This printed metal sign is within a metal pipe frame, and has the following information on it:
"A Wondrous World of Life and Colour
"Whales come and go from these waters around Yilki Reef, which is part of the Fleurieu Peninsula sub tidal reef, but some creatures live here all year-round. If you are walking around the reef at low tide, look carefully and you'll spot sea grass, many different coloured algae, small fish, molluscs (snails), sea urchins, crabs, nudibranchs (slugs) and maybe even a few colourful seastars. These are called intertidal species and they, like the entire reef, are protected, so please don't remove or disturb anything. That's even true of rocks. If you overturn a rock and put it back the way you found it, the creatures living under it could die. So look and enjoy but don't disturb.
"Yilki Reef Watch
"Yilki is a Reef Watch Intertidal Monitoring Site, a place where we learn about the fascinating variety of life that exists just metres from where you are standing.
"Want to know more? Join a monitoring program!
Learn more at the Conservation Council SA website:
www.conservationsa.org.au/reef_watch
"Tropical reefs do not have a monopoly on fascinating and vivid fish. In the sub-tidal reef zone (between 50-100 metres from where you are standing now), some of Australia's most iconic fish live out their lives pretty much in the same spots for decades.
The blue devil, for example, can live up to 75 to 80 years old and lurks in exactly the same location all its life, gobbling smaller fish that swim past. Bright orange or yellow, the harlequin fish is harder to spot here, mainly because it is a prized catch.
"Temperate fish tend to be less colourful than their tropical relatives, although a few like the brilliantly coloured horseshoe leatherjacket ('above middle') are so flashy as they come. Colours of fish vary depending on their habitat, age and stage of life.
"The sub-tidal reef is out past the low tide line, and is, like the closer inter-tidal reef, a home for a dazzling array of marine life.
"If you are patient (and very lucky) you might just witness a fabulous sight, a whale leaping out of the water right before your eyes …
It's called breaching, but why do whales do it?
No one knows for certain, but it could be to scare off predators or get rid of parasites.
"Breaching might be the whale's way of telling everyone, 'Hey, I'm really big and I want to be noticed!' Or maybe they are just having fun …
"Among wildlife photographers, the 'breaching whale' picture is a special trill. Want to try it yourself?
"Yaral-inti towun, Nginti ngui-ildul Ramindjeri-Ngarrindjeri meli. Kar yamalai ma thawar alyenik ruwaid.
"-When you tread, think of the Ramindjeri-Ngarrindjeri people. They are the first people of this land."
Address: Franklin Parade, Victor Harbor, SA, 2251, Australia
Visited: 0656, Tuesday, 29 May, 2018