Last week at low tide we did another rehab walk for my husbands ankle. We’ve been slacking off and not getting to our daily beach walks, but this one was special.
During the full moon we have seen a spring tide which is much higher and lower than usual. The extreme low tide exposed the rocks and with them brought the beautiful sea anemones into view.
I am always in awe of nature and it’s colours and textures and once again I couldn’t stop taking photos.
It’s probably a good thing that it slows me down because it gives my husband a chance to walk up ahead and I catchup.
You can see how the anemones cling in the crevices waiting for small fish to prey on. They use their sticky tentacles to ensnare their prey and pull them into their mouth which is in the centre where it gets digested. If the prey happens to have a shell it gets spat out later, so you often find anemones surrounded my shells. You can only catch a small glimpse of their gorgeous tentacles when they are submerged in water. Once exposed to the air, they pull their tentacles in and look like little soft squishy domes.
As a kid I’d play in the rock pools pushing on the soft domes and watching the sea water spray out like a little sprinkler! It was so much fun.
Some of the rocks were carpeted in sharp mussels. I avoid walking barefoot over them - too many bad experiences of cutting my feet. But they’re still amazing to look at. Here in South Africa you can get a permit to collect fresh mussels off the rocks. It’s been done for years and years by the locals who you’ll see collecting in the evening at low tide and cooking them for dinner.
While Grant watched the surf I also noticed some Limpets which are actually a type of Snail with a conical shell. They have a strong muscular foot which sucks onto the rock and make them very difficult to remove.
Next to them are the smaller barnacles that are found everywhere and often have to be scraped off the bottom of boats each year.
As we walked back we spotted a dead crab that had washed up on the beach. It’s pretty normal to see the odd dead crab. It’s only a problem when there is a red tide and all the sea life starts to walk out of the sea. The red tide is caused by an alagal bloom (fast replicating algae that make the sea look red) that can make any sea creatures that eat them poisonous to humans. Once the algae start to die off they reduce the amount of oxygen in the water causing sealift to either swim to healthier water or walk out of the sea. It’s very sad when this happens, but it’s natural and should be expected from time to time.
On we walk on this gorgeous beach towards home. I love the diversity of the shore and ocean. It really is a privilege we don’t take for granted.
All photos my own