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Last weekend, we went to see the Great Barrier Reef from a little Island called Lady Elliot Island. I guess both Bryan and I had some expectations of what to see and experience, but none of us had hoped for or even dreamed of the adventures and precious moments that awaited us.
The only way of getting to the island is by airplane. We rented a car to drive the 250 km to the small airport of Hervey Bay where a 10 seater airplane awaited us. Daniel was extra excited as he saw the grey fake fur seats: "Look! The seats are made out of koala fur!" That is probably the nicest thing that was ever said about these seats that smelled like a wet dog due to the fact the airplane was leaking (rain water, not fuel). Anyway, we got on the plane and were given ear plugs to ease the noise a little. Bryan literally got soaked, but the view was wonderful (I think I saw a shark in the water), and we made it safely to the Island.
Watch out for bird droppings!
Normally it is considered good luck to get hit by bird droppings. Well, on Lady Elliot Island, you would have a pretty lucky day if you did not get hit by bird droppings. While we knew that it was nesting and hatching season for turtles (one of our main reasons to go there), we were not aware that it was also nesting season for birds, but this came quite clear to us as we got off the plane: a fierce smell of bird droppings burned in our nostrils, and there were thousands of birds around us (and not the pretty lorikeets we have at 'home'). On every branch in the resort, the seaguls were fighting to find a place to sit and place their nest, and we were welcomed to the balcony of our room by two gigantic bird droppingss, one of which even contained an undigested fish head.
Apart from the birds and the danger of droppings, this was the perfect place for us. Our room was very close to the ocean that could also be enjoyed from the balcony (if you took the risk of getting hit by a bird droppings), and we could snorkel and explore the reef directly from the beach. It was a small, family-friendly, non-commercial resort, and we quickly got to know the other guests that happily shared sightings of turtles and sharks, getting us all about excited about what we would see.
Exploring the Reef
Bryan was the first one to see the reef as he went on a dive as soon as we were settled in our room. He came back very excited, having seen numerous turtles, a large manta ray and beautiful corals. The next day, we all went on a glass bottom boat to go snorkling on the reef. Thomas and Daniel were so brave: they just jumped in with their mask and snorkel, started swimming, and the reward came quickly as a turtle came swimming with them, and other very beautiful fish and corals were discovered (including Nemo and a leopard shark). Many more hours were spent and more turtles were met under water that weekend. I have always thought that snorkling is a fascinating way of discovering the beautiful ocean life, and doing that while holding the hands of my two big hoys was the ultimate happiness.
Turtle awesome
One thing was seeing the turtles in the water, another is seeing them lay eggs and maybe even see some baby turtles come out of the eggs. So after dark, we set out with little flash lights to spot fresh turtle tracks (and thereby a nesting turtle) on the beach. It was important not to use more light than necessary as this would scare away the mommy turtles.
And then, as we were walking hand in hand (and Jonathan in the carrier with Bryan) under the stars at the edge of the ocean, all of a sudden, Daniel says: Hey! There is a baby turtle, and there is another one. And we realised that we were lucky enough to encounter a whole family of freshly hatched baby turtles that were on their first amazing journey from the nest to the ocean. It is very important that the turtle does this journey itself as it imprints the GPS coordinates of the place so that it can find its way back if it makes it to adulthood (only 1 out of a 1000 turtles survives).
I will never forget the excitement that we all shared as a family as we witnessed this little miracle and helped all these very cute baby turtles to the water. There must have been at least 30 baby turtles, and they were running in all directions, a little confused by our flash lights and some big rocks that were in their way. These turtles are very sensitive to light, and by the help of our flash lights, we guided them to a passage way that Thomas found between the rocks so that they could start swimming into the great big ocean.
Already on second out of our three days there, Thomas claimed that his head was exploding with impressions and amazing experiences. And yet, one last experience was awaiting the boys: on the way home we were the only passengers on the flight, and both boys got the chance to sit in the co-pilot seat, which they both did with great pride.
So maybe bird droppings do mean good luck after all? I think we all felt extra lucky after this trip.
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Lene Bech Jensen Hej Mette. Hvor er den en fin blog. I er simpelthen en imponerende overskudsfamilie, som formår at nyde livet!! Vi savner jer og er selvfølgelig dybt misundelige. Mange kærlige hilsner og tanker fra Lene og co.