Cape Schanck

About two hours drive south of Melbourne is one of my favourite places for photographing the sea. Partly because it is so close to home, and partly because of the variety of angles for taking photographs in all conditions. Unprotected from Bass Strait, the waves here are often very spectacular, crashing high over the wide rock platforms around the cape.

At the very end of the cape is Pulpit Rock. This shot was used for the 1993 National Parks poster for Point Nepean National Park, in which Cape Schanck resides. I had picked out this angle some two years earlier and on the last weeekend before the submission for the posters, I returned in a last effort to get a shot of a local National Park. This shot is one of 24 from the same spot; the only one with the right waves and that glimpse of sunlight.

The rock platforms, while providing a good close look at the waves, also present a danger to people walking over them. On the day I took the above shot, three people were swept off the rocks and fortunately made it back to shore. Others have not been so lucky. I have had mixed fortunes myself.

After walking around for 3 hours I decided to go out on a rock platform. The largest wave I had seen in those 3 hours would have just got my ankles wet. As I set up my tripod, I looked out to see a large wave approaching. Too far to run, I grabbed the tripod and leaned into the wave which came through waist deep. I then retreated to where that wave ran out, set up my tripod again, only to look up and see an even larger wave coming. I had a choice of trying to get out of there, grabbing my camera bag on the way, or hanging on to the tripod and saving at least one camera. I decided on the latter as the wave came through waste deep, 2m higher than any wave I had seen before stepping out onto the rock platform.

I watched as my camera bag tumbled, lid open, over a rock and down into a rock pool. Luckily it landed upright and being waterproof, it floated. I raced around putting my tripod at the base of the cliff and then back to chase my camera bag around the rock pool as the next wave came through. Nothing had fallen out, but the little bit of salt water that got into the bag was enough to have to get the shutter of my SWC rebuilt after it rusted up. I then had to wait for quiet speels in the surf to run around to the next safe point at the base of the cliff. This is definitely not a place where you turn your back on the sea, even if it's quiet.