Ardrossan Crabs

There are a couple of dominant features of Ardrossan ... one is the grain bulk handling facility with the largest elevator tower in the state - 70 metres high. Another is the 25 metre cliffs of clay that seperate the town from Gulf St. Vincent Ardrossan sits on the east coast of the peninsular, about 90 minutes from Adelaide ... most workers in the town are involved in shipping either grain or dolomite. But that's not the purpose of this story ... we're in Ardrossan to get among the blue swimmer crabs who love the shallows beneath the red cliffs. Crabbing is in full swing but you better not think you can outcrab anyone from Ardrossan. So I enlisted the help of Mark Hicks who runs the Royal House Hotel Motel. Mark's a bloke who'se been crabbing so long locals say during the season he gets out of bed sideways.

"Crabbers pulling their troughs through the water tend to look like a goose". Or in this case more like a chook scratching around. This only goes to show it's not as easy as Mark makes it look. "Technique is you just grab 'em but some times they fight back, I found that out". Even though the waters here seem littered with blues ... there are rules to crabbing and everyone needs a measurer. "Check this one out .. no it's way too small ... we'll go find some more". "This is a small fellow as well ... goes back for next year". There aren't only crabs to watch out for, "fiddlers" or "skates" are harmless but can give you a shake if you step on one. A rule of thumb: crabs are best in months that have the letter "R" in it so March and April are terrific. We were close to our bag limit of 40 crabs per person when we ambled back to Mark's pub where the blues were put into boiling water. The bloke in charge of cooking is Don Aish - an uncle of footballers Michael and Andrew. Eating crabs isn't the most civilised dining but it may be close to the most agreeable - especially fresh from the gulf. In addition to offering crab cooking and eating facilities the Royal House has Motel units that start from $40 per night and pub rooms for $25 per night. Free with the room comes the best information on crab hot spots. You can call Mark Hicks at Ardrossan on 08-8837 3007. For more information email: info@postcards-sa.com.au