Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009 at 16:47
Shame you couldn't find
Red Gully - its another lovelly spot, only a hundred meters or so past Krauklis road turnoff on the left, but on the right.
Theres a marron
farm on the left heading toward
Augusta just before it and Krauklis rd, as you cross over the little bridge with the white railings, farms owned by the Bishop family.
Glad you liked the camping spot on the Donnelly river, and the fresh trout! One of my old haunts from trout guiding days down there a lifetime ago.
Hope you left a few for the rest of us! ;o)
Gotta love that steep track getting back out eh!
Blackpoint likewise is another VERY scenic spot - but haven't been back there since the tragic loss of 3 members of the Stallard family from
Nannup off those rocks one
easter weekend.
It's a VERY dangerous spot with the wrong weather if your a salmon fisherman, so please DO be extra carefull down there.
Lake Jasper's another great spot for a
camp - specially during the marron season - the lake has a good stock of them.
Looks like you saw a LOT of what the southwest has to offer - and yes thats Barrabup pool in the swim spot pics (not Barragup).
A safety tip for those who want to fish off the rocks into the southern ocean at
Black point and similar spots.
The reason so many who fall or are washed into the southern ocean die, is due to the cold water temps and lack of flotation.
We here in WA are used to hot temps and deserts, not ice cold water.
Immersion survival times in water cold enough to support the salmon migration (19 degrees C and less) along the southern coast are about 2 - 3 hours without flotation device.
What happens is the body tries to preserve core body temp so slows / stops bloodflow to the extremities, where most heat is lost. as a result - you get bad muscle cramps and drown - within 2 -3 hours - maybe 4 if your a fat fella like me!
IF you wear a life preserver however (inflatable life jacket) while
rock fishing and should happen to get swept in - you exted that immersion survival time to about 7 hours.
Facts:-
1. its very hard to get communications out of
black point - it usually takes about an HOUR of 4wding to get to a phone and summon help if someones swept in.
2. It takes about 2 or 3 hours sailing from the nearest ports (
Augusta or
Windy Harbour) to get to
Black point in a boat to rescue anyone.
Add those two times together and you can see that basically - anyone who falls in or is swept off the rocks at Blackpoint WITHOUT a flotation device is basically DEAD before help can get there!
Please take the precaution of wearing such a life jacket If you must fish the rocks of the southern ocean for salmon in remote spots like
Black Point - where time delays mean any fall or mishap that lands you in the water is basically a death sentence.
With flotation - you might just come out of it alive.
Should you happen to have a 406 mtz epirb with you as
well - then finding you after your swept out to sea with your flotation device is MUCH quicker and easier for those who have to come look for you.
There are at least 1 or 2 salmon fisherman deaths off the southern ocean rocks every year on average - and a simple flotation device would alter those sad statistics markedly if ONLY we could get the anglers etc to wear life jackets when fishing from the rocks.
Sorry to harp on about it - if this advice saves just one life in the future, by educating folks then the effort was worthwhile.
The members of the Stallard family lost off Blackpoint were family friends, Mrs Stallard used to baby sit our 3 kids and I used to drive her kids to school on the bus every day for sme years, it was a terrible tragedy that hit close to
home, hence my preaching about the issue to anyone who will listen.
Cheers
AnswerID:
360891
Follow Up By: Member - Duncan W (WA) - Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009 at 19:56
Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009 at 19:56
Know Geoff Stallard very
well, that tragedy hit him pretty hard.
FollowupID:
628693
Follow Up By: Flywest - Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009 at 22:24
Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009 at 22:24
Duncan - It hit the whole town really hard and devastated the entire family. The Stallards were one of the early settlers of the region and are a very large & respected family in the town.
"Percys Pool" at
Black Point was named after ol Percy Stallard.
Losing the mum and two boys, is something no one can comprehend.
There have been more deaths off the south coast rocks since then - from
Yallingup - right around to
Esperance and some of them kids.
I wanted the wearing of life preservers while fishing on the rocks below 34 degrees south, to be legislated, but that chardonnay sipping ex state govt minister Alana Mc Chardonnay wouldn't hear of it - probably never sobered up enough to go to work to read her mail!
Apparently lives don't matter, not even those of our kids.
Sad when you think so many of them could probably have been saved had they been wearing a life preserver.
Look at the
young bloke lost in a rip off
Denmark this
Easter just gone - what would his chances have been if he had been wearing some type of life preserver?
The Southern Ocean kills - something few visitors used to swimming (or fishing) at Cottesloe or
Scarborough can comprehend.
I don't know how one gets that message across?
Cheers
FollowupID:
628724