Scubavet: The Montebello Islands

The Montebello Islands are an archipelago of 265 islands located 120km off the coast of North Western Australia. In 1952 the British tested nuclear bombs here, and the residual radiation means much of the land area is off limits for humans. There are no visitor facilities, so access is restricted to those who have a large boat able to withstand heavy weather, or who are able to pay the hefty fees for a tourist charter.

The islands are an important breeding ground for turtles. I was lucky enough to visit on a friend's boat 3 times, each at a different stage of turtle reproduction.

Arriving into Vodka Bay. Hundreds of mating turtles are seen in the water throughout the bay

Female Turtle laying her eggs. She uses her powerful fins to dig out a hole, lays the eggs in the hole, crawls out, then fins sand back into the hole to bury the eggs and protect them from birds and reptiles

Exhausted, the female turtles rest awhile at the water's edge on their way back out to sea

The reason for the waiting? The shallows are swarming with males turtles, keen to mate again!

Back into the onslaught

The number of tracks present give us an idea of how many turtles use this beach for laying!

Hatching time! The babies hatch, dig themselves out of the sand and make their way down the beach into the ocean. They follow the light of the moon to guide them to the water.

Into the surf - they struggle through, paddling furiously and being washed all over the place. These are the lucky ones - many before them have been dug up by Goannas, or picked up by birds on their way down the beach (especially those silly enough to hatch during the day!). Once in the water, they still need to survive the threat of predators.