Turtle Island Up early next morning to go to the airport to meet the Guide, to be taken to Turtle Island (only me, Georgie and Catherine were going due to the extortionate price, so Aman remained at Margaret's). We picked up Georgie and Cathrine en route and headed up an exceedingly dodgy bumpy track in this shabby mini bus to reach the teeny tiny jetty on the edge of a river. (Along with about 20 others). It became clear why the tour had been so pricey as we noticed that out fellow Turtle Island go-ers had obviously come directly from swanky hotels with they're posh suitcases and safari gear. This was the only tour group with space left to visit the island and was obviously a hotel tour group hence pricey- but acht well. We all piled into 2 speed boats and set off down the river, past a quaint little fishing village (if you can call it a village). It consisted of about 10 wooden shacks on stilts on either side of the river, with fishing nets hung below. The driver said that these were often used as retreats for fishermen to chill out in while they waited for their catch (they had additional houses on the mainland), however some of them were the full time accomm for the men. We continued onto an island where we were briefed on the procedures over the next 2 days. Although we were on a random island in the middle of nowhere, I was so shocked to find it had a sit on toilet on sink- the 3 of us got a bit over excited and the other the other tourists were all a bit stuck up. There was a couple of blondies from Australia- mother and daughter, and while we were all chatting and getting excited about watching a mother turtle lay her eggs etc, the daughter aggressively asked the ranger when breeding season is and what is the likliness of actually getting a turtle. He said that they usually have 1 every night at this time of year, since peak breeding season doesn't start until June. And again she fiercley stated that in fact there may not be any turtles to witness laying eggs and that we may not be able to release any hatchlings into the water etc. We were like, chill out dude- although I was secretly thinking- crap, if we've spent this money and don't get to see a turtle, I'm gona be scuppered. But I mean the ranger made it clear to us what the chances were and she was just being down right mean about it. Aanyway, we had a swanky lunch, which we took as much as poss of cause of the price we paid for it- we were saying, "right, we gota eat RM415 worth!". We took a little stroll down the white sand beach before heading on to the real "Turtle Island". Twas gorgeous! The boat drew up to clear waters and white sands and I couldn't believe there were buildings on the island. I was expecting to be roughing it in a shack but we were shown to our actual "bedrooms" in actual "chalets" with REAL showers, SIT ON TOILETS and we gota friggin TOWEL and FREE bottle of water!! We couldn't believe our luck and obviously were running about going-wooo, etc and the other tourists obviously thought we were barking. Twas the first time any of us have felt an age gap between travelers. When you're backpacking- you just chat and have banter with anyone and everyone- but with a hotel tour group- we felt soo looked down upon and everyone was in their own we cliché group or couple. We spent the day at the beach, be it a bit breezy, but twas nice to chill out and top up on the tan. Snorkelling was pretty good but the water was only around 1/2 m deep for ages out and the fish were really territorial of the reef so there was some severe nippage going on. So I surrendered and headed for the Narnia book and the I pod. Once back at the chalet, I rushed to wash the sand and salt off me and was in such excitement to see running fresh water that I seemed to ignore the "male" and "female" signs above the door. It was only until I was showering and smelt the distinct male shower gel odor that I thought "is this unisex", then as I left, I realized- I had in fact just bathed in the men's. Made me realize that Malaysia doesn't have urinals, which was an interesting new fact to add to my collection! Later we watched a weirdo dance movie with the ranger- quite enjoyed it actually- me and Georgie just like taking the pee. We were getting more and more excited about the whole seeing the turtles and when it reached dinner, there was a major buzz of excitement in the air (from our part anyway). We all had to eat in dimmed lighting as any bright lights scare the turtles and would prevent them from coming on shore to lay. Again, twas a fab meal and we kept going back for more pineapple- mm, and topped up on looadsa coffee to keep awake. We all had our torches ready and the flash on our cameras turned off. We were all warned repeatedly about the flashes on the cameras and the use of light. We were asked to pay an RM10 fee for the use of a camera (as is custom in Malaysia) and again there were objections from Blondie- she refused to pay the fee since we weren't guaranteed to see a turtle- we were like "what an absolute loser"- she was such a moaner. After dinner, at around 8pm, we went outside to sit on the benches, which