Photo Friday: Hatched turtle eggs in the Great Barrier Reef

Wilson Island, Australia; April 2009 Did you catch my video of a turtle hatchling on Heron Island earlier this week? On nearby Wilson Island, we were lucky enough to find the discarded shells. The turtles nest above the high-tide mark – sometimes in nice fine sand but sometimes a little higher into the leaf litter. [...]

Photo Friday: Hidden rays, Nemo and other fabulous sea creatures

Wilson Island, Australia; April 2009 Turtles remain my favourite but manta rays come a close second. Rays are astoundingly graceful; they move through the water in a long, unrushed glide, their wings rippling ever so slightly. We did not see as many rays as turtles during our stay on Heron and Wilson Island on the [...]

Swimming with the turtles

I’ve teased you with pictures of turtle tracks on the beach and a cautionary tale about losing my toenail in my zeal to see baby turtles. But I’ve been withholding photos of the actual turtles. My friends, I shall tease you no longer. Beautiful, isn’t it? This one actually surfaced to breathe right next to [...]

Photo Friday: Paying the price for turtle love

Wilson Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia; April 2009 Unless you are distracted by the brilliant white of the sand or the jewel-like blue ocean, you might be wondering why I’m wearing a sock on one foot. This is a cautionary tale. For those of you who were hoping for photos of baby turtles as a [...]

Photo Friday: Turtle tracks on Wilson Island

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 [...]

Photo Friday: Anyone for tennis?

Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia; April 2009 During our week on Heron Island for our honeymoon we met another couple, Campbell and Elizabeth from Sydney, and we hung out a few times. The dive and snorkel boats were cancelled for the first few days of our stay due to high seas so we [...]