An Aussie day at the beach

An Aussie day at the beach at Second Valley, on the Fleurieu Peninsula, south of Adelaide.  A day of clambering around rock faces, jumping from high places and kayaking.   Or for some people, the older and smaller ones, there was a more moderate participation in the activities.

It was a very hot day, with temperatures reaching the high 30s.  Luckily there was a good cloud cover which lessened the direct heat from the sun.

Darren and Walter arrived early and set up the shade cover, his new marquee plus tarpaulin, in front of the wall.  Together with chairs, and a camping table.  We were very comfortable.   When Dave arrived he set up another marquee in front of ours.   Altogether there were about twenty five people;  a very happy group of people.

I nearly forgot to mention the numerous eskies;  filled with ice, food, water and crucially, the beer.  So important for a day at the beach.

A collection of shelters, early in the morning.

The small beach became very crowded as the day progressed.  Unfortunately the spring storms washed away a substantial amount of sand from the beach.

The jetty.  A favourite place for fishing and diving.   The water was very deep around the jetty.

The photograph below looks towards the point where people clamber around on a narrow path, in order to reach a deep and narrow inlet, where people jump from the cliffs.  The fearless ones.

A steady stream of people walked around the cliff face, bypassing the sign which said 'Do not climb the cliff faces'.  Most people wore rubber flip flops, and some carried eskies.   One guy even carried an oversized getto blaster.  One girl expressed her displeasure at the end of the path 'Is this where you expect us to have a picnic today?' A picnic on sharp rocks! Not a happy bunny for sure.

I managed the clamber around the rock face much better this year, due to not looking down, and leaning in towards the cliff face.  I tried to forget about the razer sharp rocks below me.  And I wore sensible shoes.

Walter sat on the rocks, and no doubt felt frustrated as his knee prevented him from walking any further.  A meditative pose.

A view of one of the small bays, a delightful place to swim, as long as one wore footwear.  However Australians seem to manage to walk over rocks in a pair of rubber flip flops.  The rocks jutting out into the sea are very jagged.  The fishermen used to have boat sheds on the narrow ledge, long gone now.

Lucy and Scarlet posing on the beach.  Rashies (protective sun tops) seem to have been ditched this year.  However everyone used plenty of sun cream.

Some of us jumped off the steps at the bottom of the jetty.  The less confident or perhaps the sensible ones.  I found that adventurous enough.  The water was deliciously cold, although a bit of a shock to the system for someone who likes to get in slowly.

Lucy taking the plunge.

Molly preparing herself for the jump.

Donna and Darren also jumped off a few times, after reminising about jumping from the Henley Beach jetty when they were children. As children they were banned from such an activity, which they ignored apparently.  I did not ban them yesterday.

A photo of Tali jumping off and Scarlet and Scott waiting for their turn.

Now for the really big jumps.  After clambering around the rock face to the inlet, the idea is to swim across the narrow inlet, then climb up behind the rock face on the other side in order to jump off.  The consquences of falling while climbing up are too horrible to even comtemplate.  And it has happened, on more than one occasion too.

There are two places to jump from, the lower one and the top one.  Our grandchildren and their friends clamber up in their bare feet, without a moment of fear.

The people waiting for their turn to jump, in the photograpb below.  I can see both Jay and Jespa standing there.  And Donna, at the back, clambering up the last section.  She said she felt terrified as she climbed up, as she could see how easy it was to fall backwards.

Donna's jump, missed by me, except for the big splash.

Luckily her jump was captured by Jay and the Go Pro camera.

Dave practised his rock climbing skills.  Luckily he took his glasses off this year before he jumped into the water.

The highest point.  Nick, Jespa and Tali all jumped from here, as did the man on the right.   Scott thought better of it, and climbed down to the next level.

Jespa's big jump.  Fearless.

We did not think about sharks yesterday.  Privately, we may have thought about them, but certainly no one was willing to publicly say so.

A really fun day, spent with a great group of people.