Gamma Rantings...

•Tuesday, June 5, 2007•

Ma Daerah Turtle Camp

I wanna go to the beach!!!

Lol...all the mosquitoes, sand flies, and sunburn (yes, I'm sunburned) are nothing, NOTHING, compared to the last two nights out on the sandy beach. Ee Lynn's right...everyone HAS to take some time away from the hustle and bustle of the city to reconnect with nature. And who needs air-con and a cozy bed when you have the ocean breeze and the endless stretch of soft sand?

Yen and I practically jumped at the chance to join the Weekend with the Turtles camp eversince Miss Lena first told us about it, but as she was unable to go, I dragged Sharon along instead. And so, matters aside, We soon found ourselves on the way to Ma'Daerah Turtle Sanctuary on the 1st of June. Personally, I've never liked long journeys in the car...I get restless and kinda carsick. So, to cut long story short, we spenjt most of the journey gossiping, telling cold jokes, riddles, as well as ghost stories (yes, in broad daylight).

On the Teluk Cempedak beach...

Had lunch in Teluk Cempedak's McD and took severeal photos on the beach before we proceeded off to the Department of Fisheries in Kuantan. There, we were given our first "taste" of turtle watching...namely the Hawksbill turtles held in captive. The center was jam-packed with people, and it was terribly hard to try to get a picture of the turtles without me almost joining them in the pool.

There was also an area in the center that was attributed to dugongs. DUGONGS!!! Haha..Sharon and I wasted no time in getting a picture there...I wish Xian and Yen could have joined us, though...It was the perfect spot for a Dugong Family picture...

A Hawksbill turtle up close...

I L-O-V-E this picture...Mummy Dugong and I...and the dugong portrait above...

In front of the Department of Fisheries...From left: Shi May, Ying, me, Sharon, Bay, Suan Shih, Celina, and Komala...

What saddened me in the center was the little turtle hatchlings that were there, as if it were a mere petting zoo. Not only had the hatchlings been kept against their natural instinct, thuspreventing the imprinting process, but they were treated like cute little oddities that had little more importance than an object of photography. It was sickening to see them picked up roughly, subjected to blinding camera flashes, and then tossed back unceremoniously. No one really gave a damn as to what the poor creatures must have felt. And well, this was just a start to the various sides of the nature-ignorant homo sapien.

After stopping for some snacks and cup noodles, we left the tar roads behind us and went through a wonderfully bumpy path through the forest, before coming to a clearing where the sanctuary was situated. Ok, it wasn't as primitive as I had expected, for there WAS actually electricity, and a dinghy fan and lightbulb in the rooms...(I AM GOING TO SLEEP ON THE BEACH!!) And well, there was hot water for our Maggi Mee!!!

As the main agenda was at night, we spent the evening playing hilarious games like Monkey, and a new game...Cabedy, or Chapati, or dunno whatsits...It was fun, and rather BRUTAL...Quite a number emerged nursing cuts and bruises. However, it was worth it...after we successfully pinned down the opposing team's strongest member...Miss Kalpana...

After dinner, (and ages of procrastination) we filed down to the beach, where we were instructed to huddle quietly on the sand. It was considerably dark, and the sound of the waves on the shoreline were truly peaceful, if it wasn't for some people who just didn't appreciate the music of nature.

Forgive me, but I do get unnecessarily annoyed at situations like that.

After more than half an hour of waiting, we were in for a let down...the turtle decided to head back to the sea...Perhaps it was due to the ruckus we made, or just the unsuitable location...oh well...

It also struck me how ignorant we were about the feelings of the other creatures who share our planet. Ok, so most of us have NEVER seen a real turtle out in the wild, but that is still NO EXCUSE to violate to most sacred law of turtle-watching...NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY!!! Aihz...I rest my case...only other nature lovers will understand the implications of that act...

Not to mention the jakun-ded shrieks of "oh, touch the flipper! touch the flipper!!" For heaven's sake...give that poor exhausted, considerably terrified turtle a break...