faced the beach, in anticipation of a visitor. We waited, and waited and at first we were in silence, then some people started to whisper, then right out talk- which peed the hell outa me- but then the ranger told us that the turtles don't mind noise- as long as the noise isn't so loud to make a big vibration. It's only light that puts them off laying. Around 10.30pm there was some commotion around the back of the beach (we weren't allowed on the beach itself at this point) and we were like- ahh, is it a turtle?! But seriously, it seemed to be only me, Georgie and Catherine that cared- we were asking the ranger and he was saying nothing- I was soo frustrated cos we could hear it dragging itself up the beach, then into a clearance next to us, which had quite a lot of leaves and twigs. Then we clearly heard the noise of her flapping her fins (or arms?) to dig a hole to lay in. But no one else seemed to care- it was too dark to see properly if it was a turtle or not- was soo tempted to run over and check. Eventually more and more people started questioning the ranger and eventually he claimed that it was a monitor lizard. At first we believed him, but then the moon became brighter and higher in the sky, casting a slight light over the beach and an outline of the turtle became vaguely clear. I couldn't tell if it was my eyes playing tricks but then more and more people starting pointing her out. She kept moving from space to space in the clearance and digging at different points. Then finally she came so close that we could at last see her- she was huuuuge! Only a selection of the group were as excited as us- none of our pics really came out cos we couldn't use a flash but she was beautiful- especially in the moonlight! And it was all so surreal cos it was like the middle of the night, some people were asleep on heir benches, the moon was soo eerily bright (and full) and it was just pretty cool- especially when she finally pulled herself away over a mound of sand, and when she reached the top, she was so clear in the moonlight, then she slid down the other side and made her final hole. I presume we were told she was a monitor lizard to prevent us from disturbing her. Again, the waiting commenced- I KO'd on a bench beside the ranger to make sure that he'd wake me up if anything exciting happened. Finally after loads of squirming about and trying to get comfortable, I was woken by Georgie and it was a sleepy eyed and excited trot to another part of the beach to find an absolutely humongous female laying her eggs. Was just crazy! I slyly edged my way in, to by far the best position you could possibly imagine (I'm sure you can suss out where) and I even had a tree to perch my tired little head on. The ranger shone his torch into the hole to let us see but just as we arrived she had taken rest from laying. He delved into the hole and collected the eggs she had lain so far and put them gently on the sand. We continued waiting for her to lay but then an absolute (so many names just came into my head) "arse wipe" will do, walked in front of her- which is a NONO and we were warned about it a million times. So he obviously freaked the poor girl out and she stopped laying. We waited for about 15 mins and I could clearly see her trying but nothing was coming of it. I thought it a bit harsh that the ranger was shining his bright torch on her bits- you'd think she'd get sore from the head of the light. Aanyway- she laid 64 eggs in total. We've been told they lay from 60- 180 eggs on average. The eggs were then placed in a bucket and we left her alone to cover the refill the hole with sand. We proceeded to the hatcheries, which have been man-made to prevent any of the eggs being disturbed. For instance, in the wild, many nests are dug up by lizards or rats etc and the eggs are eaten so the rangers have created an enclosed "pen" kind of thing where holes are dug, the eggs placed inside, sand filled over them and a mesh placed around the surface of the holes to prevent invasion. Was fascinating to find out that nests kept mostly in the sun, result in male turtles, where as if the eggs in their nests are kept in the shade, females hatch. So there is a variation of light distribution throughout the hatchery. We were distinctly told in our briefing that after we had witnessed the mummy lay her eggs, we could put our torches on- so I did so so that we could take a nice wee pic of us holding the brand new eggs- but as I was shining my torch on one- a women absolutely fruit-caked at me- I was like "whooah- we're aloud our torches on dude" but then Georgie pointed out that I prob just caused the sex of the hatchling to be male. After we watched the ranger bury the new eggs, he brought out a basket of little animated creatures moving at a million/m/h. They were little Squirts!! Hatchlings! Soo cute! We all got to hold them and their little fins were kinda spiky at the end- they were determined to escape. We were taught 3 ways to hold them safely but no matter which technique I used, my little Squirt was having none of it!! So after much "coochie cooing" we put them all back in the