Kianinny Bay and Cunjevoi

Wednesday began early with the big girls heading off to explore the Bundadung mountain bike trails located only 1km from the house. The trails were lovely - sandy through nice forest with not too many tricky bits. Meanwhile the boys were feeding and organising the troops.

Kianinny Bay was chosen as the swimming location for the day. Another great spot less than a kilometre from the house! With the tide out it was a fantastic place to play. We began by jumping off the jetty only to discover the water was freezing, so we retreated back to the beach area. Play revolved around sand construction including making a treasure cake and swimming / boogie boarding. Cathy, Luca and Maki were much more adventurous donning wetsuits and snorkel gear to discover the underwater world of the bay.

The most interesting discovery however was revealed at low tide - a cluster of cylindrical plants which opened up when submerged by water and closed again as the water retreated. The fun part though was pressing or squeezing them resulted in a jet of water being squirted out.

Thanks to a google search later on, we were enlightened to find out these were not plants but animals known as cunjevoi and commonly known as sea squirts! These filter feeding animals are found in large abundance inhabiting rocky foreshores in intertidal surf zones and are often harvested by fisherman for use as bait. Well there you go!