On morning of Saturday 20 th April excursion leader Ken Griffiths and facilitator Maryse arrived at the muster location at 8.00am for our 8.15am muster before driving to the site. The convoy of participants and others gathered at the Woolamai Surf Beach Carpark at 8.45am. After a brief roll call, Ken presented an introduction about the walk, at 9.00am the group of 16 of us started our brisk sustained 6 km, 2.5 hours return walk.
The weather remained clear as we walked down the wooden carpark ramp to the beach. We walked along the wonderful roaring surf beach and were immediately confronted by kelp gulls and pacific gulls feeding on the shearwater birds that had died overnight along the beach. Ravens were circling higher up along the edge of the cliff.
Although there was a geological and historical focus to the walk, a number of members were interested in the coastal botany and birdlife as well. Throughout our walk, Ken made several stops to point out and explain significant geological features of the peninsula.
We saw the impact the sea and salty wind had made on the sand dunes, the sandstone and siltstone cliffs, which were now covered in grass and shrubs. We saw the effects of erosion and weathering on the volcanic basalt rocks and on the very old pink granite boulders which dates back to the Devonian period. Salty sea water weathering has caused cracks and egg-shaped pieces to break away and round shapes to form in the basalt rock and the granite rock. Pieces of basalt rocks broken off and rounded by the waves and wind, now sat on the beach alongside light colour weathered granite rock also rounded by the waves and wind.
Granite rocks forms Cape Woolamai, it has some of the oldest rocks on the island. We observed and discussed the rock changes and formations along the cliff and beach which are the result of erosion and deposits of different layers of rock material. The sandstone and siltstone layering on top of the granite base can be seen on the cliffs along the beach, formed probably during the Cretaceous period. This had been deposited on top of the black / brown coloured volcanic basalt rock over thousands of years. The sand is made up of quartz, hornblende and other dark and pink crystals.
We took the next set of stairs up to walk along the sandy path at the top of the cliff, then we veered to the left along the gently sloping Woodland Track and on towards the Quarry Track.
During the excursion we observed many birds, such as:
Other fauna included a brown wallaby grazing. We could see holes and burrows all along the paths which may have been made by rabbits. Vineyard snails lined both sides of the path.
Coastal plants included:
The Quarry Track led us to a steep descent in the last section heading toward the beach on the other side of the peninsula. There we saw huge pink granite blocks and boulders right on the beach. This was the site of the old disused Woolamai Pink Granite Quarry, which was abandoned in the 1890s. Surprisingly there were a number of huge moreton bay figs and magnolia trees starting to flower and a large mahogany gum eucalyptus growing here. Looking across the sea we could see the San Remo and the Phillip Island bridge and imagine the sail ships carting the beautiful pink granite over to the mainland for use in constructing monuments, buildings and for export.
Regular participant counts were performed along the way and we all returned safely to the carpark via the same route, arriving at 11.15am, we did the final muster roll call count, and concluded the excursion at 11.30am.
On afternoon of Saturday 20 th April excursion leader Ken Griffiths and facilitator Maryse arrived at the muster location at 12.45pm for our 1.00pm muster before driving to the site.
The convoy of participants and 3 others who met us at the Woolamai Surf Beach Carpark gathered on site. I did a brief roll call, Ken presented an introduction about the walk, then our group of 15 started our brisk 5km, 2.5 hours return walk at 1.30pm.
There was a geological focus to the walk but there were a number of members interested in botany and birdlife as well.
We descended the wooden ramp to the walk along the surf beach. At this time of day the sand was as
absolutely covered in foot prints and there were only the skeletons and feathers left of the mutton birds that had died overnight as their bodies had been devoured by gulls and crows.
Throughout this part of the walk, Ken pointed out the impact of erosion by the sea and salty wind on the sand dunes, the compacted sandstone cliffs and the basalt rocks along the beach. We examined the remnants of the large basalt rock platform on the beach with its egg and nest shaped cobbles, the paler granite rocks and boulders, the basalt pebbles and the silicone dioxide sand. We discussed the ongoing erosion and bedding process that has revealed the different layers of rocks and formed the sandstone cliffs.
We took the stairs up the 50m elevation onto the track along the sea cliff. This afternoon was cloudy, with a chilly wind blowing, but still beautiful.
