Bellarine Peninsula

Looking For Marine Life at Queenscliffe Boat Ramp

Jade Craven · April 11, 2024 ·

The marine biology cruise finished at 3pm, so we had a bit of time to spend in Queenscliffe. We had a lot of luck previously in the nearby harbour, so I was keen to see what species we could find.

I wasn’t able to look as comprehensively as I would have like. There are a group of pelicans that love hanging around the area. They were either on a boat ramp, or the ramp was covered with their poop. And pelican poop is considerably larger – and messier – than seagull poo.

We found a nice variety of marine life. The camera settings are still very hit and miss when it comes to focus. I think I need to step back and learn how to use it properly! Queenscliff is also on the Bellarine, so the water moves a more than somewhere like St Helens.

I’m not going to try to identify these species due to photo quality. I think the spot is useful for marine biologists, but it isn’t somewhere I would visit. I’ll check out more parts of the harbour next trip.

Marine Biology Cruise: Autumn 2024

Jade Craven · April 11, 2024 ·

Finally! A marine biology cruise out on Port Phillip Bay where the weather was mild.

Seth and I first went on a marine biology cruise in 2019. We loved it and thoroughly enjoyed getting a closer look at the type of life we normally wouldn’t find. We were keen to return to see what creatures we could find now that we were more knowledgeable. I tried to share that experience with Glenn in 2022, but we ended up getting saturated.

Clifton Springs Boat Ramp at Night

Jade Craven · March 11, 2024 ·

I had a lot of fun at Clifton Springs harbour looking for sea squirts. We stopped to have fish and chips as dusk was falling. We then returned to the harbour to see what critters we could find at night.

Seth LOVES looking for marine critters at night, however we are somewhat limited with the species we can find at the beaches close to Geelong. At least the ones with decent lighting!

Clifton Springs Boat Ramp: March 2024

Jade Craven · March 10, 2024 ·

Last month, Seth and I checked out the boat ramp at Clifton Springs. The beaches there are turning out to be awesome for finding marine life.

We had just visited Cindys beach and were planning to get fish and chips. Seth and I hung out at the boat ramp to see what marine life we could find. This time, we went to the ramps closest to the car park entrance. These two ramps were different from the others in terms of ascidians. It also looks like it may have had soft coral on the underside recently.

Marine Life at Cindys Beach

Jade Craven · March 9, 2024 ·

Last month, we found some cool marine critters at Clifton Springs. This was at the main beach just behind the harbour. We did a bit of wandering while there and saw that there was another beach behind the harbour that looked cool. There were a lot of rocks to potentially look under and what looked like other wooden pier bases. The walk to get down to that section was pretty steep though.

I used Google Maps and Street View to see if there was an alternate way to access that beach. I found what looked to be an area for cars to park on Edgewater drive plus steps to a different beach. We choose to visit this beach to see what we could find.