Turtles!! I was very excited about our trip here. Tom not so much but I think he did enjoy it in the end! We almost didn't make it here and were extremely lucky to get a place. So the plan was that we would go across to the island, stay one night and be able to witness either a Green turtle or Hawkesbill turtle lay her eggs. 
 
The advice was that to get the best deal you had to get to Sandakan and go down to the jetty where the turtle island people operate from and book with them directly. All hotels and guest houses add on 50% if you booked through them. This was a risk as you could turn up and all the places over the next 3-4 days could be taken already. So we went down to the jetty as soon as we arrived hoping for a cancellation. We'd only planned to stay here for maybe four days absolute maximum. Unfortunately there were no places left in the next four days but only one slot left on day five. Dammit! After some longing looks and puppy dog eyes Tom said "Oh go on then!". Whoop! So we booked up.
 
We set off early morning and enjoyed an hour long boat trip over to Pulau Selingaan (one of the turtle islands) located within the turtle island park about 40km off the coast. The park actually consists of three islands where they carry out the same conservation work on each but it is only on Selingaan that visitors can stay. Once there we were supposed to meet a lady in the dining hall who would fill us in with what was what. It became apparent while we waited that Tom and I were the only people there not part of a tour group. There must have been around 8-10 other groups of anywhere between 4-8 people, all with guides helpfully filling them in on the do's and don'ts of the island. So we listened in on someone else's group. Our lady came over eventually. "Here is your key, lunch will be served in here at 12pm, if you want to go snorkelling go that way and do not go on the beach between 6pm and 6am". Right, okie dokes!
 
So we settled in to our room which was pretty nice. Chilled out for a bit and then headed over to the dining hall for lunch. Tom and I were first in the queue for the buffet, oh yes! We'd heard a handy snippet from one of the guides to make sure you're at the hall before 12pm as otherwise most of the food is gone. I know we were paying half the price of everyone else but we weren't going to miss out on lunch no thank you! Though we did make the classic mistake of assuming everyone would come back to the buffet for fruit once they'd eaten their mains. No they just piled their fruit on top of their rice and curry meaning there was no fruit left for us when we went back. Gargh! We really should know by now!
 
After lunch we decided to take a stroll around the island. Lovely clear waters and beautiful white sandy beach. You could walk around the whole island in about half an hour but we stretched it out stopping to look at turtle tracks and big dips in the sand where the turtles had come to lay their eggs the night before. Fascinating. As well as dipping our toes in the water for a bit of course. 
 
I was looking along the empty beach ahead and saw a little something moving across the sand. I said to Tom “Oh look a crab, no wait...A BABY TURTLE!!”. I RAN down the beach just as the little guy reached the water and off he swam. They're pretty speedy! No idea what he was doing at 5pm on the beach having just hatched all alone. As you'll see later why this was a bit strange.
 
After our walk we headed back to our room and chilled out for a bit until it was time for dinner. Dinner was at 7pm, buffet again and then we were all invited to go upstairs to see a 15 minute DVD about the island and what they are doing conservation wise. They had a small museum upstairs too which you could have a look around. Everyone else went around in an orderly fashion in their groups with their guides. Tom and I wondered around by ourselves aimlessly occasionally attaching ourselves to a group to listen in! 
 
Back downstairs we were split into two groups of about twenty. The first group would go when the first turtle had landed and was laying, then the second group would go see the second turtle that arrived. This could happen anywhere between 8pm and even until 1am. Usually around fifteen or so turtles come to lay their eggs each night between 8pm and 6am at this time of year. We were told as soon as we were called we were to move quickly and quietly. The rangers on the beach wait until the turtle has dug her hole and then they send word to bring the group over asap. The laying process sometimes doesn't take very long at all and if you're not quick enough you might miss it. 
 
So we waited for “Turtle time!”. I actually felt surprisingly nervous for some reason. I guess it was knowing we were going to have to make a mad dash at any moment. At about 10pm we had the call. We all dashed out of the dining hall and across the sand to the beach. We couldn't really see where we were going or what we were standing on as we had no torches. Only the one light from the ranger up ahead. We got to the beach and there she was! Absolutely incredible and far far bigger than I imagined her to be! We all crowded around her back end to see what was happening and so she didn't get stressed. It was pitch black all apart from a single torch which had been placed where she had dug her hole to lay her eggs so we could watch. No noise and no flash photography. We carefully rotated so that everyone could get a good look and get some photos. The ranger was collecting all her eggs and putting them into a bucket as she was laying them. When she had finished we were allowed some more light and to move around to see her from the front too. Just absolutely amazing to see! She was a Green turtle and a new turtle as well who didn't have a tag so the rangers were really happy. This meant that the work that they were doing is making a difference. All the turtles that come ashore to lay are closely monitored and their details recorded. It can take 20+ years for a turtle to reach maturity so amazing to think she could have been a turtle who was looked after and released as part of the conservation project years and years ago. The rangers measured her and then tagged her. After a while longer of us all oooohing and aaaahing in wonder we headed back and on to the hatchery.
 
On the island is a large fenced off area which is where all collected eggs are reburied with each nest surrounded by protective netting. They are buried at the same depth the mother turtle would bury them to try and keep conditions the same. The nest is labelled and recorded. Then it is a waiting game. Incubation takes around two months. Interestingly the temperature of the nest determines the sex of the turtles so half of the hatchery is exposed to the sun and the other half shaded. Moving the eggs to the hatchery provides the opportunity for the greatest number of hatchlings to survive. They have predators on the beach such as monitor lizards who dig up the nests, crabs, eagles and other birds. Unfortunately sometimes other turtles dig up a nest by mistake whilst they're trying to dig their own. At least in the hatchery they are more protected. This is especially important seeing as only 1-2% of the hatchlings in each nest will go on to reach adulthood. So you can see why that little lone turtle on the beach we saw shouldn't have been there as all eggs from every turtle are collected and put into the hatchery. If a nest had been missed for any reason there would have been around 100 turtles hatching at the same time. So no idea where the little guy came from. 
 
Next on the list was releasing some baby hatchlings! These guys had hatched the night before and it's always best to release them at night when there are fewer predators around. So we all headed to the beach and one of the rangers tipped a basket full of baby turtles onto the sand. Some were flapping around in all directions so we picked them up and turned them around to face the sea and watched them go. Just so cute!! They were unexpectedly soft and rubbery to touch too. Very very heart warming to watch.
 
The next morning Tom and I got up early in the hope there might still be a turtle or two on the beach. We waited for the 6am cut off and headed around the island. No turtles though, just lots of turtle tracks and a beautiful sunrise. Just lovely walking around at that time of the morning, so peaceful. 
 
The turtle conservation programme in Sabah is the oldest in the world and with the most detailed statistics and research. Both the Hawkesbill and the Green turtle who come here to lay their eggs are critically endangered and endangered respectively. Sea turtles have been around for approximately 200 million years and in the last 100 years we've brought them to the brink of extinction which is just so sad. Great to see that the hard work being done here is making a difference but still a very long way to go.
 
After a quick breakfast we were on the boat at 7am and heading back to Sandakan. Of all the things we've done on our trip so far this was DEFINITELY one of my favourites. So so incredible to have been able to witness these beautiful creatures.