Mon Repos Turtles

On Saturday night we had booked to go and see the Bundaberg turtles lay their eggs on Mon Repos beach. It was about a 2 hour drive from Hervey Bay so we set off in the afternoon to get there for 7pm. When we arrived we had to wait a while and then they divided the 300 people up into 5 groups. We were in group 5. The turtles can appear on the beach any time between sunset and sunrise and when a turtle appears the groups are taken down one at a time. After a safety talk and a few videos on the conservation program they run we just had to wait. At 8pm group one went down to the beach to see some baby turtles hatching from their eggs and scuttling down to the sea to start their treacherous journey. Only 1 in a 1000 survive to adulthood!
We waited and waited and as it passed 11pm debated sacking it in and going home. We stuck with it and at 12am we could finally go to the beach where a female had appeared to lay her eggs. It was a clear night so the stars were amazing with no artificial light for miles. The small group of people who had stuck it out made a circle around the turtle and watched her lay her clutch of over 100 eggs. We were told that it was her first ever clutch of eggs so the conservation staff tagged her so they could track her and recognise her when she comes back to the beach.
After laying she buried her eggs and then made her way slowly back to the ocean. It was an extraordinary thing to see and we were very lucky to witness this endangered animal.
We did, however, have a long 2 hour drive back to Hervey Bay where we collapsed in the tent at nearly 3am.
Hope all is good at home and the snow is finally melting away.
Lots of love
Rach & Mark. xxx