Our second Be a Guest Travel Writer competition winner, Christine Tursky Gordon, learns the true meaning of 'turtle power' during a nature-filled weekend on Heron Island.
I’ve always dreamed of falling asleep to the sound of waves – it’s part of my absolutely perfect fantasy holiday. Our room on Heron Island provided not only the sound effects, but also the view: white sand, shining blue water, driftwood, all framed by lush greenery.
How did they get here? See the Be a Guest Travel Writer Competition winning entries10 more to go! See the reports filed so far from the winners' travels
Your focus at Heron Island is completely on the environment and the wildlife. Migrating birds perch on almost every available branch of every tree, and rooms are supplied with ear plugs just in case the bird calls keep you awake at night. The rooms are comfortable and uncomplicated, without distractions such as televisions or phones (there was a CD player in the room but we were never in there long enough to want to use it). There is no mobile phone reception at all on the island, but there are pay phones and an internet access point in the central resort area if you really need to contact the outside world. If you are travelling with young children who prefer baths you need to bear in mind that all rooms except the beach house rooms on the island only have a shower.
On our Heron Island weekend getaway the first thing we did was take the few steps from our room to walk along the beach and discovered you can stroll around the whole island in less than an hour.
We were there during turtle hatching season and saw our first baby turtle almost immediately – it was so small and so brave, making the long journey from above the high tide mark down to the water. The sand boiled with movement as baby turtles dug their way out from their nest. It’s a dangerous journey for them, only the size of a soup spoon, and even though we’re not allowed to interfere with the turtles themselves we couldn’t resist shooing away the seagulls standing along the beach hoping to scoop up a meal. Even in the water we sometimes saw small dark sharks, carefully positioned so that the current would bring the baby turtles towards them.
For our next venture, we couldn’t choose between guided walks or scuba diving lessons. In the end we chose the Aqua Soul Spa where I had one of the best massages I’ve ever experienced, carefully timed for low tide, not to miss the best snorkelling time around high tide. Sitting in the glass-walled relaxation lounge afterwards with a glass of water was a lovely way to surface again.
If you get the least bit sea sick, take the helicopter transfers rather than the boat. Seriously. But don’t worry – even if you take the launch transfer the check-in staff offer anti-nausea medication free of charge and those on the boat are wonderful at looking after passengers who – like me – are still unwell despite the tablets.
The helicopter flight back made me realise how the island looks to migrating birds: gorgeous and welcoming. We watched for adult turtles, and our pilot circled around at one stage to give us a longer look at one swimming along the edge of one of the reefs. I imagined all our little baby turtles surviving the challenges of the sea and growing to this much larger, much safer size. In my thoughts I wished them well.