Bargara

 5- 10 December: Bargara

Spent 6 days exploring the naturally beautiful Bargara and surrounding areas, including Elliot Heads. It was very windy so the kite got a bit of a run!

Bargara is a little beachside town near Bundaberg that has everything! Excellent bike paths, skate park, beautiful beaches and playgrounds. 

(Turtle tracks)

The absolute highlight of our stay in Bargara was our Turtle Encounter at Mon Repo. Initially, we rode to Mon Repos during day to check for any turtle tracks, and sure enough came across 5!

Mon Repos is a globally significant site. It supports the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the eastern Australian mainland and has the most significant loggerhead turtle nesting population in the South Pacific region. The success of nesting and hatching turtles at Mon Repos is critical for the survival of the endangered loggerhead turtle. The Centre is dedicated to marine turtle research, protection and education. 

We arrived at the centre at 7:30pm where we spent some time learning about the lifecycle and protection of the various species of turtles that use this stretch of coast to nest.

Being the last of 5 groups to be called to the beach We were becoming disheartened that we may not see a turtle! After 2hrs, 20mins we excitedly followed our Ranger,  in the dark, to the beach. Turtles need darkness to orientate themselves safely to and from the ocean, so it is important that we had no lights. Under a blanket of stars we followed the tracks up the beach to where our beautiful loggerhead turtle had dug a nest. From there we were witness to her laying 111 eggs and covering them safely back up- a process that took about 1.5hrs. Turtles are amazing in that they travel all the way back to their own birthplace to nest and lay their eggs.

During this nesting, our ranger took measurements and data for continued research. As our turtle (96cm long, & 96kg) was tagged as a priority turtle, additional information was required such as number and quality of eggs and condition the turtle was in. Whilst we watched on, the call came in over the radio from the research base informing us that our turtle was 44 years old, & this was her 3rd breeding season in Mon Repos, first being tagged in 2006. 

10 of the eggs were collected for additional testing back at the research centre, the rest were safely put back in the nest. 

We followed the turtle at a safe distance with minimal light back down the beach and into the ocean. It felt like a truly special, almost spiritual  moment to have witnessed, especially given loggerhead turtles are endangered. It is thought that only 1 in every 1000 eggs successfully navigate all their predators and mature to adulthood. 

The rest of our time in Bargara was spent body boarding and at the book exchange!