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John Sarich (nee Smeeth) after a swim at the ‘TIP’
John’s pic of the ‘Snub Fin Dolphin’
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John Sarich provides an update on his travels. Presently at Cape York, the northern most point of the Australian continent. Here he is coming out of the water at the northern end of Frangipani Beach. (On the western side of the very top (TIP) of Australia). It was a dip n dash. Up here you have crocodiles, stingers and sharks. There were a couple of big locals waist deep on croc watch for a heap of local kids to have a dip, so I reasoned I ought to be safe with them on watch.
Later he spotted a pod of ‘Australian Snub Fin Dolphins’ rounding the top of Australia from west to east. (It was the first time John had sighted ‘Snub Fin Dolphins’ and got the above pic of one of them)
Just to explain their difference from most dolphins we see along coastal NSW. The Australian snubfin dolphin is easily recognised from other dolphins by its blunt, rounded head and absence of a beak. The only species it could be confused with is the dugong, which lack a dorsal fin and have a more robust shape. The dorsal fin in snubfin dolphins is small compared to other dolphins, with a tip that is blunt and rounded. The colour is generally pale to dark brown with the underside lighter in colour. It has an obvious, flexible, neck, and the tail fins have a shallow concave trailing edge and the flippers are large and broad. They are generally found across northern Australia (Qld, NT, WA) where they inhabit rivers and coastal waters.
Editor: Ken Banks on behalf of the Mollymook Ocean Swimmers