

Just west from Cosy Corner lie the towns of Denmark and Walpole, surrounded by some large National Parks that protect the huge forests of Karri and Tingle trees. We stopped in Denmark to do a few geocaches, and marvelled at the ingenuity of some of the hides.

Circular Pool
Valley of the Giants
Greens Pool
40 Toes getting wet!
Circular Pool
Elephant Cove
Grandma Tingle
Tingle Tingle tree
Elephant Cove

Very close to Denmark were the appealingly named Elephant Cove and Greens Pool, both lying a short walk from one another in William Bay National Park. The former, with a little imagination, looks like a herd of elephants wallowing in a waterhole, but with only rare glimpses of sunlight and lots of wind I failed to do it justice with my photos. Even the inviting Greens Pool couldn’t tempt the kids for long on a miserable day! We resorted to the natural setting of the Denmark maze with our friends Alex and Karin and their two kids to kill a bit more time.

The Walpole-Nornalup National Park has many attractions but perhaps the most popular is the Valley of the Giants, and with resident stars called “Grandma Tingle” how could we miss this. The red eucalypts, or Tingles are huge, soaring over 60m into the canopy, have girths up to 20m at the base, and can live for over 500 years, surviving repeated bushfires over that time. The walk through the forest took us around and even through a number of giant Tingle trees and the rain drizzled down through the tree canopy above us.

A little further up the road a short walk took us down to Circular Pool where all but ten of the fifty toes went for a swim in the refreshing and surprisingly warm waters. We had one more stop for the day at Tingle Tingle tree, where we had seen photos of VW combi vans parked inside the hollow, and people on horseback passing through. Time for one more geocache and onto Fernhill Falls to camp for a night.

 

Categories: Adventure, australia, Australian Outback, Big Lap, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, National Park, Natural World, Photography, Travel, Travel Adventure, Walks, West Australia | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Albany and surrounds

Posted on March 20, 2015 by John Sear

After Skippy Rock we arrived late at Normans Beach in Two Peoples Bay (the other person being Betty) to grab the last spot in the campsite. Amanda came face to face with the biggest Dugite we have encountered yet. At almost 2m long we witnessed it hot in pursuit of a big black skink, chasing it up a tree. When the skink could go no further it leapt out from about 3-4m, belly-flopped onto the ground and scampered off. The snake exited the tree equally ungracefully and chased after it, as we all took a big step back to watch the action unfold before us.

Bandicoot
Big Dugite!
Shelley Beach, West Cape Howe
Salmon Rocks, Torndirrup NP
Whaling Station at Frenchmans Bay
4WD track in West Cape Howe
West Cape Howe National Park
Two People Bay NP
Beach fun in Whalers Bay
Albany Brig
Piranha Letterbox

With little camping close to Albany we drove to a cute little place, appropriately named Cosy Corner and ensconced ourselves for a few days to explore the area. We enjoyed Albany, visiting a few times, for library work with kids, shopping and a bit of geocaching and exploring. A nice sized town, big enough to have all we needed but not too big to get lost in. Xavier became the expert in finding nano-sized geocaches though we were beaten by one near the Opera house.

Fishing was pretty quiet along the beach despite the fact the salmon run is due any day. We checked out nearby West Cape Howe national park to see if the fishing was better there but despite the numbers of fishermen it was still a bit quiet at Shelley Beach. I noticed a 4WD track into the park that proved quite  challenging, but we were rewarded with magnificent vertical black granite cliffs at West Cape Howe. Being late in the day the family didn’t want to risk going further in the sand – they still don’t have faith in the trusty Pajero, even after 4 months.

As a cyclone bore down on the north west coast of WA we started getting a bit of rain. We drove around Torndirrup National Park near Albany, and some brief intermissions of sun allowed the kids to enjoy the azure waters of the beaches in Whaler Bay. Salmon Rocks, rather appropriately, had yielded two monster salmon for one fisherman, and we watched another battle a large eagle ray to the beach where it snapped his line. The old whaling station nestles into the end of the peninsula with a large whaling ship on display for exploration. In Frenchmans Bay, we drove to a bird hide to try and add a few new birds to my list (buff banded rail was the only one) and catch a geocache. Luckily for a guy down there we showed up and got his car started for him in a very quiet street. Another attraction there were the blowholes that, despite a small swell, roared periodically, giving everyone a bit of a scare the first time they went off. Throw big swell and water into the mix and they would be quite an impressive spectacle. The natural arch was closed unfortunately.

At night we got frequent visits from an oversize bandicoot and Cosy Corner was a popular venue for the kids with hideouts abounding in the bush.

Categories: Adventure, australia, Australian Outback, Beach, Big Lap, Camper Trailer, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, National Park, Natural World, Photography, Travel, Travel Adventure, West Australia | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Farewell to Le Grand

Posted on March 18, 2015 by John Sear

After ten relaxing days at Le Grand campsite we felt the need to keep moving. We haven’t been in WA for long and there is so much to see. We had a big dinner in the camp kitchen on our last night with our new friend Jackie cooking up a delicious Thai green curry. It was a lovely evening with great company. We’d seen so many great people and the kids had had loads of playmates.

