Evidently, everyone's shag out from the trekking in Rompin
So after the 4WD and waiting an hour for the ferry, 2 hours on the ferry and dumping our bags on the arranged vehicle, some drama from Cheri who insisted on trekking with an injured ankle, and finally trekking through a jungle and villages for 3 hours, we've reached
Also, had the chance to see what a turtle trek and body pit looks like since there was a landing the night before!
And upon reaching the Juara Turtle Project's base, we were greet by Jo! She's (gender unknown actually, cos turtles only mutual sexually at a later age) a 9 year old green turtle who was unfortunately born without eyes, so she was picked up when she started going in circles instead of the sea. We pretty much had to take care of her on our 3.5 days here!
Also, some turtles hatched in the hatchery shortly after we arrive! Small little thingy that we release into the sea after they hatched. After they rushed towards the sea and began swimming, we saw some fishes getting out of the water and started feeding presumably on them... Such is the circle of life, I guess.
Rest of the night was spent on introductory lecture and distributing duties and learning about the beach patrol!
Pretty nice sun rise the next morning...
Second day was spent trekking through the jungle again to a waterfall, pretty much a relaxing day.
Came back and had the night to ourselves, fed Jo, did some kayaking and for the first time in my life, snorkel. I must say it's pretty difficult since I had the tendency to just breathe whatever go into my mouth so I ended up drinking quite a bit of sea water; this is despite me being a certified diver, lol.
Next morning had a morning duty so went out to the beach to patrol while catching the sunrise. Came back and as we were all prepared for the snorkel scheduled, it started to pour. So we pushed the afternoon activity to the morning: Protected Area Simulation. I was initially pretty afraid of it but it turned out to be really fun and it was really quite an experience; perhaps I'll be dealing with similar settings in the future for real!
After lunch, the rain subsided and off we go! Snorkelled a few sites and the corals are all so shallow! Almost destroyed some with my clumsiness. I must say that I still prefer to dive but snorkeling is a much easier and cheaper alternative!
Went back for dinner and reflection and everyone went off to do their own packing for the departure the next day. Chuanyee and I volunteered for the 1030pm shift so we went out for beach patrol when most people are preparing for bed. Well, it paid off.
Some minor drama the next day on our way home when Andrew and I were refused entry onto the ferry cos they've reached maximum capacity and we were told the next ferry is in an hour's time (which we don't believe). Eventually Sam and Sumi managed to convince the attendants somehow to allow us onboard! Though we had to sit at the deck enduring all the second hand smoke, it's still good to be back with everyone else. And yup, cleared custom and back home at 4pm marking the end of the trip (but not the module), now back to rushing project!...
Best thing to hear when I touch down is when I called my mum, and though we don't really care about birthdays, the first thing she said is "happy birthday"...
