Selingan Turtle Island – Bike and Tours’ Family Getaway!
Written by: Itisha Ismail
Selingan Turtle Island – Bike and Tours’ Family Getaway!
Friday 7 Feb 2020
Selingan Turtle Island at the Turtle Islands Park (Malaysia), was Bike and Tours’ very first Borneo family getaway for 2020. In 2019, like most working individuals, Simon and I have been working just like everyone else. We worked pretty much non-stop from Mid Jan through to mid Oct 2019 except for a few weekends. Absolutely no holidays till mid Oct. Needless to say that by mid Oct 2019, we were both pretty much worn out.
So, the beginning of 2020, Simon and I made an aim to have more short breaks for our family in between work (ahem, this idea was made way before Corona took charge of the traveling world in middle March 2020). So lets imagine this aim sans corona, we had to readjust that aim to present day circumstances.
Selingan Turtle Island is located about 40km north of Sandakan District and was the first turtle hatchery in Malaysia. It is a protected area with the sole purpose to serve the Turtle Conservation program. It is also the oldest in the world with the most detailed statistics and research. Established on 1 Aug 1966 and the park’s permanent team duty is to monitor the turtles, protect its hatcheries and tag the turtles for research purposes.
Olivia and Emelyn were super excited when we told them that we were going to see the mummy turtles make their way to lay eggs and to release the baby turtles to the sea. Selingan Turtle Island is known for the green sea turtle and hawksbill turtle species that lay their eggs on this island. Believe it or not, the turtles come to lay eggs at Selingan Turtle Island every single day!
So, we made our way in the late afternoon on a Friday from Lahad Datu to Sandakan and spent a night at the Four Points by Sheraton. Our stay in Sandakan is never complete without dining at the Balin Restaurant in Nak Hotel.
Delicious late-night dinner, a goodnight sleep and pandan nasi lemak breakfast later, saw us make our way to the Crystal Quest Jetty office. We were greeted by friendly Fatimah and her team and prepared us on the visit. Though Bike and Tours have organized tours for many of our guests to Turtle Island, it was actually our very first time going to the island ourselves.
The boat to Selingan Island (Pulau Selingan in Malay) departed at 10:30am from Crystal Quest jetty and we were ready for some beach fun and educational turtle conservation exposure. As Febuary, was still the off-peak season (in terms of the crowd that visits the place not the volume of turtles that lay eggs), it was only 8 of us onboard the boat. Even during peak season, only 50 visitors are allowed at a time.
The captain steadily navigated the boat with the ever-present roar coming from the engine as we moved along. Could do without the engine sound but the constant breeze brought salt to the lips and skin, blew untied hair in crazy directions and somehow takes one (at least myself) to a state of peace and calmness. Peace and calmness from the amazing sight of birds specking the wide blue sky, the wooden floating villages at the fringe of the sea; fishermen waving from their manmade wooden sampan breaking the waves in bobbing motion.
As the boat left ripples of white froth on the surface of the emerald green Sulu Sea, I realized that my two girls were so relaxed that both fell asleep to the boat’s chaotic dance at sea. All these sights, sound, colors and taste brings a harmonious symphony that somehow could not be duplicated in a video or photo. The 60 minutes boat ride seemed short as we sighted settlement on a small island. As we moved closer and as the bow touched the golden caramel coloured sand, we safely arrived Selingan Turtle Island.
We got off the boat and was already excited as our feet touched the saltwater. Traveling light came in handy as we only had one carryon waterproof bag. It must be noted that Selingan Turtle Island is a place where you seize the opportunity to learn about the turtle conservation project. There are no porters here to carry your bag from the boat to the room. Definitely avoid taking your hard-sided trolley luggage as we saw how a guest seemed to be annoyed with no porter assistance on the island.
Anyways, we were briefed at the main dining area, paid the conservation fees walked past the turtle hatcheries on the way to our room. Green netted cylinders were visible on the ground to protect the hatcheries from predators such as the monitor lizards and snakes. As we were explaining this to our girls, a huge monitor lizard crossed our path almost like announcing its presence!
Our room was clean & huge with attached bathroom and aircond. It was situated near the seaside. As we had the whole afternoon to ourselves, the beach was where we would spend our time.
Indeed, the beach was rustic pa-ra-pa-ra-paradise!!!! Like casts from cartoon series (imagine the energetic and hyper Jerry from Tom and Jerry or Woody Woodpecker) - our two daughters were literally running like headless chook! Not being able to decide what to do first - build sandcastles or swim? There was a military base present to ensure the safety of the guests on this island. The limited number of 50 guests to the island at a time not only protects the conservation efforts but also creates some privacy and space for its guests. The clear turquoise saltwater serves as a form of invitation for us to cool down from the extreme tropical heat on that day.
