Adjusting our activity rather than obstinately persisting in the midst of summer heat is reinforced by finding something that really works as a family.  It’s pretty good as a general social get-together too – but the greatest quiet satisfaction is the way it suits the three of us.

Twenty minutes by bike or half that by car from our front door is the Swan River-side limestone cliff of Blackwall Reach.  A few hundred metres long but maybe 15 metres high at the most, it is a place we wish we’d made the most of when we first moved here.  Our recent routine has been to launch a kayak nearby to carry one of us with Bryn while the other ‘deep water solos’.  The climbing is free of ropes and extraneous clutter.  There’s a longitudinal line of least resistance that has a few tricky sections to encourage forearm ‘pump’ or splash-down.  Increasing familiarity leads to contemplation of more testing vertical ascent options together with greater commitment to smaller holds – the possibilities are considerable.