Turtle Haven

Out shooting some scenery, or just looking weird, in Port Hedland... 

Ben doing his thing

Take photo here...

Port Hedland was stinking hot. (Yeah, I know I say that a lot, but man... it was unreal!) The ground on our site was covered in some sort of cloth, and I don’t know if it had anything to do with it, but the ground retained a lot of heat. So, once the tents were set up, they never really cooled down. It was really hard to get any sleep whatsoever. You stick to everything.

We were lucky enough to stumble upon the breeding season for flatback sea turtles while there. Not sleeping much, it wasn’t hard to get up at 6 in the morning to head down to the beach. The first morning we didn’t see any turtles, but saw many tracks leading up from the water. We met a group of volunteers that told us when they usually come up and decided to head back during the afternoon when the tide came in. (We were picturing a couple of hours in the sweltering sun with various degrees of sunburns and no turtles. But as it were it was a good decision. As soon as we’re back down on the beach I spot the first turtle getting out of the water in the distance. We rush over as fast as our feet could carry us across the sand.

 Turtles meet and greet

Ben watches nervously as this turtle headed straight for him

As we were there more turtles got out of the water and we were all very excited and careful to respect the magnificent animals as they dug their hole and laid their 50 odd eggs then dug another decoy hole to confuse any predators, before crawling back down to the water. If my memory serves me right, each turtle comes back to the same beach about three times every breeding season and lays about 50 eggs each time. But then they might not return for another two or three years.  The beach was pretty much covered in tracks and holes.

And it keeps coming.. Looking a bit freaked there, Benno! 

This was one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed. These animals are incredibly awe inspiring and beautiful, and even more so when you know that only about 1 in a thousand make it from hatchling to adult. Apparently it’s the temperature of the sand that decides the sex of the turtle. Cooler sand- boys, warmer sand- girls, too hot- death. 

The next day we got up early again and headed to the beach, this time in hopes of finding some hatchlings. The first thing we come across is a very deep hole where a dog as dug its way down to the eggs and eaten them all. A common problem for turtles and a devastating thing to find for newfound turtle enthusiasts.

We walk around for a while looking for nests and babies, and the same group of volunteers show up.  As it were, we were looking in the completely wrong places. They kindly point us to a little ditch in the sand where they are. To be quite honest, it took me some time to realize that I could actually see them. And when I saw their two little heads and flippers buried in the sand, it scared me to think how easy it would be to step on these poor little things.

We sat around for quite some time waiting for them to heat up enough to wake up. A little breath here and there, but no big movements for a long time. As the sun rose and it got hotter things started happening a lot quicker than I thought it would. The myth of all turtles being very slow died right then and there. One of the little ones started jiggling his way (temporarily burying the other) and rapidly headed right for the water, which unfortunately was at low tide. There’s not much you’re allowed to do to help them except shoo away hungry seagulls as they need to imprint their little GPS’ so they can find their way back to the same beach when old enough to lay their own eggs. We walked the little fella out to water, watching him struggle his way through footprints, rocks and other obstacles. Once in the water it didn’t take long before the poor creature ended in a little rock pool with an (evil) octopus. And such this sweet little life ended all too soon.

The other little one also woke up and was quite disoriented for a while before finding the right direction. And as soon as it did, a greedy seagull zoned in on him despite our efforts to scare it off. At this point we had to leave, already late for camp check out and covered in sweat and sand. But, a kind soul we met there informed me in a comment on this blog that it found itself a octopus free hiding place in the water under a rock and laid there waiting for the tide to come in. Perhaps only to be eaten by a shark or perhaps to be one in a thousand to make it.

As a last note, I would like to add this. Regardless of what sort of wildlife we need to have a bigger respect for the nature that surrounds us. Littering, driving on the beach, even your ‘innocent’ little pooch can cause grave harm. For turtle hatchlings it is enough for us to pack the sand too hard on top of them to create a tomb from which they will never emerge. Plastic bags for example can cause turtles to drown. Respect the nature around us, respect the planet we live on, grow up and stop dropping your shit everywhere. It is unnecessary, disrespectful and very harmful. This planet is not ours and ours alone. We are not almighty. We are not Gods and we should stop acting like we are. 

People watching a little hatchling making his way to sea