Thoughtfactory’s Notebooks: The Littoral Zone

It has been a wet and stormy spring during  September,  and we  have tended to avoid walking along coastal rocks  because of the  gale force winds and the frequent squalls. The poodlewalks  have  been driven by the need to seek  shelter   in the local bushland  from the squalls and wind. 

On the few fine days we have had we have  walked along the coastal zone.   The light has changed with daylight saving and the light is still intense and bright  at 5pm.  This photos was made just before daylight saving. I sat on the rocks and watched the big waves surge across the rocks

 It was only the occasional large wave that  surged over the rocks. So I had to be patient, wait, and watch the sea.  

Winter is now easing into spring.The light is changing,  sunrise is much earlier, the sun is shifting more to the south  and the light  is becoming much more intense and contrasty earlier in the morning.   

We continue to stay close to home apart from going on the Lavender Trail camps.   The final one is one is in  September at Clare. 

 We experienced a big storm front that swept across South Australia in late August bringing rain,  wild seas and gale force winds. Maleko and  I wandered along the coastal rocks on the afternoon  after the storm had passed.  

The sand on the beach  at Petrel Cove in Victor Harbor comes and goes, and it does so quite regularly.  When the sand  is washed away during the winter months and only the rocks remain,  an old, rusty engine is exposed. 

My guess is that the  engine  was dumped  over the cliffs as rubbish quite some time ago. It's more than likely that it is  an old  car engine, rather than  a tractor engine due to its size.  Then the sand returns and the engine disappears from view.   The dumping  of household rubbish on the side of the back country roads is still quite common around  Victor Harbor and Waitpinga.

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This picture  of lichen and rock study in low light  was made  just before sunset in early June-- the day after  the storm on June 1. 

The  wild weather had eased:--the wind had dropped, the clouds were lighter  and the showers were infrequent.  So it was pleasant  walking amongst the coastal rocks with Maleko.  

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Below is a picture of foam and granite along the coastal rocks just west of Petrel Cove on the southern Fleurieu Peninsula. 

 It was made on a day  after the big storm in early May.  Though the  storm had passed  the seas were still surging and they  were too rough for the surfers.  The 2 metre high waves dumped,  rather than rolled into the shore.  

The picture  above refers back to this earlier  picture of foam as well as  to this one.   This is what the littoral zone looks like during,  or just after,  a big storm from the south west.   The foam quickly vanishes. 

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