 

Le Grand Beach
View from Frenchmans Peak cave
Mundawarnup watches Le Grand
Another snake!
Big Dugite
Little Hellfire Beach
Cape Le Grand Kids
Sunset on Young River
John and Roy Gill at Skippy Rock

We had also found five species of snakes, most of them passing through our site, tiger snakes, dugite, python, ringed brown snakes, and another short plump brown snake that our neighbour Rob nearly trod on.

Having had ten days of poor fishing we had to go to Stokes Inlet where we had been told you can catch your bag limit of black bream in 15 minutes. Stokes National Park was a short drive west and we set up camp before heading to the infamous Young River. Hannah had caught 3 fish before I could even get a line in the water, though nowhere near the fabled 40cm length that inhabit the waters. Everyone managed to catch several before Oscar hooked a big one that snapped his rod that he bought with his own money only the previous week. He was so distraught but still managed to land his 28cm fish for dinner. Oscar’s challenge complete again, catching and eating a fish.

With Amanda keen to get to Albany to pick up the kids schoolwork we were up early to head for Albany. Unfortunately for Amanda my curiosity took us down a 4WD track to a place called Skippy Rock. The campsite, perched above the beach was deserted except for a very friendly camphost, and we decided to stay. Roy, the camphost, took us fishing, and I caught two lovely fish for the BBQ later, a 44cm flathead and a 39cm silver trevally. No photos but they tasted delicious.

Roy was full of stories and despite being a mad keen fisherman, he was a gold prospector from Kalgoorlie who had even starred in a recent movie, Goldtown. He even had some small pieces of gold to show the kids. Everyone wanted to stay longer but schoolwork was beckoning and we were two days into the new fortnight.

Categories: Adventure, Animal Action, australia, Australian Outback, Beach, Big Lap, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, National Park, Natural World, Photography, Travel, Travel Adventure, West Australia | Tags: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Elliston and Streaky Bay (flashback)

Posted on March 14, 2015 by John Sear

From Coffin Bay we drove north up the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula towards Streaky Bay. The kids really wanted to see the famous Great White Shark caught in 1990 that weighed 1500kg and was caught by rod and reel on 28kg line.

 

Cliff Drive Sculpture
Cliff Drive Sculpture
Cliff Drive Sculpture
Cool Weather Vane
Cliff Drive Sculpture
Cliff Drive Sculpture
Cliff Drive Sculpture
Surfer Sculpture

First stop was Elliston where the Tourist Information doubled as shop for local jams – raspberry was the pick of the day, and Op Shop with some cool shorts for the boys. Heading out of town we drove the scenic cliff drive lined with sculptures, giant thongs, surfer on a bike, Rapanui-style heads and a few other impressive ones too.

Just beyond Elliston we paid a quick visit to Talia caves, worthy of the 6km detour. The combination of limestone on top of sandstone has been eroded by the sea over the millennia resulting in long caves under the cliff. In the case of the Tub the thin roof has collapsed, leaving a tunnel to the sea.

Further north again beyond Sceale Bay a dirt road takes you out to Point Labatt where a sea lion colony can be observed from the cliff top.  Sea lions and Fur Seals were both present and the former were in quite a playful mood in the shallows of the protected reef.

 

 

Categories: Adventure, australia, Australian Outback, Big Lap, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, Natural World, Photography, South Australia, Travel, Travel Adventure | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments

Esperance and surroundings

Posted on March 4, 2015 by John Sear

We finally had to leave Quagi to re-stock supplies and get some water in the tanks again. A couple camping next to us kindly donated an inflatable boat for the kids that they no longer needed.

View east from Mt Arid
Wild brumbies
Boating in Thomas river
Beach at Thomas river
Wharton Beach break
Salmon at Dunn rocks
Dugite at Cape Le Grand
Emus in dunes at Dunn Rock
Lucky Bay
Mt Arid western panorama
Mt Arid peak
Mt Arid peak
Wreck on Quagi beach
Quagi beach rocks
Sand storm at Dunn Rocks
Brumby in front of Frenchmans Peak
Wharton beach
Hellfire bay
Hannah and friend at Lucky Bay
Stonehenge, Esperance
Lucky Bay
New Holland Honeyeater
Dunn Rocks camp
Dolphin bay
Chilling on the beach boulders

