As a follow-up to my previous post we went to check out the impact of the algal bloom at Hallett Cove which is a bit further south than Seacliff and was hit by the bloom earlier. The beach at Hallett Cove has less sand and piles of smooth rocks in an amazing range of colours and patterns. Most of the fish we found were near the high tide mark.
The dead creatures were mostly in a more advanced state of decomposition.
There were Pipefish and Puffer Fish.
Stingrays
and a variety of other fish.
These are both lovely South Australian beaches and very close to home, we’ve been there hundreds of times so why bother blogging about them now? The reason is an algal bloom which started near Victor Harbor in March this year and has had a devastating impact on sea creatures all the way up the coast. On Sunday, 27th July my grandson and I decided to check out the state of the beaches for ourselves and the impact was immediately obvious. We started from the Brighton Surf Life Savers’ tower and walked south towards Seacliff, in no time at all we’d counted 100 Bluefin Leatherjackets. I’m not familiar with fish names so have used iNaturalist to help me identify them, I hope I have the right names.
Initially we didn’t any evidence of the algae but then we came across areas where the horrible murky foam had accumulated.
There were a lot of what we think were Puffer Fish.
I felt conflicted because the devastation was obvious but at the same time we were seeing creatures we had never seen before and it was exciting finding them. Fish with names like Weed Whiting, Tubefish and Pipefish.
We were also surprised to find seahorses or Weedy Seadragons, we would never have expected that they were swimming around just off Brighton beach.
We saw a lot of long fish minus their heads so something was making a meal of them. Although most people have been avoiding eating fish, even from the Fish and Chip shops, there is apparently no danger in eating freshly caught fish. I think it’s unlikely though that there would be many caught off Brighton jetty at the moment.
There were so many fish we’d never seen before as well as a few familiar looking ones.
I would like to think a storm will come and blow all the algae away, creatures will move into the area and everything will return to the way it was but only time will tell.
Our holiday was over and it was time for the glorious? flight home. Unlike when we drove up to Aviemore this time we didn’t take the “scenic route” with all its enormous trucks and holiday makers instead going south west on the familiar A9 though it has changed over the last 40 odd years having been “dualled” in some parts with work still going on in others.
The Slochd is a pass through the mountains between Inverness and Aviemore where I finally managed to get a photo of what used to be called, “The German’s Head”now, “The Soldier’s Head”. It’s not a place where you can stand, deciding on the best angle with cars whizzing past just over the Armco barrier and possibly nasty ticks lurking near your legs hoping for a tasty treat.
Between Aviemore and Kingussie Alex surrendered to the auto pilot and was astonished when the steering wheel turned within his hands to negotiate bends. It was unfazed by oncoming traffic though we passengers weren’t trusting it completely. For a while we took to quieter roads and the scenery was far more interesting.
The drive into Glasgow was very stressful and Satnav Sally let us down, we had to resort to reading road signs! It was a big relief to park the car at the hotel and go for a wander about. The next morning we dropped the car off, it had been a fantastic introduction to a hybrid vehicle.
We had hours to wait after check-in at the Airport so we were happy to find a nice place to sit with a drink and watch all the activity around us. There was a little display on a windowsill of a “St Kilda mailboat”, the history of that little island is intriguing. Its residents were certainly resourceful. The weather was lovely when we arrived in Scotland but it was very dreary as we left.
Alex was asleep before the plane had reached the runway!
We thought we had enough time to calmly find our way to the departure lounge for the next leg of our flight but we were rushed through by officials every step of the way. There was a bus to take us from the arrivals area and we had no control over the speed of that! When we found ourselves in our seats on the plane we kept hearing “Final calls” for passengers on Emirates flight EK477 to Adelaide. The plane seemed to be only about half full when it took off, maybe it was the 1am departure time that made people choose a different connection or maybe there were issues with connecting flights. Whatever, we were on our way again. and it didn’t take long for the first lot of food to arrive!
That was the end of our holiday, back to “old clothes and brose”.
2macstracks 
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