Turtle conservation in Western Australia
| country: | Australia |
| location: | Western Australia |
| departures: | 2010: 8 Nov, 15 Nov |
| price: | From £980 (8 days) excluding flights |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
This voluntourism project will take you to the strikingly beautiful coastline of Western Australia to conduct a survey of iconic Australian flatback turtles. You will measure and tag turtles, as well as observe and record data about their nesting behaviour. You will also help to collect DNA samples. This is a very hands-on project working from a remote but very comfortable and modern beach camp with the aim of determining flatback turtle nesting numbers and how far dispersed this genetic population is along the seashore of Western Australia. With Australian flatbacks still listed as ‘Data Deficient” internationally by the IUCN Red List, the actions of this project will go a long way in assisting to fill in the information gaps for this species.
Our expeditions are not about playing the primitive, neither are we a military style 'boot-camp'. Our expedition leader and the local scientist will be by your side and we believe strongly that we get the best out of our expedition teams by making them comfortable, safe and well fed. You won’t be living in the lap of luxury, but we will do our best to make you feel comfortable and at home in your working environment, as this is the key to a well-balanced and successful expedition.
Expedition base
Eco Beach Wilderness Retreat, a remote beach resort with spacious safari-style tents featuring a private verandah, mattress bed, en suite bathroom & showers. The resort also has a pool, gym, yoga room & classes, bar, etc.
Skills & prerequisites required
None. You don't need to be a scientist or have any special qualifications - everyone can take part and there are no age limits whatsoever.
Fitness level required
Moderate. Research work takes place in the evenings and at night and expedition team members need to be able to walk for up to four hours a night (with breaks) in soft sand wearing footwear. Patrol lengths vary with the maximum distance per night at 10 km.
Team assembly point
Broome, a major and easily accessible coastal town in Western Australia.
Beach patrols will be either on foot or in special golf-cart-like beach vehicles and everyone will be rotated between foot and vehicle patrol. Under normal circumstances there will be three patrol teams each day/night.
If you are on vehicle patrol, the high tide time will determine when your patrol sets off to its survey location. Once there, you will sleep in tents or under the stars on the beach until it’s time to patrol the beach for up to four hours and then sleep again until sunrise. You will then rise with the sun and conduct a morning survey of any nests missed overnight before you return back to base and a group breakfast at around 09:00. If you are on foot patrol, you will be leaving from base and returning there afterwards to sleep.
After returning from patrol and breakfast, you will then have free time to rest & relax until lunch around noon. Lunch will be prepared by the expedition leader & scientist and you will be asked to help with this on a rotational basis. After lunch there is more free time until an early dinner before your patrol leaves again for its turtle survey and a night camping in tents on the beach. Dinner usually consists of sandwiches, which you will prepare yourself from a buffet. On some days you will have dinner at base, on others you will take your dinner out with you on patrol and eat whilst watching the sun set over the beach.
Our expeditions are not about playing the primitive, neither are we a military style 'boot-camp'. Our expedition leader and the local scientist will be by your side and we believe strongly that we get the best out of our expedition teams by making them comfortable, safe and well fed. You won’t be living in the lap of luxury, but we will do our best to make you feel comfortable and at home in your working environment, as this is the key to a well-balanced and successful expedition.
Expedition base
Eco Beach Wilderness Retreat, a remote beach resort with spacious safari-style tents featuring a private verandah, mattress bed, en suite bathroom & showers. The resort also has a pool, gym, yoga room & classes, bar, etc.
Skills & prerequisites required
None. You don't need to be a scientist or have any special qualifications - everyone can take part and there are no age limits whatsoever.
Fitness level required
Moderate. Research work takes place in the evenings and at night and expedition team members need to be able to walk for up to four hours a night (with breaks) in soft sand wearing footwear. Patrol lengths vary with the maximum distance per night at 10 km.
Team assembly point
Broome, a major and easily accessible coastal town in Western Australia.
a day in a life of a volunteer
Turtle monitoring takes place during the evening and night and sometimes early mornings before the heat of the day increases. When not undertaking conservation activities, team members have the opportunity to relax at the Eco Beach resort base, where you can have a drink at the bar, use the pool, or take in the surrounds. There will also be some turtle talks for you to attend during the day. Beach patrols will be either on foot or in special golf-cart-like beach vehicles and everyone will be rotated between foot and vehicle patrol. Under normal circumstances there will be three patrol teams each day/night.
If you are on vehicle patrol, the high tide time will determine when your patrol sets off to its survey location. Once there, you will sleep in tents or under the stars on the beach until it’s time to patrol the beach for up to four hours and then sleep again until sunrise. You will then rise with the sun and conduct a morning survey of any nests missed overnight before you return back to base and a group breakfast at around 09:00. If you are on foot patrol, you will be leaving from base and returning there afterwards to sleep.
After returning from patrol and breakfast, you will then have free time to rest & relax until lunch around noon. Lunch will be prepared by the expedition leader & scientist and you will be asked to help with this on a rotational basis. After lunch there is more free time until an early dinner before your patrol leaves again for its turtle survey and a night camping in tents on the beach. Dinner usually consists of sandwiches, which you will prepare yourself from a buffet. On some days you will have dinner at base, on others you will take your dinner out with you on patrol and eat whilst watching the sun set over the beach.
highly commended
This tourism business was Highly Commended in our 2007 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - the largest awards of their kind in the world, and organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
a taste of volunteering trip - what's it all about?
This type of trip is ideal for people who are unable to take very long periods off work but who are interested in volunteering to work with communities in need, or in wildlife conservation. These shorter trips combine volunteering with an opportunity to see the main sights in destinations. Find out more about 'taste of volunteering'how this holiday makes a difference
|
Environment:
No known annual or consecutive recording of nesting turtles has occurred in the study site until now. Anecdotal evidence together with some past track counts by the Department of Environment and Conservation of Western Australia provided the basis for the establishment of this new annual monitoring programme. While the flatback turtle (Natator depressus) is the prime nesting species, green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are quite likely to nest in the study site too. Other species such as hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and Olive Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) are also known to inhabit the waters of the study site. Extensive satellite transmitter tracking of nesting flatbacks further south along the coast of Western Australia shows migratory paths past the study site to northern foraging grounds off the coastline of Broome. Where the project's flatbacks fit in to this overall picture is of prime interest for future conservation measures. Satellite tagging is also planned for the future. Partners of this programme are the Cable Beach community-based monitoring programme in Broome, the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation, the Chelonia Wildlife & Rehabilitation Centre, Environs Kimberley and Seagrass Watch. Community: All trips are developed with local partners and scientists, as well as community representatives where appropriate. This consultation serves to minimise negative impacts on local cultures. This is developed through a more complete integration into the local community, by working alongside them to achieve a conservation objective. All staff are local Australians and the expedition base is 100% owned locally. Another partner of this programme is the traditional aboriginal owners of the land, the Yawuru Native Holders Aboriginal Corporation. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |