Woodgate: Sea Turtles Hatching Day!

Deciding to camp at Woodgate will remain one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Why, you may ask? Well, on our trip north, Jeni and I wanted to get to Mon Repos in time to see the turtle hatching. We hit the region the day after the final public viewing. Bugger, I thought, there's always next time—and I've thought that on previous trips up to the area.

We looked at some maps and decided we'd spend the night at Woodgate, a small ocean-side town that's forty-five minutes south of Bundaberg. It's a beaut little place, relaxing, and the beach is not too bad either. The campground was tidy, had good amenities, and the folks running it were pretty laid back.

After a relaxing evening, we both woke before sunrise and had this overwhelming urge to go for a walk. As the sun rose, a big bugger of a skippy greeted us with the flex of his muscles. Like pretty much every beach in Aus, the morning walk was a top way to start the morning. Then suddenly, people started racing down from the streets, dumping buckets onto the shore...

This event seemed rather bizarre! We quickly discovered it was a bunch of people rescuing sea turtles! Now, picking up baby sea turtles is really bad for their internal GPS. The alternative for these little guys, however, was much worse. Confusion had seen many of these turtles racing for the streetlights rather than the horizon. Some of these guys had flippered themselves several blocks from the beach—the wrong way!

Well, we wanted to see baby sea turtles! As unfortunate as the situation was for them, rescuing some of these little buggers was quite an experience. I've seen adult sea turtles, while out on the ocean and in recovery aquariums, but never before have I seen a hatchling. They're absolutely adorable, tiny things!

Needless to say, the rest of our walk shifted from the shoreline to the road. We rescued quite a few of the little buggers from the road, a park, and front lawns. No idea how the little fellas will fare out in the ocean, but I felt like a superhero giving them a second chance!

While this post doesn't really convey much about the town of Woodgate, it shares the incredible experience we had there. I do hope that my good deeds made up for what I let happen to the graekans...