Cape Deslacs: Clifton Beach to Cremorne

There is not a great deal of genuine climbing in this traverse. However there is some enjoyment to be had in climbing on rock that would normally be considered too loose for climbing. The area is also quite beautiful and reasonably dramatic due to medium to large cliffs over sculptured chossy rocks and towers. The traverse also presents some swimming challenges depending on the weather.

Our first attempt on this traverse started at Cremorne, but was aborted very near the final point of Cape Deslacs due to rough water. Caves, ledges and abrupt angles in the coast seem to create quite hazardous swimming if the swell gets up. One scary swim involved tackling randomly emerging pyramidal surges of wave, and getting back on to the rocks took a number of attempts. We climbed up the loose cliff to escape.

The next week we started at the Clifton beach end and encountered no difficulties. The sea was almost glassy, reflecting pretty patterns on the roofs of sea caves that the previous week had funnelled waves and spurted froth.

The climbing is mostly concentrated along the chossy coast of Cape Deslacs: at water level the rock is quite sturdy, but quality traversing here requires some imagination. Quite a few very short swims are necessary on this section. There are also some water blowholes if the conditions get rough, though the traverse is not likely to be safe in those conditions.

Eventually, the rock changes to dolerite and the climbing area of Lark's Edge is reached. Unfortunately, there is not a great amount of rock that falls into the sea here Lark's Edge . After this it is mostly rock hopping. To finish, one must swim across the mouth of the lagoon at Cremorne, which has reasonably strong currents.