Low Tide Lemon Shark

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Sunrise three days running, just past the small shore break, during the low tide lull, small sharks were working where the turbid outflow was creating a ribbon-like line with the incoming clear tidal current. I cast a small popper when I saw their fins break the surface but they seemed intent on something else. Both Friday and Saturday were intense fishing, as schools of Trevally Caranx ignobilis, QueenFish Scomberoides commersonnianus and mackerel, were everywhere again feeding on small baitfish.

On Sunday, as I floated near the Lee Point rock outcrop, in fairly shallow water, a vortex spun my kayak around and as I peered over the starboard a fish about the size of a young horse was peering back at me. I didn’t have time to panic but as I assessed my situation I must admit I contemplated going in for the day.

I stayed out and not long after caught a Trevally which fought hard under the kayak. I expected it to be munched at any time and I brought it onto the deck as quick as possible as to not have a lurching shark try to grab it next to the kayak. I caught several more without any issues that I know about.

I saw the same or another similar sized shark 20 minutes later, but it seemed intent on heading in the opposite direction. I never saw its dorsal fin break the water, but I consistently saw smaller fins working the surface the rest of the low tide session. I also saw quite a few large rays in the cloudy outgoing tidal flow so I am thinking they were after specific prey which is still as yet unknown.

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The shark I saw looked more bronze than this one. Local expert Dr Helen Larson of the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, suggested it was perhaps a Lemon Shark Negaprion brevirostris. The shark I saw was more bronze than this one.
[http://dsc.discovery.com/sharks/lemon-shark.html]
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So Similar So Different

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The Native Cherry Exocarpuos latifolius has a hard green seed sitting atop a sweet and luscious red fruit with prominent round leaves. The fruit is very editable.

A very similar plant Strychnos lucida the Strychnine Tree also has round leaves and orange coloured fruit but it contains strychnine. The round leaves have three prominent veins.
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With the recent wet weather many plants are producing fruit. According to some sources the fruiting of these two similarly looking plants usually occurs at different times of the year. So in most years the fruiting season is an additional telltale to help avoid picking the wrong fruit.

Yesterday I met an indigenous family out looking for Hibiscus tree limbs for a fishing spear and they were also gathering Green Plum fruit. They were from Groote Eylandt and had relations living in Darwin. I was there foraging off the Green Plum and the Native Cherry. When I showed John the Native Cherry tree he did not seem too interested in it and it made me wonder if it is too much like Strychnine Tree or just didn’t grow on Groote Eylandt.

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Hot Humid Westerlies

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It has been blowing a consistent 10-20 knots
from the west for five days now.
The mozzies have been restless,
kayaking can only be done
in places sheltering from the westerlies
and very little rain has fallen to relieve the 80% humidity.

These must be the winds that the Makassan traders
used when they sailed from Indonesia to start the Trepang hunting.

Still, the flowering and fruiting has been nothing short of extraordinary. I have been able to snack and walk every day this week.

I started eating the Green Plums Buchanania obovata
when they were a bit bitter,
but I used to like to eat green unripe apples as a kid.

Now that they are soft and ripe they are very sweet
and almost taste like a ripe banana,
but the green ants Oecophylla sp. guard them
so part of the harvest is removing unwanted guests
from entering your mouth.

The Peanut Tree Sterculia quadrifida
has been my next stop.
When the pods are brown the black seed contains
a soft paste that tastes a bit like a peanut.

One of the most striking flowers is the
Wild Orange Capparis umbonata
while its fruit is nothing like an orange.


The Wild Orange fruit is almost like a walnut inside
and very unpalatable so far.

The Jacob's Bloodwood Eucalyptus jacobsiana
is in full bloom on the cliffs
behind the coastal vine forest.
Birds were the first on the scene,
but now the insects are in on the feast.

What A Week For Flowers

FFThe Swamp Bloodwood Eucalyptus ptychocarpa was a surprise package and I must get back to capture its scarlet flowers.
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The Mistletoe Amyema sanguineum var pulchrum is in full bloom and adding an exciting red to gum trees it prefers as hosts.
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Quite a strange flowering plant was the Helicteres isora which was only flowering for a short period of time on one single day. Too bad if you were a bee and the wind was blowing the wrong direction.

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The Green Plum Buchanania obovata is fruiting and I am determined to beat the Imperial Pigeons to taste this delight.
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On our last walk into the grey soil district we discovered the rain had brought on the Freshwater Mangrove Barringtonia acutangula. We will definitely get back soon to see the splendid flowers in bloom.
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We found our first herb growing in the middle of an old 4-wheel track. It smelled of spearmint and we think it might be Cleome viscosa which was used by the indigenous Aboriginals as a decongestant among other uses.

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Now that I know what the Billy Goat Plum Terminalia ferdinandiana looks like they are everywhere. Its hard to believe the fruit is one of the best sources of Vitamin C to be found.
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The Apple Gum Eucalyptus polysciada is flowering in some locations but not others. The bark is peeling away and makes this a very attractive gum tree, small but very creative.

The Wolf Herring Move In

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On Sunday I caught and released several of these Wolf Herring. They have large canine teeth and are full of bones. It appeears there are still a few bait fish around although I could not examine the gut of the fish I caught. Low neap tide was around 10:00.

Dorab wolf-herring Chirocentrus dorab, a species of wolf herring (family Chirocentridae). Drawing by former FishBase artist Robbie Cada.
[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Dorab_wolf-herring.png]

Waiting For More Rain

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The bait fish have all but disappeared from the reef. I was told they were schools of Australian Herring. This morning I was lucky enough to catch lunch. I saw several mackeral shopping for lunch as well so I was lucky they left these Giant Trevally Caranx ignobilis for me.

There is plenty of fruit around the tropical vine forests so it in not surprising to finally see a pair of Sphecotheres viridis Figbirds. They were very melodical and entertained me for several minutes with their songs.

Not So Smooth

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Although I have to wait a year to see the beautiful orange flowers,
the bark of the Scarlet Gum Eucalyptus phoenicea changes my perspective about gum trees always having smooth silky bark.

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The elongated seeds help to identify this plant that loves the rocky granite hills where I often ride my mountain bike.

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