The eleventh of this Lake Macquarie based series, which seeks to raise some awareness of the inhabitants of the lake. Apologies for the delay between the placement of 1-6 and the most recent ones! What’s a year or so between friends?
One of the all-time great movie lines inspired this series, "We’re gonna need a bigger boat!" If only my geo-wife and my bank manager would let me buy one…
One of my favourite past times is to take my little tinny or one of our kayaks out on Lake Macquarie and spend some time swimming around the sand islands, having a fish at the drop-over, or just cruising around enjoying the sun with the geo-family.
The 1st May 2002 marked a big day for the lake, with the cessation of commercial fishing licences. In slightly more than a decade, the fish stocks have increased, and some of the apex predators are starting to return in more numbers to this environment. In some circles, this has caused hysteria, as every fisherman with a smartphone can now upload footage of the sharks they see. It is well known however that the Newcastle/Stockton/Port Stephens region is a nursery for sharks, and it should be no surprise that they are here in the lake too.
This series is dedicated to a range of creatures you might find in the lake if you spend enough time here. I’ve met most of them in recent years, although haven’t come face to face with the two largest… yet! We have lost the odd fish over the years to some cheeky seals though!
The caches in this series are not found at the listed coordinates. I have instead attempted to develop a lake based piece of geo-art.
We’re gonna need a bigger boat #11 – Kingfish (Seriola Lalandi)
Characteristics
Most importantly, they are tasty. Really, really tasty. And it feels a bit like you’ve pulled the plug out of the ocean when you hook one up. A lot of fun.
Yellowtail Kingfish have long bodies and a slender head, which is longer than their body depth. Yellowtail Kingfish are generally a blue or blue-green colour on their back, white-silver below. The caudal fin is yellow.
Size
The largest fish commonly caught are up to 1 m long, weighing 10-15 kg. Maximum of 70 kg and approximately 2 m in length. My best is not as big as that by a long shot, but I had a great day in the Bay of Islands in NZ catching a few crackers. Sadly I got a real horse of a kingfish at one point and as I got it near the boat a Bronze Whaler chomped it. I got my revenge though - I caught the Whaler as well!
Distribution
Yellowtail Kingfish occur in ocean waters from Queensland south to Western Australia, and inhabit temperate waters worldwide. They are often found associated with floating objects in the ocean and pylons and jetties within bays. Juveniles are commonly found in schools.
Information sourced from:
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/fish-species/species-list/yellowtail-kingfish
Given that I have spent some time developing this geoart (as limited as though it may be), I thought this puzzle might be a chance to draw your own. It’s a bit like a dot to dot (of sorts), except that I’m not going to be generous and tell you which order the dots are in. You can work that bit out. After all, where’s the fun in just being handed an answer…
To help you though, here’s another form of art I developed once. It’s a self-reflective spoken word piece which perhaps captures the essence of my experience, and lights a way forward in my own life. What’s the harm in sharing? We’re all friends here, right?
Zipper Irritating Midnight
Blazer Unzipped Staying
Developed Reposition Reckless
Steadily Situated Toil
Lock Engraving Fluids
Viewed Slider Gerbils
Blinds Yoga Regards
Heave Tightest Postcards
Materially Cheekbone Overstate
Discarding Monumental Bumped
Sympathies Lonelier Bleak
Churn Tenants Faithless
Penniless Sleeve Chimp
Accredited Playbook Almond
Forming Scouts Massively
I can only hope that this offering helps you to "shape" your life, like it has done for me. I only wish you could disregard the bit about gerbils… but sadly it’s needed. You can even check your thoughts here. This is art remember, so don't bother with numbers. Tell me what you see...
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.
If you are in the area, why not try and connect with some of the local area geocachers? Check out HAVOC on Facebook - the Hunter Area Victims of Caching!