Spending six weeks on a remote Queensland beach monitoring nesting sea turtles is one of the most unusual outdoor experiences available to Australians. Here is what it involves.
The Program
Several research organisations and national parks run volunteer sea turtle monitoring programs on Queensland and Northern Territory beaches during the nesting season (November to February). Volunteers assist with nesting surveys, hatchling counts, tagging, and data collection under the supervision of qualified researchers. The work is non-invasive, rigorously controlled to minimise disturbance, and produces data that informs the conservation management of species that have existed since the dinosaurs.
I joined a program on a remote beach north of Bundaberg for six weeks in December and January. Getting there requires a four-wheel drive along beach tracks accessible only at low tide. The nearest town with a supermarket is 90 minutes away. The beach we worked is closed to public access during the nesting season.
The Work
Night surveys begin at 10pm and run until 4am. You walk a designated beach section in darkness, spotting nesting females by the movement patterns visible against the sand, recording nest locations, and measuring and tagging individual turtles under researcher supervision. An average night involves four to eight nesting females depending on the phase of the season.
A nesting loggerhead or green turtle, 120cm long and 150kg, pulling herself up the beach in the dark — this is an experience with no adequate parallel. The deliberateness of it, the prehistoric quality of the animal, the scale of the evolutionary investment she represents — it settles into you differently from most outdoor experiences.
What You Need
No specialised skills are required for most volunteer programs, but physical fitness for night walking on soft sand, tolerance for limited facilities, and genuine commitment to the work are expected. Red-light head torches only on the beach — white light disorients nesting females and hatchlings. Browse our head torch range including red-mode capable models.
