So we left Sepilok and headed for the port of Sandakan, getting there around 4pm the roads were carnage, with lots of one ways and drivers obviously keen to get to where they were going for their end of Ramadan feed !!!
After a few attempts, we found the hotel and a parking space, checked in only to find a Ramadan concert being setup outside, receptionist says it’ll be finished by 7pm.
We headed out along the Quay and found a place for tea and had some really nice food and a few beers with a German couple who shared our table. We then all strolled back around 8.30pm to find the concert in full flow, so we watched a bit much to the amusement of some of the locals. Retired to the room to find the windows were rattling to the music !! Luckily by 10.30pm it stopped so we could sleep ready for an exciting day ahead.
Drove to the pier and checked-in for our boat to TURTLE ISLAND 🐢🏝. After some fairly humid and sweaty hanging around, we left 45 mins late but the speed boat soon whisked us past the stillted villages the area is famous for.
The last 10 mins of the ride were flat calm, which was great for Pete as he was nearing his sea sick level.
The island was tiny so we took a walk around it on the beach after lunch and then a snorkel where we saw lots of pretty coloured fish and a big shoal that we followed for a while.
With nature, you never really know, so even though it’s called Turtle Island we were trying not to get ahead of ourselves but……..
Then onto the main event after dinner and some educational videos. A turtle had come on shore to lay her eggs 🥰 The ranger took us all down to watch (under the full moon and no-one allowed in front of her ), 137 eggs later she was done. They then used a torch, measured her (1.3m) and checked for a tag. She’d been there to lay before so the system is working ❤️
Then we all saw the eggs transferred to the hatchery.
Then we all got to see the 40 baby turtles who had hatched that night get released into the sea ❤️ Pete even got to pick one up that was heading up the beach and point him in the right direction.
It was a brilliant experience and because we are a) old b) extremely lucky – we got to compare our 2 turtle laying experiences that were 25 years apart. Last time, we saw the turtle digging the hole, laying eggs, covering the nest and then knackered, dragging herself back to the sea. Which was amazing to see.
This wasn’t allowed this time – there were police with guns !! So she’d already dug her nest and we had to leave the beach before she left the nest for the sea. But really it shows how conservation has progressed. Some of it driven by the sheer volume of eco tourist numbers these days compared to back then, so something had to change but mainly a greater understanding of what stresses the turtles and might affect return rates.
After seeing sunrise !!!! A first this 4 month adventure, a lovely smooth crossing followed.
Then the joys of travel in Asia, a much needed trip to a laundromat…… washing sweaty clothes in the shower only works for so long in this humidity !!
Then another drive on smooth then randomly knackered road south to Gomantong Caves where they harvest swift nests so the Chinese can have their birds nest soup !!
We also climbed a LOT of steps to an observation deck overlooking the jungle and the top of one of the caves. It also cave us the opportunity to see how the nest harvesters lived up there. Its a tough life for sure, even though the nests sell for a premium to the Chinese – 1kg of white nests can fetch up to $4,000. It was Hot and very Humid and, even though the steps climb probably took only 15mins, it already meant we had clothes ready for the next laundry !!!!
