DSS#10: Pyramid Rock
The cache, a small tablet camo-pot, is hidden in a granite crack above this pebbly, rocky shore north of Castle Rocks
To access the cache:
Park in the small roadside parking area at or near S 34 14.335 E 18 28.544, find the steps at S 34 14.361 E 18 28.554 and descend them through a bush tunnel, crossing a dirt access road and then further steps alongside the house with the water tanks, to access the beach and make your way along the small trail to the cache location.
The cache was placed in recognition of AndyT1's cache GC2T9QV: Pyramid Rock which was archived on 6/12/16 after some 56 finds. It was one of a memorable and notably well-prepared 14-cache series published simultaneously on 24/12/2011 - to the great excitement of local cachers who in response feverishly assembled a pre-dawn FTF mission! The mission was only partially successful with 3 FTFs - a certain early bird Cape CCR having nabbed the other 11 some few minutes before!
The original series was not numbered and the current numbering is based on the sequence of caches running north to south. As at January 2017, 7 of the original 14 caches have been archived and are targeted for replacement at nearby new locations. Thanks are due to AndyT1 for kindly agreeing to the use of his excellent original cache descriptions, which described the dive sites and featured 'local critters', as reference material in preparing the new cache descriptions.
The key resource material for divers wishing to dive these sites is the excellent Diving the Cape Peninsula and False_Bay which gives thorough and comprehensive general information and links to specific information for most of the numerous individual dive sites covered. The web-site is a mine of information on the various underwater aspects of the peninsula and bay and is well worth a read even by non-divers (such as myself).
Dive Site Description
This dive site is part of the Castle Rocks Marine Reserve established in 2004 and as a result is one of the best sites for fish. There are several excellent dive sites accessible from a very
limited amount of roadside parking, or by a short boat ride from Miller's Point.
This part of the peninsula coastline is a steep mountainside below the Swartkop mountains. There is very little ground along this strip which is not steep, but on reaching the sea, the slope flattens out and the small rocky peninsula of Castle Rocks juts out into the bay. There is sufficient reasonably sloped ground for a few houses above and below the main road.
This area has granite corestone reefs with sandy patches between them, and almost flat sand bottom further out. Some sandstone boulders have travelled a short distance offshore by means of wave action and gravity, and a most of the smaller shoreline boulders are sandstone. Many of the reefs are fairly large areas of massive ridges, gullies with occasional loose boulders on top, some of which are huge.
Pyramid Rock is a pointed rock easily seen from the shore which projects above water in all conditions. It is 300m directly out (east) from the cache location. The reef drops off from the surface to around 12m deep on the sand. It consists mainly of granite boulders surrounded by sand. There are several small tunnels, caves and overhangs and . . . lots of fish! The predominant covering is kelp, with a few orange wall sponges and other soft marine growth.
Species seen here include Red Steenbras, Bank Steenbras, Red Stumpnose, John Brown (Janbruin), Zebra, Galjoen, Cape Knifejaw, Milkfish, as well as more common species like Red Roman, Hottentot, Blacktail, Strepie, Steentjie, Fransmadam, Redfingers, Two-tone Fingerfin and some of the common local Klipfish species.
Cow sharks , Spotted gully sharks, Striped and Leopard catsharks and Puffadder shyshark may also be seen. There is also a large diversity of invertebrates. See Gallery for fishy photos.
The site is a fairly easy swim from shore, and a boat is not necessary.
See here for more information and a dive site map.
Featured Critter – Red Roman
One of the better known fish in False Bay, the Red Roman or Red Sea Bream (Chrysoblephus laticeps which means 'golden-eyed broad head') grows up to 50cm long, is found from Northern Namibia to Eastern Cape in 5-100m of water - and is endemic to this area.
It is robustly built and instantly recognizable by its bright red colour with a striking white saddle, white band across the gill cover and a distinctive blue stripe across the snout linking the eyes. It has prominent canines and several rows of molars in both upper and lower jaws.
It feeds on crustaceans, molluscs, worms and echnioderms. Females mature at 17-20cm and then become territorials males when reaching 30cm.
See here for a short video of Red Roman fishing in False Bay.