So this is how it all came about....
Staying in Hikkaduwa, on the south coast of Sri Lanka Ant and i decided
to venture off the beach and visit a recommended turtle farm a short
bus ride away. Within hours of visiting and returning to the beach we
both felt compelled to go back and become volunteers. Our afternoon
visit soon became a two week stay, immersing ourselves in the lives of
the turtles and brothers Nimal and Ruwan. One of the best spur of the
moment decisions i have made.
Nimal and Ruwan's story is one of the many tragedies of the Tsunami, to
me this one became different as within the two weeks a great friendship
blossomed, during that time i learned to understand the pain, courage
and strength that they had and are still going through. It was a real
eye opener, reading and seeing the news on television was horrific but
hearing it first hand, piecing it together has been touching , heart
breaking but also inspiring in there ability to pick up what they have
left and carry on with hope and love still in their hearts. Nimal and
Ruwan were the sole survivors of there family in 2004 when the Tsunami
struck, the freak of nature took away their mother, two sisters and
three nephews and nieces leaving the two brothers to somehow carry on
and take care of each other.
The turtle farm in its own way i think did a lot to help, giving them
something to put their energy into. There father originally started the
farm in the year 2000, rescueing injured turtles, saving them from
poachers and buying the newly laid eggs that would otherwise be eaten
for food. When he passed away their sister took over the running of the
farm, the turtle becoming her life along with her family. It was a
thriving breeding and learning center not only the tourists but the
locals as well. When the Tsunami hit everything was lost, the turtles,
farm and the family, leaving just a barren piece of land. With great
determination and strength Nimal and Ruwan with the help of donations
re-built the farm and now continue the legacy that their father had
started. Hearing their story and meeting the turtle And and i almost
felt that we had no choice but to return and put something into the
farm ourselves. So thats how we ended up staying there for two weeks.
Considering when i visited i knew nothing about turtles i really feel i
have gained vast knowledge. I am now an expert in turtle exercises -
getting the babies to chase my finger around the tank, and turtle
massage/scratching....honestly they love it! On our first day we
started off in the tanks, literally standing in them, trying our very
hardest not to slip in the shit caked into the floor! Hands and knees,
raw knuckles, splattered in poo it was to be as we scrubbed and
scrubbed at the bottom and sides of the tank. Let me tell you it was
hard work but with it came a sense of achievement as we re-filled them
looking pristine......four or so later our days work had finished.
During the weeks we kept an eye on the mounds of eggs, waiting with
bated breath for them to hatch....we were told it would be about four
or five days, but sods law fourteen days and nothing, not a
peep....then we leave and a couple of days later over 150 green and
Olive Ridley turtles were born. So i have been back to see the little
ones and there are gorgeous personified, just amazing! They are
captivating to watch, quite mesmerising really and its all thanks to
the brothers who bought the eggs off a nest thief. If they hadn't been
saved i dont think that one of those one hundred and fifty would have
made it. Since being there i also had the priviledge of releasing two
turtles into the sea and let me say it was a tear jerkingley special
moment. To place them in the water, watch them gracefully slide through
the waves and out in to the big ocean was wonderful, i watched on the
beach until i couldn't see them anymore, wishing them luck for the
journey ahead.
I have met Loggerheads, Olive Ridleys, Green and Hawkesbill turtles,
learning to recognise them for starters (which took me awhile) and
learning about there feeding habits, likes and dislikes all that kind
of thing.....A few things that i found amazing i will share with you,
female turtles will cover hundreds or thousands of miles to lay their
eggs at the same place they were born, Leatherbacks can dive up to
1200m and some can live hundreds of years.However learning all this
information has almost turned Ant and i (mostly Ant) into slight turtle
geeks!
Whilst at the farm we have produced five information boards which are
now hanging around the farm, they are simple but informative for locals
and tourists that come to visit. Whilst i have been sat paintbrush in
hand for hours, Ant has been expertly sharing his knowledge as he tours
people around, leaving Nimal to go out and do errands and giving the
brothers some well deserved time off. I have also made time to name a
permenant resident Olive Ridley turtle 'Victor' (as in Victor Meldrew)
as he is a bit grumpy but not surprisingly so. He is a prime example of
the good work that is being done, caught by a fisherman he was placed
on his back and left flapping unable to right himself, in the process
covering the locals in sand. With anger the fisherman chopped off his
flipper and removed a kilogram of flesh. Unable to get there just in
time Niaml was disappointed but took him back to the farm, nursed him
back to health and now he has a home for life.
Nimal and Ruwan are doing a superb job, its a small farm and needs a
lot of work but i think in time it will get there. I was really sad to
leave, they are great guys and we have had lots of laughs, i also think
we amused them when we decided to get in the fish tank...yes in it with
the two black tip reef sharks also in there! It was a little nerve
wracking but fun...i would like to say they were massive but they were
actually only babies.....So all in all it has been an unforgetable
experience and somewhere i would like to visit in the future. Nimal and
Ruwan have really touched me, there is definatley a special place for
them.
So if you have time, please check out there website
www.srilankaturtles.com any donations would be gratefully recieved,
just five pounds would save 100 turtle eggs.......cheers x
