Above is the southern contingent's track of this morning's short foray in pursuit of whales. You can see where we all paused to drink hot chocolate (east of North Head) and consequently drifted southwards with the current and wind, before paddling a bit further to the north-east. The total distance travelled on this particular track was a modest 7.1 nautical miles (13km).

The sea surface temperature was beautifully warm for cold hands to dip into ...

... but it's apparent that the East Australian Current is breaking down for winter and that colder water lies ahead of us.

Winter arrives

Sailing across the harbour under a low June sun ...

... to the east side of Bradley's Head.

One of the many enjoyable things about kayaks is their capacity to engage with a range of sea and landscapes of contrasting scales. You can paddle out many kilometers offshore and experience the immense vastness of broad open ocean and enveloping sky. Or you can drift into a small cove and access the shore, where few other marine vessels can, to observe details at a micro scale. Today's wander across the harbour falls into the latter category.

Just above the shoreline, communities of reddy-orange, lime-green, dusty-grey and sulphorous-yellow lichen have colonised the exposed sandstone. Interestingly, lichen can only survive where the atmosphere is relatively free of airborne pollutants so its presence is one indicator that an environment is in good health .

A quick snorkel below the shoreline reveals other interesting lifeforms.

The shell of an abalone - Haliotis coccoradiata

A Cowry shell - Cypraea erosa.

And, tucked under a ledge, the brilliant orange of an octopus.

Okay, it's not quite a Beluga whale but never-the-less this octopus was taken home and carved up to feed the adult members of the tribe.

The Bradley's Head octopus was thrashed forty times on a rock to soften it up before being cooked with freshly chopped chilli, ginger and garlic.

And then cut up into smaller sections to be eaten with a Wasabe, soy and fresh ginger dipping sauce ...

and a couple of glasses of sauvignon blanc.

Some post-lunch thoughts on the philosophy of kayaking:

A kayak, like a shoe, is just an implement.

The kayak itself is not significant.

It is where you allow the kayak to take your mind that matters most.

Origins

Kayaking was not always the recreational activity of the middle-class / middle-aged.

The origins of kayaks are as efficient hunting tools, necessary for the survival of the tribe ...


Masautsiaq Eipe sits in his kayak.
He puts on his mittens before paddling off to hunt.
(Qaanaaq. NW Greenland)

Several Inuit hunters in kayaks return to shore in a line, towing a Narwhal they have harpooned.
(Qaanaaq. NW Greenland.)

Inuit in a kayak with a Beluga white whale he has harpooned.
(Inglefield Bredening. NW Greenland)

Inuit Hunters butchering a Narwhal at the floe edge.

It was harpooned from a kayak.

(Qaanaaq. NW Greenland.)

Inuit Hunters having a break after butchering a Narwhal on the sea ice.

(Qaanaaq. NWGreenland.) Above images from Arctic Photo

Don't try this at home.

Mid-autumn passage to Shelly Beach

Sailing down the harbour and into the dawn.

Peter paddling northwards as the sun clears the eastern horizon.

Derek paddling into the face of a wave as it wraps around the Bower .

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Under the surface Tim spots a spectacular cuttlefish ...

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While observing this beautiful and apparently intelligent creature in its natural habitat one part of the consumptive mind wonders what it would taste like when pan-fried in olive oil and garlic.

A remarkable inhabitant of the city's edge.

Indigenous wanderings Part 1

A beautiful autumn morning was spent exploring sandstone ledges, above and below the water ...

Tucked away beneath the cantilevering ledge of a bush cave it was not that surprising to find an aboriginal midden - brimming with the shells of mussels, oysters and large abalone. It is easy to imagine indigenous families sheltering here and feasting on shellfish gathered at the harbour's edge.

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A quick snorkel along the underwater ledges was highlighted by finding two Cowrie shells - in this instance, relatively large examples of this species for Sydney Harbour. This type of shell was prized by indigenous peoples all around the Pacific for its ornamental qualities and often incorporated in decorative necklaces and as adornments to some tools. Perhaps somewhere in the Sydney bush, tucked beneath a ledge, there lies an Eora necklace or someother relic of indigneous existence.

Indigenous wanderings Part 2

With the morning evolving into a beautiful afternoon, a second short passage over the harbour was undertaken and, by reference to an old photograph, the aim was to locate and observe indigenous rock carvings at a small beach ...

Shovels and a bucket are uncommon additions to this afternoon's kayaking apparel.

The photograph above (taken in the 1940's) shows the carvings that are to be found on a tessellated rock platform beneath a bed of sand on a beach - that shall remain nameless here to preserve its further rude intrusion by people just like us.

Excavating trenches across the beach to locate the carvings ...

... concludes many blisters later without the carvings being found, but with their location perhaps narrowed to a smaller area that can be excavated on another occasion.

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Behind "Carving Beach" is the swollen hump of another large midden. Here a couple of oyster shells from the top surface of the midden are shown - representative of the last meals that the indigenous inhabitants of Sydney Harbour ate before being swept away by a tide of disease and dispossession.

Autumn afternoon

With a small window of opportunity in the afternoon a quick trip was taken to Bradleys Head to snorkel over the sea garden ...

... where many small tropical fish are enjoying the autumn conditions.