Above: Small groups of Year 4 & 5 students wearing hats and safety vests explore the reef off Port Noarlunga.

In addition to the excellent aquatics opportunities offered at Pt. Noarlunga, the venue has an easily accessible reef, beautiful sandy beach, excellent jetty, boat ramp and a river estuary within easy walking distance. The area is also a favourite tourist attraction and community venue for many recreational, boating, diving and fishing activities.

One of the creatures encountered by the children on the reef was  the blue-ringed octopus. This creature is one of the world's most venomous and deadly sea creatures. Its poison has been known to bring death within a few minutes. There are two species of blue-ringed octopus found in Australian waters. 

The more common but smaller octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa, is found in southern Australian waters. It is also known as the southern blue-ringed octopus or southern banded octopus. 

The creature is commonly found in rock pools along the Noarlunga reef. Our students were well prepared for the creature and kept a safe distance from the small, but nevertheless deadly octopus.

When teachers plan these types of excursions there are many things to consider. Safety is always the number one consideration. On this particular excursion, the students were supervised in small groups by instructors, teachers and parent volunteers. Sun smart hats and safety vests were essential. 

It was also important to time the excursion to fit in with the tides. Low tide is the best time to explore the reef.

Left: As the tide began to rise it was back into the rubber duckies to travel back to the beach for the beach-comb.