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Date: May 2006
Location: Bundaberg, Queensland Australia
Just a four hour drive north of Queensland's capital, Brisbane,
and you're at Bundaberg, Queensland's sugar capital and the southern gateway to the
Great Barrier Reef.
There is more to Bundaberg than sugar and fine Queensland rum - with the reef at its doorstep,
Bundaberg offers opportunities for diving, snorkelling, sailing, fishing, coral viewing, or just soaking up the sub-tropical sun. But for the nature minded, Bundaberg is hard to beat, especially when it comes to a close encounter with ancient marine turtles.
To watch the turtles on Bundaberg's Coral Coast is to watch a struggle for survival by creatures that live their lives in a sea
teeming with troubles.
Visit Mon Repos Beach, less than 15km outside Bundaberg, and you will be sharing your stay with amazing Loggerhead, Green,
Leatherback and Flatback turtles. These huge marine turtles choose the waters off the Coral Coast and Isles for their breeding season.
Nesting takes place at night during November through to the end of January and hatchlings can be seen making their way to the waters
edge from January until March.
If you go to Mon Repos, there is no doubt that, like me, you will experience the palpable sense of excitement among the many who walk the beach searching for a hoard of turtle hatchlings.
There are few experiences more likely to find a permanent place in your memory then the sight of a group of soft leathery hatchlings frantically digging their way out of their sandy nursery to take their first eager steps. Steps that may lead the more cunning or lucky towards a long life or an early death if they are spotted by a hungry gull, fish or shark.
Visit Mon Repos when adult females are nesting and the experience could not be more different. Here, rather than excitement, there is a feel of sympathy. Take a look around the crowd and you will be able to pick those women who are mothers. For in their eyes is empathy and compassion as they watch these aged creatures struggle up the white sand, nestle among the dunes, and lay their eggs. They then watch as the same creatures, now exhausted from their work, crawl back down the beach never to see their hatchlings - duty done. Move with the crowd as they follow the lumbering turtles back to the water urging the exhausted ladies of the Coral Coast every step of the way. Just listen for the cheer when an exhausted turtle swims into the pitch-black water.
The best time to view the turtles is between 7pm and 6am from the Mon Repos Conservation Park. Sadly the turtles are scarce and you may have to wait for two or more hours before the rangers allow you onto the beach. The total visit on Mon Repos may be up to six hours but for those who care about nature a long night on a cool sub-tropical beach is paid in full at the first sight of a tiny hatchling or lumbering adult.
Nesting: November through to the end of January
Hatchlings can be seen making their way to the waters edge from January until March.
For more information:
Mon Repos
Tel +61 7 4159 1652
Bundagerg Region Limited
Tel +61 7 4153 8888
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