Turtle Recall

 

Ingo Espenhorst

 

When I booked the guided tour to Moreton Island I was told that there might be a possibility of wildlife encounters, but at this stage I could not have imagined just how hands-on close I would get to the locals. Although I am usually not a big fan of guided tours, taking part in this turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. 

 

Moreton is a quite large sand island (just like the more well known “sister” Fraser Island) just off the coast of Brisbane, Queensland.. About 98% of the island is a National Park and therefore a haven for all sorts of wildlife (the other two per cent is occupied by a really quite horrible resort; I wonder how they got the planning permission there).

 

One of the reasons why I decided to book the tour was that it actually  involved sleeping in a swag ( a sort of sleeping bag with inbuilt mattress) around the campfire on the beach, and not staying in boring hostels or resorts. Since Moreton is absolutely inaccessible without a 4x4, taking a tour was the only feasible option as well.

 

After we had set over by ferry and arrived at a sandy beach near some scenic shipwrecks we got into our 4x4 and drove to our campsite by the beach to get all set up, then the island was about to be conquered. The first day was already pretty spectacular as we explored the wonders of the island, which included huge dunes which you could sandboard on and rock pools to take a (skinny) dip in. At one point we even saw whales jumping a few hundred metres off the east coast of the island.

But the most spectacular thing happened on the second day of our trip. We were driving along the beach (which is also the local highway) at low tide, therefore the water was already about 200 metres out. Then suddenly we saw a huge turtle lying on the beach. Unfortunately this big fellow had not made it back into the water before low tide and it had already died of dehydration. About five minutes later though, we found a second turtle lying on the beach. Upon closer inspection we found that, although it seemed to be very weak and could barely move it was still alive. 

 

Our guide immediately gave the instruction that we had to carry it back into the sea or else it might die of dehydration. The water's edge was already too far out for it to crawl back. We were four guys, and three of us started to carry the turtle towards the water. But because this beast was extremely heavy we actually had to set it down every so often to take it in turns. The turtle, who was obviously not used to being airlifted, looked a bit startled and let out a little groan.

 

We set it down again where the water was about knee deep. After a few seconds of adjustment to the new situation it started to move its flippers and slowly make its way back into the big blue sea. Just before it finally dipped its head to dive away it let out a little squeak. Call me sentimental, but I firmly believe that this was an expression of delight.

 

I can safely say that all of us were absolutely over the moon when we returned to our vehicle. Not only did we come extremely close to the local wildlife, but we all felt blessed that we had the chance to help this magnificent creature to get back into the life saving water. 

We have seen plenty of wildlife during our stay on Moreton Island, but this one encounter will always stay in my memory.