Next stop was Cape Arid National Park and a campsite called Thomas River, ideal for the inflatable boat. We drove the length of the beach, over 24km, then along some 4WD tracks to beaches beyond. Ranger Jo, who was brilliant with the kids told us how to get to the Mt Arid walking track, and even lent us some boogy boards. The next day we conquered the mountain which offers amazing views over the picturesque beaches and park. The mountain itself is very barren with little vegetation and lots of bare rock but well worth the 3 hour return walk. Back at camp I even managed to catch some super-sized herring that were delicious. From Cape Arid it was tempting to head further east to Seal Creek, but we chose to turn back West, passing through to see Duke of Orleans bay and Wharton beach which must rate as one of the most beautiful beaches in Australia, with its pure white sands stretching into the distance. Our next destination was Cape Le Grand National Park and Dunn Rocks, where we could camp on the beach. We arrived as the worst winds we have encountered so far whipped up from the south, giving us a true desert sandstorm experience that piled several tonnes of sand in a pile behind the trailer annex. There were thousands of mouse footprints on the sand in the annex the next morning and it began to look like we still had a stowaway! The weather improved though and before long we were swimming and fishing and the salmon finally arrived for us to start catching dinner! The kids loved playing on the rocks by the camp and Hannah even found a python in a crevice. She also found the mouse again and after it bit her a short chase across the sand saw it dispatched with my leather sandal. No more footprints since! From Dunn Rocks we had planned to head back west beyond Esperance again after checking out Lucky Bay and Le Grand beach campsites, both of which tend to be quite hard to get in at. Arriving at Le Grand first we fell in love with the place and grabbed the last camp spot, a sheltered little spot between the trees, 50m from the beach and with a kids hideout amongst the scrub. Lots of snakes here, a couple of coastal pythons and plenty of Dugites, apparently number 13 on the list of world’s most venomous snakes. Late one evening I stumbled out of the tent to hear the pitter patter of footprints scuttling into the undergrowth, and fearing another mouse infestation I grabbed a torch in time to see a crab disappear into a hole in the undergrowth. Phew! With the crabs and snakes I think we’ll be mouse free for a while. Rob and Kris, who we met crossing the Nullarbor, were at the same campsite, told us that there were wild brumbies that visit the beach daily. Hannah was thrilled and makes it her daily ritual to get as close as possible. It’s just a matter of time before the carrot supply gets raided. The kids have finally been introduced to Geo-caching too and with a few nearby we should be teaching them how to navigate expertly very soon.

We visited nearby Lucky Bay, famous for photos of kangaroos on the beach, but found a cramped and crowded campsite, a beach covered in knee-deep weed, very swampy and compared with other beaches we have seen, only worth the visit for the “kangaroo on a beach” photo. At least some of the roos were obliging on that front

Categories: 4WD, Adventure, australia, Australian Outback, Big Lap, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, National Park, Natural World, Offroad, Photography, Travel, Travel Adventure, Walks, West Australia | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Wave Rock, Hyden and other rock formations

Posted on February 19, 2015 by John Sear

West of Eucla, we stopped briefly at Cocklebiddy and headed down to the Eyre Bird Observatory. The road to the escarpment was pretty rough but we had to unhitch the trailer to get the last 12km to the observatory. The road was very soft and sandy, making it a fun ride in.

Caiguna blowhole
McDermid Rock
Sand track into the observatory
Kids catching Wave Rock
The Breakaways
The Original Telegraph Station at the Eyre Bird Observatory
Amanda at Eyre Bird Observatory
Granite-Woodlands road
Hippos Yawn
The Breakaways
Wave Rock
Australian Bustard

Whilst very little remains of the original telegraph station (1877-1897), the later built telegraph station now acts as a tranquil rest for bird watchers and bushwalkers. The caretakers showed the kids the weather station and took measurements, a task performed 3 times a day. The building also houses an interesting museum that the kids loved due to the amount of bones and preserved animals there. We had a quick bird-watching bushwalk and headed down to the beach, over one of the most challenging dunes we have encountered yet. The beach was tough driving so we made a hasty exit and departed.

The explorer, Edward John Eyre, passed nearby in 1841, on his epic 1500km journey from Fowlers Bay to Albany.

Back to Cocklebiddy for an overnight stop, then saw an Australian Bustard (a bird, not a person!) in the morning before commencing a long drive to Norseman. This stretch saw us diverting to find Caiguna blowhole, driving for 20 minutes in the worst dust roads, only to find it back by the main road on our return. Tidal airflows blast through many such blowholes on the Nullarbor, some over 70km/h. Jumping into them offers instant air conditioning on hot summer days. The next stretch of road is the longest straight road in Australia – 146km of boring driving.

Past Norseman we continued on towards Hyden via the Granite-Woodlands track, stopping overnight at McDermid rock. A brief stop at Disappointment rock was far from it! We watched a small bush fire working its way towards us, until it got within a kilometre, when we had to press on to camp before sunset. McDermid Rock is actually a mini-Wave Rock formation and an impressive sight, but to avoid disappointment see it before the Wave Rock. The road took us past the Breakaways, another obligatory stop offering more rock formations and beautiful colouration in the rock.

Wave rock was impressive but quite busy. Having seen pictures of it as a kid growing up it was great to see it in reality. Well worth a visit.

 

 

Categories: 4WD, Adventure, australia, Australian Outback, Big Lap, Discover Australia, Explore Australia, Journey Narrative, Kids Travel, Natural World, Photography, Travel, Travel Adventure, West Australia | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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