Turtle Power

Another weekend, another adventure. This time a road trip to the Raas Al Jinz Turtle Reserve near Sur along with our good friends Matt and Julie. We decided to call into the supermarket and pick up a 'few' items for the one night away. I think the girls got a bit carried away if you ask me!

En route to Raas Al Jinz we made a quick stop at the Bimmah Sinkhole. To me the word sinkhole conjures up images of houses being swallowed up in Florida and people disappearing from golf courses in Illinois, but this one is full of crystal clear turquoise water. As far as holes in the ground go, this was pretty cool. But it is a hole in the ground. Nothing more. Nothing less.

And onto the Turtle Reserve. We opted to book into the tents that they have on site and I have to say this turned out a brilliant option. The term tents don't really do these justice as they were pretty amazing. Very comfy, quite luxurious and they also had a fantastic view out the back. This is where we set up our BBQ and enjoyed a very refreshing and well deserved Pimms! Matt and myself then provided the ladies with a demonstration on how to light a BBQ, which from the look on their faces they were seriously impressed with. Man, food, grunt...

And the reason we came to this place - the turtles! So the Nature Reserve runs 2 tours down onto the beach. One is at about 9pm and the other is at 4am. In theory the one at night allows you to see the eggs being laid and the steps the turtles go to in protecting them. You might have to ask Jenny or Julie what the 4am tour consisted of as I made a very smart decision to stay in my very comfy bed. But as far as I can tell the tour was very similar but as it was daylight you could see more and were also allowed to take photographs. 

The crabs waiting to catch the baby turtles

The turtles leave the beach in a right mess!

This was a fantastic overnight trip, not just because of the turtles but also an opportunity to get out of the city and the lower temperatures allowed us to sit outside without passing out with the heat and humidity.