We set off slightly later on Tuesday morning, and got stuck in a bit of traffic, just to add to the stress.
My brother has a peculiar way of speaking to a person, quite cutting and belittling....I'm not sure I would stand for it. He has always been that way. So the 2 hour long trip to the harbour was quite uncomfortable, to say the least, hearing my two hosts bicker amongst themselves!
Nonetheless, we got there in in time (well, a bit late, but my sister-in-law was well connected :-) )
I was also a little disappointed that my brother chose not to come with, so it was just Flo and her little sister, and myself.
The boat trip to Selingan Island is about 45 minutes by motor boat.
My sister-in-law, Florence and I.
Such a beautiful island.
A water monitor lizard, know as a beawak in Malay.
Turtle nursery. The eggs are collected as soon as they have been laid, and transplanted into these nurseries. One is shaded, one is unshaded, to produce male / female hatchlings.
This is the main reason the eggs need to be harvested.
The island is a conservation island, with few buildings, and very simple accommodation.
Swimming in the Sulu sea.
(Neither of my travel companions brought costumes or swam, so I felt a bit embarrassed. In hindsight, I wish I had been braver and hired a snorkel.....although it was blisteringly hot, so we stayed out of the sun for the hottest part of the afternoon)
That evening we had to wait for our turtle friends to make an appearance......no guarantees of what time, or how many would arrive, and we were only allowed to disturb one for the evening, as a controlled group.
This little lady was not very happy with our presence and only laid 7 eggs.
It's truly remarkable how far these beautiful animals travel, not only in the seas, but also up the beach to lay their eggs.
Because the first turtle had been so jittery, the park manager agreed for us to see another turtle.....so we waited again....and then had to leg it to the other side of the island (in the dark!)
It was quite remarkable, watching nature at work. The eggs are scooped out by a ranger as the turtle is laying.
Turtle eggs are quite a delicacy in Asia, and can easily be bought on the black market (off the street!)
Well done, mama, 77 eggs later! This lady was new to the island, and was measured and tagged, before being allowed to make her way back to the water.
This is a picture of eggs, once they'd been transplanted into their nursery nest. There is only a window of an hour to get the eggs moved. Each nest is dated, with quantities noted.
We were also lucky enough to be shown a new batch of hatchlings being set free that night.
It proved a bit difficult to take pictures of the babies making there way into the water. They will follow any light, so torches weren't allowed, apart from the one leading them down the beach.
As soon as it was over it was off to bed, with breakfast at 6.30 sharp, with a 7am departure time.
The hot water in my room didn't work, so it was a cold shower for me......brrrr!
Waiting to board our boat after breakfast.
Flo and I, followed by Flo and her sister.
And followed by the bumpiest 45 minutes of my life!
I was well pleased to get off that boat! (Although my head was fit to burst)
What an incredible experience.....but it felt like a dream, ending as quickly as it began.
Really humbling though.
No comments:
Post a Comment