Mon Repos.

I mentioned in an earlier post that witnessing a marine turtle nesting is one of the few items on my bucket list.  Unfortunately, we saw no nesting green turtles during our entire two weeks on the Cobourg Peninsula.  I have not given up on my bucket list item, so I decided to try my luck at the Mon Repos Conservation Park.  Mon Repos is located on the central coast of Queensland, just east of Bundaberg.  It hosts the largest concentration of nesting sea turtles on the eastern Australia mainland, and it was my hope that these odds meant that I would finally see a nesting turtle.  I heard that Mon Repos has the largest loggerhead rookery in the South Pacific with 50% of the population.  Well over 90% of the turtles who come across to nest on these beaches are loggerheads with flatback, leatherback, and green turtles filling in the remaining percentages. 

The Queensland Parks & Wildlife Services built a visitors information centre from where their rangers lead guided tours during the nesting and hatching season.  These tours is very reasonable in terms of cost and accessible to all.  Visitors do not head to the beach unless there is a nesting turtle.  Rangers and volunteers patrol the beaches for turtles emerging from the waters.  They report back to the centre where guides gather the waiting visitors.  In the meantime, visitors hang out in the centre learning more about the turtles through videos, displays, talks, and children’s activities.

I arrived at the centre for my turtle encounter tour.  The weather was not ideal, but rain doesn’t stop nesting turtles.  We all waited around inside the centre for almost 2 hours before the staff announced that they were going to close the centre.  The worst of the lightning storm was approaching, and they didn’t want to risk endangering the visitors with lightning on the beach, a loss of power, or potential stranding due to flooding.  So we were sent home (with promises of refunds).  I felt like I was cursed.  It seems that nature keeps finding ways so that I will never see a nesting turtle!

I decided to push back my plans and give it one more go the following night.  When we arrived, the rangers warned us that there was another storm in the area and that there was a chance they might have to close the centre again.  Luckily, they did not have to close.  After about 45 minutes of waiting, the first group of visitors was called to assemble – a turtle had been spotted.  My fingers were crossed that they would find at least one more.  I was prepared to stay all night if necessary.  Another 45 minutes later, my group was called.  Yay!  We assembled and headed to the beach.

Now the turtle encounter experience at Mon Repos is quite different from the experience that I would have had at the Cobourg Peninsula if we came across any turtles.  As I mentioned, rangers and volunteers patrol the beaches at Mon Repos, so visitors are not called until a turtle is found.  At the Cobourg Peninsula, we were patrolling the beach ourselves in 2-3 hour shifts.  Our CP patrol groups consisted of only 3-4 people, whereas my tour group at MR consisted of at least 50 people.  The QPWS rangers provide strict instructions about what the group can and cannot do, including when we can use our cameras.  I realize that this is for the protection of the turtle and the safety of those in the group, but it is quite restricting.  Needless to say, it was not the intimate experience I would have had at the CP.  With the size of our group, we had to take turns at the prime viewing spots.  Given my lack of height and desire to be fair, I do think I drew the short stick in viewing.  I was able to watch her lay some of the eggs; she drops 1-3 eggs at a time into her nest (no photos allowed at this time).  During the brief period when we were permitted to take photos, I happened to be behind a bunch of larger folks, and the period ended before I could make my way to the front.  Below is my best photo of my first nesting marine turtle -- a loggerhead with a front right flipper tag of K93184.  I was surprised that flash photography was permitted (I didn’t use a flash).  With all the flashes going, the crowd turned into the paparazzi.  The lights were bothering me, so I find it hard to believe that it doesn’t disturb the turtle.  Thank goodness the girl puts up with the crowds.  What a beaut!

In the photo, you can see a measuring tape on the carapace of the turtle.  The ranger collected and recorded all the information on his own.  Because we were all part of a team prepared to collect scientific data on the turtles at the CP, I felt like a useless bystander at MR.  Fortunately for our group, we did have some more involvement.   Our girl prepared her nest below the high tide line, so we helped relocate her nest after she returned to the sea.  Had the nest been left there, the eggs were at risk to exposure by the tide waters.   Loggerhead turtles typically lay 4 clutches of eggs in a season with about 2 weeks between each nesting.  The average number of eggs laid is 130, with the first clutch usually the largest.  Our girl laid 164 eggs – a new high for the season.  Everyone was given an opportunity to carry eggs from the original nest to the relocated nest above the high tide mark.  We could carry one egg in each hand; I managed to pass through the line twice, so I carried a total of 4 eggs.  Freshly laid turtle eggs are relatively soft, so that they don’t break against each other as they are dropped inside the nest chamber. 

It felt really special to cradle the eggs of this endangered species in my hands.  I hope that the turtles developing inside my 4 eggs (and the others) will survive and help return the population of this beautiful animal to sustainable numbers.  Let’s help that happen.