27 Oct 2016

Expeditioners Witness Release of Baby Hawksbill Turtles

The last full day of the Melanesia Discoverer expedition and it was yet another great day that was once again a unique and different experience! 

After breakfast we motored ashore with the zodiacs to the small ranger station that sits on the shores of the lagoon. It is an idyllic spot looking out over the waters of the lagoon but what was immediately obvious was just how much erosion there had been since our visit last year with metres of the island which had simply disappeared into the sea...and it was not a large island to start with. The rangers-in-residence gave a fascinating introduction to the history of the community-led conservation project and the work that they are doing to preserve the island and its population of Hawksbill Turtles. 

We then walked the short distance across to the turtle breeding beach where we were fortunate enough to witness the release of a batch of recently hatched baby turtles. They raced across the beach and then struggled over the coral rocks and through the small waves to start their journey to adulthood. The odds aren't great with only 1 in 1000 hatchlings returning as an adult. There was time to explore the island looking for some of the small island birds and the many shorebirds that visit or stopover on the large sand flats.

After a brief stop aboard the Spirit of Enderby to refresh it was out in the zodiacs again to go snorkelling. A beautiful final snorkel with many expeditioners voting it their favourite site of the expedition - a beautiful blue pool which was surrounded by staghorn and brain corals and a multitude of fish. 

This afternoon we have been sailing towards Honiara and preparing for the expeditions end with final recaps and a chance to start packing the bags.

Photo credit (from file): A.Russ