We got to release turtle hatchlings, however. It was kinda annoying to see all the baby turtles tortured and subjected to rough handling...Aihz...They were lifted unceromoniously, and cameras brought right up to their sensitive little eyes...Halmeey did NOT seem happy...

Little turtle hatchlings that we releasd on the beach.

Later that night, after lagging our sleeping bags out onto the sand, 5 of us; Sharon, Celina, Suan Shih, Bay, and I followed Halmeey out for beach patrol along the 1.7km stretch of beach. As we strode barefoot on the beach, I was aware of the feeling of endless space, vastness and freedom...the view stretched as far as my eyes could see...A welcome relief indeed from the claustrophobic hell in the city...Gosh...I felt so free, I felt like running, jumping into the water, rolling on the sand, and screaming at the top of my lungs...Lol...

Towards the end of the beach, Halmeey came to an abrupt halt as he spotted a dark shadow shuffling slowly on the sand ahead. He signalled to us to wait, and creeped off to investigate. And sure enough, it was yet another potential nesting turtle!!!

We settled onto the sand for the long haul...And before long, the rest of the group came to join us, and for the next two hours, we lazed on the sand, sinking into a stupor as Sharon and I took turns lying on each other's laps. At one point, I got really tired of sitting down and flopped down on the sand instead. Omg...freedom...freedom...lying on the soft sand (and getting sand in my hair, for that matter), gazing at the endless, cloudy night sky...ah...paradise...hehe...

The 5 of us were allowed to approach first when the digging noise stopped, but as we sat on the (read: SHARP) broken shells near the nesting area, we caught drifts of what happened...Apparently the nest had caved in just as the turtle was about to lay her eggs. Therefore, she decided to move off. Aah...the disappointment...

However, we were really lucky after all! Instead of heading towards the sea, the turtle merely moved several feet away and began digging again. Looks like we would get to see the turtle laying eggs after all, though only after another 2 hours more of agonising waiting...................Somewhere in between, I managed to catch my forty winks briefly...the sand feeling about as comfortable as my bed at home...

Watching the turtle lay her eggs right in front of my eyes was an awe-inspiring moment...It was like seeing something out of Animal Planet occuring right before my eyes... As I knelt there on the sand next to the turtle, I came to fully appreciate being in nature's presence...the caress of the breeze, the sound of the waves, the sight of slimy ping-pong-ball-like eggs plopping softly into the sand...

Not to mention the "showers of blessing" from the turtle when she was done...using her powerful flippers to cover the nest, inadvertently showering us with sand...This was kinda funny until it became a potential hazard later on...

You see, after she laid her eggs, she dug another hole right next to it. This served as a decoy for predators. And man, sh must have been really experienced...her nest was on such a slope that the sand kept falling back into the hole no matter how many times Halmeey tried to dig up the eggs. At one point, his entire arm got stuck in the sand, rendering him immobile and perfect target for projectiles of sand from the turtle nearby.

Once again, I realised how unsuited some people are to the outdoors...I mean, what's the point of coming to the beach if you don't wanna get dirty, right? Only Ying, me, and the guys really threw ourselves flat on the sand, ignoring the all the sand that coated our hair, clothes and even our mouths, and dug with that same fervour that drove us for the entire night. Only then did I appreciate how hard it must hav been for the turtle to dig. The position I was in made me have to dig sometimes like a dog, and sometimes like a turtle. And man, did that take up loads of energy...Its no wonder that the turtle had to stop and rest every 20 seconds or so...

Finally, we got all the eggs out and left the turtle in peace. By the way, the turtle was none other than the first turtle who retreated back into the sea! Tag 2745...Haha...*go buy 4D*...

After relocating all the eggs in the hatchery, many went back to the longhouse to sleep. It was already dawn, and Sharon and I were adamant about watching the sunrise, no matter how tired we were. So there we were...nodding off as we lay on the beach waiting for the sunrise.

