Sunset over Skull Rock

By: Thomas Coad

During today’s seafloor mapping transects we came ‘face to face’ with a rather sinister rock formation, carved into the granite cliffs of Cleft Island.

Located South West of Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria and towering 66m above the sea, Cleft Island is more commonly known by local seafarers by a different name, Skull Rock.   Take one look at this geological marvel and you can see how it earned this title. Its westward side bears an uncanny resemblance to that of a human skull. A cave forms the eye socket of this skull and stretches 130m in length, 60m deep and 60m high. This cave is grassy within and was possibly hollowed out by ancient waves when sea levels were higher than those today.

In the evening, we watched on in awe as the falling sun cast Skull Rock in an angelic light. As the final rays sank below the horizon, Investigator was shrouded in darkness once again and the hydrographic surveying team continued to map into the night.