TURTLE TRIFECTA

IT’S TURTLE TIME ON THE GREAT BARRIER REEF, WITH THE CHANCE TO WITNESS NESTING, HATCHING AND SWIMMING ALL IN ONE VISIT. NARELLE BOUVENG AND HER OWN TINY TURTLE TIAH SET OFF TO TRY THEIR LUCK

Nesting season officially begins in November when Queensland’s sweeping sandy coastline and offshore coral cays become rookeries for sea turtles.

Six species of threatened marine turtles nest on Queensland beaches and, incredibly, no matter where they may have travelled riding the East Australian Current, they will return to their own home beach to lay their eggs. All going well, six to eight weeks later, hatchlings emerge.

Timing your visit to coincide with both hatching and nesting is more chance than skill, but February is considered the best bet.

HERON ISLAND

We start our adventure on Heron Island, a tiny coral cay on the Southern Great Barrier Reef, a two-and-a-half hour boat ride from Gladstone.

For turtle spotting, this is idyllic as it gets. White sand, crystal-clear waters and an island small enough to circumnavigate with kids.

We learn there is no touching, no noise and no lights permitted on the beach.

We are to stay out of the sight of arriving and nesting females and respect that nature has invited us in for a peek, and our presence should not interfere in any way.

Within our first few hours on the island, several giant green turtles have lugged their cumbersome bodies on to the beach, inching their way to protected spots to lay their eggs. Just before sunset, the first flush of tiny turtles make their optimistic dash for the sea.

I am not going to pretend the “not interfering with nature” part is easy. The cruel irony is that hatchlings are considered a delicacy by sea birds and marine life and, when the scramble for survival is on, it’s a smorgasbord for the island’s other residents.

Rangers are poised to answer all the hard questions I could only inaudibly whimper.

Heron Island Junior Rangers Program was a valuable place to enlist my eight-year-old wildlife warrior Tiah and, upon learning all the facts, she assured me that mortality is an important part of life on the reef.

There are some triumphs though. Kids are encouraged to guide (without touching) the hatchlings past the greedy seagulls and walk them out through the shallows if they choose.

Early risers can count turtle tracks alongside researchers, crouching down low to watch laying, and help relocate eggs if they are deemed too close to high tide or in sand too dry to be viable.

And when a nest was dug up to release some hatchlings thought to be trapped, kids were the first responders and formed a brilliant support crew for the tiny turtles to push their way out – at least past the seagulls.

The bonus of Heron Island is that snorkelling is a simple wade into the shallows straight off the beach. Here kids can happily swim with turtles and see first-hand the fruits of their turtle-saving labours.

For those who may not be ready to snorkel just yet, a ride in the Heron I-Spy submersible is another opportunity to see just how happy the turtles are from a unique underwater perspective.

MON REPOS

Back on the mainland and a two-hour drive south from Gladstone, we arrive in the undisputed headquarters for all things turtles in Queensland: Bundaberg. Our first stop is Mon Repos, home to the largest nesting population of endangered loggerhead turtles in the South Pacific.

Mon Repos Turtle Centre has recently welcomed a brand new interpretative centre and it stands as a beacon of what can be achieved when a community gets behind a sustainable approach to education and conservation.

It’s spearheaded by local biologist Dr Col Limpus who, back in 1968, started a humble committee aimed at saving the Mon Repos turtles. The centre that now stands is a credit