Feb 17th – Teenagers Meet Tiny Non Mutant Non Ninja Turtles
Originally uploaded by roupiesontour
Bundy or Bundaberg is famous in Australia for Bundaberg Rum. We have done the beer and wine tours so now it was the turn of the rum. The expanses of sugar cane fields here should give a clue to the amount of rum that is made. In 1936 the factory had a huge fire and thousands of litres of rum spilled into the river making the fish drunk! I had a little taste of some liqueur and it was very smooth indeed. The kids were very upset that once again all they got to taste was diet coke.
Another reason for stopping here are the turtles. Mon Repos is a nesting place for 3 species of turtles and we were lucky enough to be here during the hatching season. The laying season has just finished where you can watch turtles go up the beach and lay their eggs. Females seek out the same beach they were born on but not for 30 years! There are tours that are offered to watch this but if you drive yourself to the Mon Repos turtle rookery you can get much cheaper tickets from the Tourist Info in town. Much research has been done to see what impact watching a turtle has on her laying eggs and the hatchings. The rangers told us none as long as it is managed well so off we went. Obviously with hatchlings you cannot tell what time they will appear so be prepared to wait around to go to the beach. We were lucky and only had to wait an hour before finding ourselves walking along a moonlit windy beach full of excitement.
The tint turtles are about 3 inches long and there are over 100 usually that emerge through the sand from one nest. The eggs are buried about 50cm below the ground and it takes a week for the little mites to work their way up to the ground. We did get to touch a baby and words cannot really describe the feeling of watching these little things making their way down the beach to the sea. We had to help guide them with torches as they head towards the light
and they climbed all over the kids feet. Seeing them disappear into a huge ocean with only a 1 in 1000 chance of survival really made you feel humble. Never again will I buy any turtle products, and I hope you won’t too.
Tags: Australia, Travel
roupiesontour
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