We spent the whole afternoon from when the sun was at its peak in the sky to when it mellowed to a gentle heat. By this time the beach landscape was filled with different sized sandcastles created by Olivia and Emelyn. Soon the sun dipped beneath horizon and the blue sky was awash and blazed with the most gorgeous fiery tangerine hue with the surface of the sea portraying the same reflection.
As we witnessed this beautiful sight of Selingan Turtle Island, we were greeted by one of the park rangers, a kind reminder that we should slowly head back. One of the park’s rule is not to be on the beach from sunset to sunrise to avoid disturbance to the turtles.
After our hearty local buffet dinner, we headed to the mini gallery to learn a little bit more about the turtles background and life at sea. This was then followed by a video show that goes in depth on the Green and Hawksbill Turtles’s conservation efforts from the moment the mummy turtles lands at the Selingan Island, to laying its eggs, to placing the eggs in protected manmade nests, hatching and releasing the new breed back to sea.
One of the facts that remained in my scattered brain is effect of plastic disposal on turtles and other marine life. Some turtle species feed on jellyfish as part of their diet. Plastic at sea mimics the appearance of a jellyfish. This is one of the factors that contributes to turtles’ death as they eat and swallow on plastic materials thinking that it is jellyfish. This fact serves as a kind reminder that we all should reduce or avoid one time plastic use whenever possible.
After the video show, we talked to the park rangers and guide to learn more their conservation efforts at Turtle Island. The Hawksbill Turtle that lands at Selingan are relatively small in size. It reaches maturity between the ages of 10 to 15 years and lays on average around 90 to 120 eggs at the time. The green turtle on the other hand is the largest of the hard-shelled sea turtle. It reaches maturity as early as 20 years old up to 35 years and lays between 110 to 130 eggs at a time. Some of these turtles return to Selingan Turtle Island to lay their eggs. Some are first timers as to which they will be tagged by the park rangers.
The wait at the terrace was full of suspense. It is unpredictable as to when the mummy turtle decide to make its appearance. Though there may be a few turtles that comes up to lay their eggs, visitors are only allowed to observe watching 1 turtle laying eggs per night to avoid disturbance to the turtles. The turtles being reptiles could not regulate their body temperature well and has issues towards extreme heat. A nestling turtle is also sensitive towards the exposure of light (we were warned to turn our camera flash off). These are some of the reasons as to why the turtles come out at night to lay their eggs.
It was not long till two park rangers made their appearance to inform us to mind our volume, put on our shoes and head to the beach as the big mama has arrived!!! Excited, we almost raced to the turtle. And there she was. Stationed at the egg chamber that she dug. We were asked to stand behind this ancient giant as she continued using her hind flipper to dig the hole. She seemed calm and not bothered by our sudden unwelcomed intrusion. It was not long till she started plopping out 102 ping pong shaped and sized eggs. One ranger provided further information whilst the other counted the eggs and another ranger measured the size of the turtle. We stared in silence at this once in a lifetime experience. This turtle was a newcomer to Selingan Turtle Island. The ranger then proceeded to tag the turtle for future information to further enhance the turtles protection.
The rangers then collected the freshly laid eggs as we were directed to move towards the hatchery centre. Here, at the hatchery centre, manmade chambers were already set similar to the natural nests. The freshly laid eggs were transplanted to the manmade chambers and further protected from predators with cylinder mesh. A baby turtle takes between 50 to 60 days from the point of being laid to hatch. It usually hatches at dusk and would be released immediately.
Speaking of baby turtles, the finale of the night ended on a hopeful note. We moved from the hatchery centre down to the beach. About 50 plus baby turtles moved around in various directions in a blue plastic basket. They were survivors of the first phase of life – from being laid on Selingan Turtle Island to its hatching stage. These cute little babies were about to face the next challenge of life. Their light bodies need to counter the challenges of being washed by strong waves, they need to escape predators as well as avoid from being trapped / strangled by trash and seaweed.
These new hatched baby turtles looks ready to face what life has to offer! And with that, the ranger tilted the blue basket for the little ones. They scrambled quickly out of their temporary home onto the sand and eventually ventured into the Sulu sea. We watched as these tiny creatures made its way to its new and forever home. All the very best little ones.
And with that we left Selingan Turtle Island the next morning with memorable experience and educational discovery on the sea turtle conservation efforts.
Note:
On the 8 Feb 2020, 10 green turtles and 1 hawksbill turtle landed on Selingan Turtle Island to lay eggs. A total of 788 eggs were laid by the 10 green turtles and 124 eggs laid by the hawksbill turtle.
You can support the Turtle Conservation Program by adopting a turtle nest for RM100 (do bring enough cash on the island as there are no credit card facilities). You will receive a certificate on this and after 72 days of adoption you will get updated information and photos of the turtles.