Birds we saw included:
A black snake, possibly a copperhead or brown or tiger snake, was seen curled up right alongside the path.
Coastal plants on this cliff edge track consisted mainly of:
When we arrived at the Pinnacles lookout Ken explained the formation of the granite cliff outcrop and the huge boulders which formed the now 7 granite pinnacles, numerous smooth granite boulders and cobbles at their base. He explained the impact of movement of the earth’s crust, the volcanoes that were once active in the area, the lashing of waves from the sea and the salty wind on the granite rock over thousands of years. We could see the long cracks and joints in the granite where movement of the earth’s crust has pushed and squashed the rocks together.
Regular participant counts were performed along the way and we all returned safely to the carpark via the same route, arriving at 4.00pm, I did the final muster roll call count, and concluded the excursion at 4.10pm.
This excursion was repeated on the morning of Sunday 21 st April, with a muster of participants at 8.30am and a short convoy to the Woolamai Surf Beach carpark to meet others on site. The group consisted of 11 of us.
At the morning walk there were again the gulls feeding on the shearwater / mutton bird carcasses on the beach and ravens circling above the cliff. There were 3 fishermen fishing the surf from the beach, they claimed to have caught several types of fish. That walk also concluded safely at 11.30am.
On afternoon of Sunday 21 st April excursion leader Ken Griffiths and facilitator Maryse arrived at the muster location at 1.00pm for our 1.15pm muster before driving to the site. The convoy of participants and others we met on site gathered in the Kitty Miller Bay Beach carpark at 1.45pm. There were 17 of us in this group. After a brief roll call, Ken presented an introduction about the walk, then we started our gentle 2 hours return walk along the beach at almost 2.00pm. This walk had to be co-ordinated with the times for high and low tides. We headed to the eastern end of the bay first.
The entire area of Kitty Miller Bay is definitely a biodiversity hotspot for marine, birdlife and coastal vegetation and a hotspot for geomorphology. The beach is made up of a mixture of fine sand, coarser sand, cobbles, tiny pebbles, tiny shells, pieces of shells and dried seaweeds. We observed boulders, cobbles, gravel, scoria, pebbles, very tiny pebbles, a mixture of black and yellow sand and silt. Due to wind and wave patterns, the sand here is different to the sand on the other side of the island. The quartz sand here comes from the granite eroded into fine particles and brought in by the waves along the coast.
At Kitty Miller Bay we can see evidence that most of Phillip Island was formed by a number of active volcanoes. Ken explained how the volcanic flows enabled the beach to form the hour glass shaped bay. Where the sand meets the sea there is a huge long platform of volcanic basalt, which has been eroded by the sea, salt and wind to form numerous rock-pools of various sizes.
We stopped at various points to discuss the geology along the beach and the geology of the area. Looking back inland into the distance, we could just make out the top of an extinct old volcano.
Then we walked back along the beach heading west this time, noting curious marine spongy, jelly-like and worm-like vegetation or creatures. A large area of basalt rock platform and rock-pools abuts the sand but we were not able to walk there due to safety concerns.
At the west side of the bay a short steep climb up the beachside cliff of exposed cambrian basement rock led to the top of the cliff for a view of the old ship wreck SS Speke and the beautiful rugged coastline with magnificent views to Pinnacle Rock. A small outcrop of cambrian greenstone rock can be seen, this is even older than the granite rocks, it is the only place this cambrian basement rock is exposed on the island. Basalt columns can be seen on the west side.
Coastal fauna and birds included: bees foraging for nectar in the correara alba, new holland honeyeaters, 2 oyster catchers, herons, a brown kangaroo on the hill right near the beach, 3 pacific gulls gorging themselves on what fishermen may have left on the rocks in the morning.
Coastal vegetation included:
In the waters edge there were various seaweeds, several colonies of sea creatures, some salps and some that looked like gelatinous drops attached into the sand and others that looked like small light green pillows.
Regular participant counts were performed along the way and we all returned safely to the carpark via the stairs at the centre of the bay, arriving at 4.15pm, I did the final muster roll call count, and concluded the excursion at 4.30pm.
ABN 23 918 778 150
Incorporation No A0044963D