Nobody goes to Bundaberg! (turtle nesting)

When we told fellow backpackers we were off to Bundaberg next we received some odd looks. Apparently no one goes to Bundy. It is a little off the backpacker track but i booked Cj and i into a 'nightly turtle nesting encounter' tour, which actually ended up being one of our favourite and most unusual experiences yet.

We arrived in Bundy and soon learned that it was more of a fruit picking place. The hostels where catered more to the 3months living backpacker so we decided not to stay in them and splash out on a motel room with a kitchenette. It was actually really nice an had a swimming pool, bbq an TV. We were also the only one's staying at the motel so pretty much had all the facilities to ourselves. 

The motel was about 5 miles from Bundaberg and was a really pretty lil seaside town. We walked through the national park where there were loads of kangaroos jumping around. 

At about 5pm on our first day we made our way to Mon Repos conservation beach. We took part in a tour where you can witness sea turtles com onto the private beach and lay their eggs. It was an amazing experience.

As it's nature, the turtles are unpredictable as to when they come. We where lucky and got escorted to the beach at about 8:30pm. At first we had to stat well away from the turtle and we stood at the sea next to it's track. After a while we followed the turtle track to the sand dune. We stood behind the turtle. It was a female loggerhead the size of a bean bag. She was digging a deep hole with her back flippers.  We watched her lay 120 eggs into the hole. 

Apparently she doesn't mind us being there, it wont stop her laying her eggs. It was fascinating watching the researchers check the turtle, measure the nest and make sure everything was ok. 

Once the turtle finished filling the neat back up with sand she crawled back to sea. We got to follow her back to sea and watch her swim off. It was amazing.

 

The next day we decided to chill at the beach and have our first Auzzie bbq by the pool. 

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We found this street in Bargara, it reminded us of the Auzzie soap Neighbours:) 

Snorkelling in Coolangatta

In my last post I mentioned an early Xmas present for Sam...

Ever since Asia Sam has shown a keen in interest in sea turtles. Turns out over the summer period the East coast bexomes a huge nesting ground for sea turtles.  With this I managed to book us a snokeling trip off Cook island, a famous breeding ground and turtle spotting reserve.

Our trip started at 5am with a local bus journey from Surfers Paradise to Coolangatta here we got suited and booted before heading out into sea on the hunt for coral and tropical marine life.

We were lucky enough to see three turtles, one of which was bigger than Sam. This included the vunreable and rare logger heas turtle. We swam with turtles, sharks and a host of beautifully coloured fish ans coral.

Well worth the chill of the sea to see such graceful creatures up close and in their own habitat. Definitely a great Xmas present,  if I say so myself!

(it was a bit bright out of the water, lol)

Feeling like a pair of David Attenborough's we headed up the coast to another major city, Brisbane

No surfing in paradise

We arrive in the "Vegas" city of Surfers Paradise. Huge sky scrapers litter the skyline and cast huge shadows on the beach and sea. Ironically the waves here arw quite volatile so little surfing takes place on the main beach.

We check into our hostel which randomly is the same one I stayed in the last time I was here!  Not a lot had changed. But the pool was open this time!

Not a lot to see and so here. Again filled with schoolies so our nights out were packed!  The pub crawls all booked up!

A day spent on the beach and a bit of shopping keeps us occupied before my suprise Xmas present for Sam...

My xmas present was amazing. Cj, gave me a present to unwrap which was a big turtle made out of a coconut shell. It was a clue to my experience present. 

Whilst we were in Asia it was actually turtle nesting season, so the perfect time to see turtles. We only found this out towards the end so i was really gutted that we didn't see any. I can't remember how i found out but it then came to my attention that it's turtle nesting season in Australia whilst we are here, so i was desperate to see some turtles. 

My experience meant getting up at 5am the next day and getting a bus to a place called Coolagatta. We were going to get on a boat and go snorkelling at a little island called Cook island. This island is protected and has many resident turtles. 

Cj and I got into the cold (freezing) sea an followed our snorkel guide around the water. Within 10minutes we saw our first green sea turtle, it was such an exciting feeling. In total we saw 3 or 4 sea turtles. Including a huge loggerhead that i swam over as it came to the surface. It was the same size as me. Cj also found one green sea turtle on his own.

We also saw many tropical fish and a Wobbegong shark that just laid on the sand. 

We were so lucky to see so many turtles and pretty much got a private snorkel tour as the other guys on the boat were too scared of the water to come in (it was very odd). 

Unfortunately, we didn't have an under water camera to capture this amazing tour so we decided to invest in a cheap 'go pro' style camera and we were going to find more turtles along the coast to swim with, also, it was an amazing experience we wanted to do again. (so, i think the obsession started here).