Me, planting some of the eggs in the hatchery...

It was worth it though...the sunrise was as magnificient as it could get...I was utterly awestruck that I just opened my notebook and began scrawling in it...it was somewhere in the middle of the book...haha...I wasn't thinking at all but I just crapped...It was only after the sunrise that I realised what I had been writing...lol...talk about subconcious...

the glowing red emerging from the dark silhoutte of cluds on the horizon...the magnificent blaze of colour illuminating the thin citrus clouds...a truly mesmerising sight, made complete by the chirping up birds and crickets, and the lapping of waves on the shore...Hues of colour...interchanging and blending with each other in the ever-transforming sky...And finally, with the aura of a king, the great flaming ball emerges from the silhoutte and illuminated the lenghth of the sea, all though to the horizon...

After watching the sunrise, waves of exhaustion took over and we keeled over, fast asleep within seconds. It was only 8 something that we woke up, recoiling from the killer heat of the sun! OMG, it felt like we were being ROASTED alive!!! There was only 3 of us left; the rest had already returned to the longhouse. We trudged back, and within moments, were asleep once again.

Later that afternoon, we went for some tea in Kerteh town, bought some keropok, as well as one huge juicy coconut (Bay, Sharon and I shared) before we returned to do some mural painting. (Man, Hui Yen should have been here). You guys know what an utter flop I am when it comes to art; it was all I could do to help out while trying not to make a mess...Well, I can conclude this half a year of sitting next to Yen has not been out to waste...My art has improved EVER SO SLIGHTLY...

BIIIIIIG....JUUUIIIIICY...COCONUUUUT...

On another beach...look how messy my hair is...haha...the wind was so strong...From left: Celina, Sharon, me, Shi May, Ying, and Suan Shih...

Sharon and I, painting the mural.

That evening's agenda was to dig up hatched nests and calculate how many eggs were hatched, unhatched, and undeveloped. Once again, it was very possible to distinguish the 101% xiao jie's from the rest...not many actually dared to approach the foul smelling eggs and actually peel them open, regardless of the goo, the slimy liquid that squirted out, and occassionally, a dead baby turtle in the egg. It was like doing post mortems at the scene of a massacre...

The dead turtle we excavated from its shell...Sad sight...

Two live baby turtles were also found, but they were severely hunchbacked and according to Halmeey, there was no way they could survive.

One of the nests had only 11 hatched eggs and 36 unhatched/undeveloped!!! I was rather saddened, it contrary to some who were sadistically thrilled at the sight...

Remembering Ee Lynn's caution on the risk of Salmonella poisoning, I requested gloves for Sharon and I, and whoever else who were to infiltrate that particular nest...Don't want anyone to get sick now, do we?

By 10, we had put of finishing touches to our wall and went out for seafood to celebrate. The sotong was...omg...delicious....*drools*

Sharon and I also took pride in bathing in the guys toilet, which had far better water supply, but was located at a very dark part of camp. The first day, we went with Ying and ended up talking as loud as we could through the cubicles to calm our nerves. And the next day...hehe...we practically forced Edison and Bay to wait for us outside until we were done...Muahaha...

After supper that night, we were beyond exhausted, and immediately upon reaching our rooms, both of us just climbed in and fell asleep. Aihz...there goes our sleep-on-the-beach for the night...Thank goodness I woke up early the next morning and could still catch on the sand before sunrise...Aah...Paradise...

I really felt refreshed (mentally, not physically) after that brief period of reconnection with Mother Nature. And until now, I can stil feel the sand between my fingers and crunching beneath my feet...*sinks back into a dreamy stupor*...

Group Pic 1

Group Pic 2, in front of the mural...

In the Van...Celina, Sharon, and me...

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 9 comments

9 Comments:

omg..holidays! sob *envy xD

By tanyang, at June 5, 2007 at 2:21 PM

nice trip wor...lols...=D

By Unknown, at June 7, 2007 at 5:23 AM

Yup! Really enjoy...haha...

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