Monday 31 August 2009

Roches Beach to Seven Mile Beach - 1st August 2009

Roches Beach - 1st August 2009The most convenient spot to start this walk is at the eastern side of the Lauderdale "neck". There's a carpark occupying what at one time must have been the eastern outlet of the Lauderdale canal. This is right next to the beach. I did this walk recently on a windy and wet, winter Saturday when anything above sea-level looked dubious. I first headed for the Arm-End walk, but the south-westerly wind was strong enough to make standing difficult in the Arm-End carpark. This walk on the easterly coast was much more sheltered.


The walk heads north along the beach from Lauderdale. It rounds a small headland and follows the beach further. Where the way ahead appears to be somewhat blocked by rocks and low cliffs, it heads up onto the slopes above. This track meanders around alongside the boundaries of houses and farmland. There is a choice at one point - descend back to the beach or remain on the slopes. Your choice might depend on the state of the tide, but the sea-level track is more interesting. The track emerges at Seven Mile Beach, and can be extended to any length as you like.


Cove between Roches Beach and Seven Mile Beach - 1st August 2009There are some lovely concealed bays along this track, and on a warm day there would be plenty of opportunities for a dip in lovely surrounds. This is an easy walk but one worth taking on a day when the weather renders other walks difficult. It was interesting to watch squalls moving up the coast of the Forestier Peninsula while wandering in the sun and gentle breeze along the beach here.

Saturday 15 August 2009

The insect in the video

Here are a couple of photos of the insect seen laying eggs in the video a while ago. I believe it's a Crane Fly, and there is one like it on page 117 of "Wings - an introduction to Tasmania's winged insects" by Elizabeth and Anthony Daley. This is labelled Ischnotoma sp. The insect was injured, possibly by the cat who loves to chase moving things. My son found it and thought it was an interesting insect and as we watched it, we could see it laying eggs. Hence the video in the earlier blog post.