basket and headed down the beach with them. This was just aaaawesome! As Georgie says. So we all got in a semi-circle on the gorgeous white sand, which looked distinctly silver in the bright moonlight, and the ranger upturned the basket on the sand- allowing the little Squirts to battle down the remaining 3 meters to the water's edge. Was crazy to think that only 1 in 100 little dudes will survive the big bad world so we were all calling good luck to our little hatchling and he fought the tiny little waves to paddle out to sea. Those waves must have seemed soo huge top such little dumplings! There were a couple stragglers that took their time- I'm hoping they made it OK once they reached the water. The Squirts have to swim for 3 days non stop to find a safe place to rest and fend for them selves. Only 1/100 will reach sexual maturity, which is at around 15 years old. They will breed from 15yrs- 30yrs old and although they may find a home and a mate 100s of miles away, they will all return to exactly the same spot in which they were born, to lay their own eggs (how mental is that?!) They have some kind of inner magnetic radar, which helps them to return to precisely the same beach. Females only breed once every 3 years since it is such an ordeal and they need to rest. We watched a grueling video on the life cycle of the turtle- including the mating process, which is down right vicious! Basically, the male mounts the female and she has to use her energy to take them both to the surface to breathe. Sometimes, she is dogged by 3 or 4 males, who try to bite and attack the male on her back so they can have a go- this can result in the female being held down- even until she drowns- nasty. Then we saw some horribly graphic footage of the dangers turtles face and the reason for the severe decrease in their population. Boat propellers and fishing nets are some of the worst threats- and obviously they are hunted for their shells as well. Anyways- was such a nice moment to see them set off on such a huge adventure and is weird to think something so teeny and go through all that and return 15 years later as a ginormous, gorgeous, beautiful sea turtle. The turtles we saw were Green Sea Turtles- there are a couple of different species that breed on the island. After releasing the babies- we headed for bed at last- although Georgie and I were adamant we wanted to stay up as we knew there were loads of mother's laying along the stretch of beach (we saw 2 females digging their nests as we walked back from egg laying). The noise they make was so peaceful- there's the lapping of water against the sand, then the gentle swishing of their arms as they make the hole- was just too cool. We headed back to the chalet with the ranger and 2 couples that were the people decent enough to have some banter with us. One of the guys went to the Ranger- "I think we should clarify to these girls which shower room is which" then "Who found themselves in the wrong shower today?" I was like- haha- poor dude was in the shower next to me and obviously realized I was in the wrong place when I was singing full blast! I was like- "Oops- sorry", he was just messin about though. When we reached our room, we realized that the 2 Aussie Blondies had gone to bed at like 11pm and missed the whole shebang- ha! What losers! Georgie and I, being wide awake had some banter- related to my new and improved tan lines ofcourse! Tis an absolute joke! I tried to even them um after the diving shibockle but I managed to gain lobster thighs and muddy looking knees, with a fine white line dividing them- no joke! Georgie has the evidence on her camera- need to get copies! Then she was taking the mick about my sheet antics-but that's another story. Anyway, early next morning, we headed to the other island for a slap up breakfast, which was ab fab. Miss eggs so much- love it when I get a chance to have scrambled egg on toast- mmm! Finally, we took the return trip past the fishing village, up the river and back on the bumpy minibus to be dropped off at Sepilok again. I dumped my bag at the Sepilok B+B, where Sarah and Kirsty had been staying the previous night and met a randomer girl who is training to be a forrester ranger person in the U.K and we trudged down to the Orang-utan centre together- took aaaages to get there. I was so excited about adopting Sogo-sogo that I decided to go back into the centre to see the feeding time and try to blag my way into the Rehabilitation centre to see her. I asked one of the volunteers that I knew from NBC if she could let me see her but she said that even most of the volunteer's aren't allowed into the baby's quarters, which is pants. Was nice to go and watch them all playing at the feeding platforms though. Bumped into the one of the couples we met on Turtle Island- they were gutted that they had come to the orang-utans with the same tour group and been majorly over-charged. Headed back up the long road to the B+B in the sweltering heat, to find that Aman had arrived and we all chilled out on some gorgeous mahogonay style chairs outside to wait to be picked up for "Uncle Tan's Wildlife camp".