Action at Eden

Our destination today was 50km south to the explore the historic whaling town of Eden. Our first priority - a visit to the Sapphire Coast Marine Discovery Centre. Nestled amongst the working harbour of Snug Cove, this centre focuses on temperate marine education and research.

The children were entertained and educated about many aspects of the marine environment. Several small aquariums held a variety of local marine animals, with the octopus being the children's favourite. There were loads of hands on stuff from microscopes, to a beach combing table and a large collection of shells! Mira and Katy enjoyed the touch pool which contained a decorator crab, elephant snail, slate pencil urchin, waratah anenome, sea snails and a star fish. Ella discovered the library while I particularly like the seaweed light boxes!

The visit finished with the children participating in a cuttlebone carving session. To begin the session, the volunteer talked about cuttlefish. Closely related to octopus and squid, cuttlefish are know as the chameleons of the sea. Apparently they have an amazing ability to rapidly change the colour, pattern and shape of their skin in order to communicate with other cuttlefish, camouflage themselves or to warn off predators. The cuttlebone is the internal shell of the cuttlefish and it is this feature which differentiates it from a squid.

Anyway the children were shown how to use various tools to carve a pattern or design into the cuttlebone. Ella and Max were straight into it. Katy and Mira needed a little more assistance. Once the design process was complete, the cuttlebone had wire and timber attached in order for each masterpiece to be hung up. Although finished at the centre, our girls tweaked their designs several days later in the car on the way back to Canberra by using coloured pencils which worked really well. A great craft idea to keep in mind when were are at the beach next time.

After a bite to eat, we wandered up to Rotary Park Lookout which has fantastic panoramic views across Twofold Bay to Boyds Tower and Mount Imlay. Twofold Bay is the 3rd deepest harbour in the southern hemisphere and and rich in krill making is a perfect spot for humpback whales (and their calves) to feed and rest during their journey southwards. Despite being out of whale watching season, we scanned the waters in hope to see a whale or two without any luck.

We continued to stroll around the headland pausing for a few minutes for the children to climb trees and play hide and seek. While we were chatting a gentleman walked by and then doubled back to us. He told us that he worked as a volunteer for Marine Rescue NSW and if we liked he could give us a tour of the rescue tower! About 20 minutes later we were in the tower hearing about life as a marine rescue volunteer. The kids used his binoculars to spot a group of seals which inhabited a nearby rocky outcrop. A lovely opportunity!

As the day was drawing to an end, we thought we could fit one more thing in - a trip to the Killer Whale Museum. Eden. More on that next…..