The charm of Rapid Bay

'I have hardly seen a place I like better'. 

So said South Australia's Colonial Surveyor General Colonel Light when he stepped ashore here in 1836 and named this bay after his ship.

I have to agree. We, too, had a lovely time in this beautiful but rather forgotten part of South Australia. We set off on Saturday morning in perfect summer weather: warm sunshine, a light sea breeze, a cloudless blue sky. Rapid Bay is on the west coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula (half-way down this map), about 40 minutes from home.

There's a few houses and a caravan park but not much else. Today, the area is a popular site for swimming, fishing, scuba diving and snorkelling.

The few scattered houses were constructed in 1938 by BHP for workers at the limestone quarry they were busily establishing. Over 130 people were employed here in this out-of-the-way spot when production began in 1942. BHP sold the mining lease in 1981 to the Adelaide Brighton Cement Company which continues to operate the venture.

The first thing we noticed was a very long, but decaying, jetty. This was the one built by BHP in 1941 for off-loading the ore onto the ships. Abandoned in 1991, it is understandably off limits now, as this photo reveals.

Here is a view of the quarry hugging the hillside with the jetty to the right. The rocky shoreline below the quarry comprises the remains of quarry tailings. A little further on, though, and you're on lovely golden sand. 

In recent years a new, modern jetty has been built parallel to the old one.  Both jetties have created artificial reefs and the area is considered by some to be one of the world's top nine dive sites. Divers can see colourful coral, a variety of fish and the endangered leafy sea dragon. I copied the next bit of text from a diving website because it is so evocative.

Rapid Bay is not only a very popular site because of a high chance of seeing Leafy Sea Dragons here, but also because of the fact that the old jetty is a beautiful dive site and a photographer’s dream itself. The old jetty pylons are beautiful, overgrown with soft corals in a multitude of colours! You’ll find sponges and ascidians in bright colours like yellow, orange, purple and blue. You can find lots of colourful nudibranchs, (pygmy) leatherjackets, cowfish, and massive schools of old wives and pufferfish and much more. One of our favourite photography moments is when the sun is out and you see rays shining straight through the old jetty through the water underneath. If you’re lucky you will meet one of the massive local Bull Rays, which are very friendly and usually quite curious! Don’t be surprised if they circle you a couple of times!

Source: divingadelaide.com.au

Today the jetty was occupied by holidaying fisherfolk, young and old.

I strolled along the jetty ...

... then took to the beach. I loved the colourful water-washed rocks sparkling in the sun, though it was a bit tricky navigating them to get to the sand.

But I finally made it and headed towards the faraway bluff.

All we could hear was the gentle lap of water on sand. Here Steve is fighting off the crowds.

What a sense of splendid isolation despite the nearby camp ground.

The beach was bordered by towering cliffs...

... and mysterious caves.

I ventured closer into one of the caves. That gap in the rock looked too 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' for me, so I took a couple of shots and hightailed it out of there.

By the time we had strolled the length of the bay and were on the return walk, there were more people out and about enjoying the weather and the pleasant surroundings.

I even found a crab.

As we motored away from Rapid Bay, we looked back and had a wonderful last glimpse of the water.

We then headed for Normanville (check out map) where we had lunch at a delightful cafe. Here is my carrot and zucchini muffin - and you can see I was also devouring news of the Tour Down Under.

 I thought this free lending library a wonderful community idea. People place books in and can take one out.

 We then walked around the town before heading back home.

The road to Victor Harbor (the Inman Valley Road) passed through the tiny town of Yankallila and  was the route the Tour Down Under cyclists took (refer to map again), so I was imagining them winding and twisting around the curves and navigating scarily down the hills to Victor Harbor.  Unfortunately, Steve does not share my new-found interest in cycling, so my gasps and remarks fell on decidedly closed ears.