Wilson Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia; April 2009
My love affair with turtles goes back to when I was 21 and on holiday in Tobago in the Carribbean. I’d just spent four months volunteering in Guyana, which was a fascinating experience but hard work. We had to take extreme precautions for personal security and there were few opportunities for relaxation. So for me, Tobago was bliss.
I stayed most of my time in the low-key village of Charlottesville, where I found cheap lodging in a room at the back of a house belonging to the sister of a man who worked at the service station. I remember friendly people, great grilled fish and beer, picking fresh mangoes from the trees growing wild by the side of the road, and endless, lazy days at the beach. I saw turtles when I was out snorkelling and was overwhelmed by their size and grace. One moonlit night I sat up on the beach with new-found friends hoping to see a big mama turtle crawl up the beach to lay her eggs. (I did in fact see this, only not very well since it was dark and it was verboten to use a torch/flashlight and we had to keep our distance and stay very quiet and still).
So when it came time for my then fiancé and I to choose our honeymoon destination, the fact that Heron and Wilson Islands on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia were known to be turtle nesting islands was a definite draw card. I knew we had a good chance of seeing turtles when snorkelling and diving and better yet, it was turtle hatching season so we would have a good chance of seeing the babies dash down the beach. I did not expect to see any mothers laying their eggs, since that is typically finished by this time of year.
Nature is not so predictable. I did see turtles when I was snorkelling and diving, and I did see turtles hatching and running down the beach. These experiences were great and deserve their very own post. But my turtle karma was obviously riding high because there was more in store for us. On the very last day I also saw these turtle tracks – fresh from the night before when the mothers had obviously taken advantage of the moonlight to go lay some eggs. The nests were obvious once you knew they were there – all freshly dug dirt up in the grass and leaf litter on the high edge of the beach, with two tracks, one leading to and one leading away. We could see the pattern of the tracks with the tractor pattern on each side where the flippers move and little marks in the centre where the tail prods the sand. In total we counted four nests and eight sets of tracks.
This post is part of Photo Friday, a weekly blogging event hosted by Debbie of Delicious Baby. Please visit her site to see all the contributions for this week from other bloggers.
REALLY cool photos – i bet it is incredible to see the turtles in person. so magnificent.
I have a major love affair with turtles, so much that I wrote a book about them:) I’ve seen lots of turtles here in Costa Rica, since they come to the shores here too.
Such docile, gorgeous animals!
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They are amazing creatures aren’t they? I will never forget one summer’s night at the beach as child….we saw hundreds of babies crawling out of nests and trying to make their way to the ocean.
Meant to add…what a great honeymoon!
Well there’s something you don’t see everyday — turtle tracks! How very neat!
When we visited Akumal (Bay of Turtles) in Mexico in 2007, we took a night walk with a team of people from the local turtle conservancy. I sat (with my younger child dead asleep) on my lap as other people searched for “lost” hatchlings. And then a turtle came out of the water and lurched up the beach to find a spot to lay her eggs. She chose a spot not 3 ft from where I was sitting. It was an incredible experience.
And these are great photos!
Turtle tracks…I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before, or at least if I did…I didn’t know what they were.
Thanks for giving us a closer look at these. Maybe I’ll know them next time, if I ever see them.
This is truly amazing. I bet it is a sight to see in person! Thanks for sharing. I love the pics
That white sand and blue ocean look divine how lucky to see turtles hatching too!
There are turtles on Zakynthos where my sister lives & they’re a big draw although I’ve never seen one. Even if you don’t actually see a turtle, the fact that they’re protected there, means that the devlopment around the beaches is restricted and makes them so much nicer to visit.
http://www.heatheronhertravels.com/turtles-and-plastic-bags/
That’s a really good point about the turtles bringing side-benefits with the restrictions on development. – Caitlin.