From Sand to Sea - A Tale of Turtles (short essay)

      “I opened my eyes to an impossible darkness, entirely desolate and completely overwhelming. The light had never traced patterns inside my egg and oblivion was all I knew.

For several months I had been perfectly content to remain in the perpetual silence of my egg, but now as the ancient hymn of instinct flooded my being, I became restless. Armed with my beak, hatchling claws and a primitive thirst for freedom, I began to scratch at the shell walls that surrounded me.

My siblings were all following suit and the earliest of us had already started digging. “Up,” that was all we thought, “up and out.” My flippers were small and the task was great, but after two days of persistent digging I finally found myself, slumped exhausted on the sand. Although dawn had not yet broken, the light dazzled me. I paused to breathe in this new world. 

Waves kissed the shore and stars danced across the crests of the breaking waves. But this was no time to be poetic, the shrieks of the Magnificent frigatebirds pierced the night as they loomed overhead, eager for an early morning snack. 

The race for survival had begun.

 Feverishly, I began to drag my small body down the beach, using my flippers to propel me forward. The vast Pacific ocean gleamed ahead of me and with it, my only chance of survival.

Frigates swooped down around me plucking my siblings from the sand, while crabs sprung out of their hiding places and snipped greedily at our flippers. But I didn’t stop, it was each to his own. The sheer number of hatchlings would ensure that at least a few of us made it to the water.

I propelled myself desperately past the frantically slicing pincers of a murderous crab when suddenly the soft sand gave way to merciful water.

The shallow water lapped at my shell and lifted me, carrying me further into the inky waters. I had made it. I had survived the treacherous journey from the sand to sea. These waves were my home, and they would either claim me or sustain me until the time comes when I am ready to make my way back up the very same beach from which I had come, just as my mother had done before me.”

It is an amazing experience to watch the sand begin to shift and to know that in moments new life will emerge. 

I have been privileged enough to experience this, as well as many other remarkable events in the mysterious lives of sea turtles.

My first experience with these magnificent creatures was along the east coast of South Africa, in Coffee Bay. While on holiday with friends and family, splashing around in the surf I felt a gentle nudge against my leg. Reaching into the water I pulled out a small loggerhead turtle, which looked most bewildered as I held it up in the gentle sea breeze.

At the tender age of 12, this event captured my curiosity. Little did I know that this curiosity would land me half way across the world some 7 years later, assisting with the uncovering of some of the many secrets that sea turtles hold.

As a student volunteer, I knew little and expected much, as I touched down in San Jose Airport, Costa Rica. I had a plan to work as a volunteer on a Sea turtle conservation project and in as little as one month, change the world.

Now in hindsight, one can see just how ridiculous and na?ve this notion was. However, even though I may not have been able to change the world much, my own world was changed. Let me explain. For Centuries Sea turtles have been hunted for their meat, eggs and shells. Their eggs have been collected as both a food source and (as with many other animals which have been poached to near extinction) an aphrodisiac. My job as a volunteer on the conservation program was to ensure the safe relocation of eggs, minimal disturbance of nesting females by tourists and the safety of hatchlings as they made their way to the sea.

This last task was not always possible as hatching times are never certain, however, we did the best we could, and with great success. This work involved many long, mosquito-filled night patrolling the beach, a job we did in shifts throughout the night. What an experience that was! We were alert and alive in the pre-dawn light, watching shapes gradually taking on definition as night gradually changed to day and knowing that we were responsible for the survival of these incredible species. I learnt to exercise a level of patience I did not know that I had, as we would wait for a turtle to lay her eggs (this could take up to 3 hours and sometimes just didn’t happen at all).

On the night that I experienced a massive figure emerge from the sea and make its way slowly up the beach, I properly realised how privileged I was to be able to be a part of this work. Watching this large leatherback emerge, moonlight reflecting off her shell, and understanding that more than two decades ago, this very turtle, as a hatchling, had made her first, extremely dangerous and difficult journey down to the sea on this self-same beach. It was now time for her to complete the cycle and I was present to help her ensure the survival of her genes.

Many nights were spent covered in sand as I lay face down on the beach catching and counting eggs as they were being laid. This process ensured that no damage was done to the eggs, which could easily happen if they later had to be relocated. 

The female turtle is stoic and undeterred; there are not a lot of women who could say that they would happily give birth to 80+ children with a group of up to 60 tourists standing around staring at them, with a tour guide shining a red light up her backside. Luckily for the turtle, she goes into a trance-like state while giving birth and notices little or nothing of the commotion around her; not to mention the volunteer, who is literally snatching the eggs out from under her. This, as well as the active role I played in the protection of her young, gave me some peace of mind as I watched her go through her laborious and extremely exhausting task.

Nothing has ever given me more satisfaction or a greater sense of appreciation for life than to have had the opportunity to interact with and assist in the protection of these beautiful marine reptiles.

Through this project I have realised that there is so much more that I can do, to help conserve the beautiful biodiversity of our planet. I am to dedicate my life to working towards the conservation of the world's endangered species. 

I hope that through my studies and through volunteer work such as the Sea Turtle conservation Programme in Costa Rica, I will be able to play a key role in the implementation of conservation programs like this in and around South Africa.

I am very excited for the future.