Day 21 - Visiting Lankayan

We now have three days off from work so five of us are headed to Lankayan – an island about 1.5 hours from Sandakan. It wasn't cheap – but we got a discount for being volunteers, and it looked so beautiful, we decided to splurge. Transfers to the jetty were included, so after some initial difficulty finding the van, we headed into town and were handed a bottle of water while we waited for the 'ferry'.

Then we hopped on a boat that seats about 12 people and headed off. There were three military guys on board for security purposes, and two other couples. It was so serene just watching the water and the waves as we headed further out. Then, when we were about half way there, the boat suddenly ground to a halt. It seemed some plastic had got caught in the propeller and then something had blown. So we were probably there for about ten minutes, rocking back and forth, with the military guys and the driver trying to sort the problem. At one point we started to get worried we'd be stuck there waiting for another boat to collect us. Thank god I had taken a travel sickness tablet -as the rocking was not at all enjoyable! I also

got really annoyed, as the military guys decided to smoke (despite the fact there was a sign to the contrary) and then flicked the butts into the water. For quite a bit of the journey the water was littered with rubbish - mostly plastic water bottles - such a scourge on the earth!

Soon we could see the island in the distance – it was stunning. The water was clear and blue, there were sandy beach and lots of mangrove style trees, with the roots that rise right out of the ground. We were escorted to the main restaurant area, which is a truly stunning hexagonal shaped, wooden building. Upon entering we were given a cool face towel, which smelt amazing, and a drink while they ran us through the rules and features of the island, which is a protected marine reserve. The major rule being you can't walk around after sunset as it disturbs the wildlife. On our way along the boardwalk we had already seen multiple turtles swimming in the shallow water below.

There are 26 chalets dotted around the island – they are all on stilts. Melissa, Steph and I took the triple – number 15. It was a very cute suite, and it was so nice to have thick towels, toiletries, a bath, and other 'luxuries'! It backed right onto the beach – and there was a tray

of cool water to wash your feet in after a stroll along the sand. There were thongs, umbrellas etc – everything had been thought of.

As it was nearly lunchtime, we headed back to the restaurant for lunch, I had squid and salsa, which was lightly battered and very fresh. The tang of the salsa really complemented the squid. There was plenty of fruit, biscuits and little coffee flavoured cakes for desert – it's been so long since I've had a dessert!

Carrie and I were keen to snorkel – so we headed to the dive centre to rent a mask and fins – which only cost about £6. It was high tide by now, and we headed out to the left of the jetty we arrived from. We immediately saw coral, you could even see some from the shore. There were a wide variety of fish, bright starfish, anemones, sea cucumbers and giant royal blue and purple clams that clamped shut as soon as you swam over them. There were loads of turquoise and

purple parrot fish, and massive yellow ones – at one point we were surrounded by 100s of tiny little fish. Some of the bigger fish were flapping their fins about in the sand, and all around you could hear the coral crackling. The water was very warm and clear and sometimes the coral was very close to us, which made it basically impossible to tread water, so we had to keep our head's down till we reached a deeper patch.

We headed around one side of the island and planned to head right up to the beach where our chalets were, but the water was getting too shallow and the current was strong around that side, so we didn't want to risk it. We decided to head back in to the jetty, and stopped to adjust our masks on route – we had done them up super tight and it was giving us a headache! Just before we got to the stairs we saw two of the workers scuba diving and attempting to fix something

underwater. One grabbed my leg as he emerged, in an attempt to scare me! We must have been out for nearly two hours – the times just flies out in the ocean.

We headed back to the chalet and found the girls got to release two baby turtles that had hatched from a nest a bit late – so they were excited. Apparently you could feel their little heartbeats through their shells (which shows how delicate they are). Then we all took a stroll around the island. It is very small, and only took us around 20 minutes, and that was with lots of stopping! We saw a few massive shells, and our turtle from Sepilok was in a big container – she didn't look very well!

We got changed and headed to the turtle hatchery area – as the lady conservationist (or reef guardian, which sounds way better) had told us some turtles were due to emerge at 5.30pm. Well they didn't disappoint! We had front row seats as four nests hatched – totalling over 300 turtles! She slowly brushed back the sand and we could see movement, Then one little face poked through. Followed by the rest of the body, then, all of sudden, they started to emerge from

everywhere – and hundreds of turtles were scrambling all over each other. They couldn't get too far at this stage due to the protective wiring around their nest. Three other nests nearby also erupted. The hatchlings were then counted and transferred to plastic tubs. Most of the eggs had hatched, which is a good result. Then we got to take them to the beach for release. We each got to tip out a tub and watch them all scramble for freedom. Only 1 in 1000 hatchlings will make it to adulthood – so sadly none of these little guys are likely to survive!

Then we headed over to the restaurant to watch the sun go down. The colours were stunning – a beautiful pink and red sky. The sun disappeared quickly, and the island looks so beautiful at night. We tried to get a group photo, but the man who took it for us couldn't seem to avoid it being blurry! We sat outside for a few beers (only beer and wine was available, and wine was £30 minimum per

bottle!). Dinner consisted of mushroom soup followed by prawns in coconut milk and more little cakes and cookies. Each day the menu is al carte- so you can pick from four/five different dishes.

Just after dinner we got notice from the restaurant staff that a turtle was nesting – apparently that's very rare to see this time of year, so we got to see the whole turtle lifecycle in one day! They led us by torchlight to the beach out past our chalet. The turtle had just finished laying – and was covering up the eggs, so I didn't quite manage to see them. Her shell was 102 x 82 cms and she wasn't tagged, so the guardians said this might be the first time she has laid eggs. They tagged her and she began flicking sand to cover the eggs. They said it would be around two/three hours before she would return to the ocean. So we went back to the restaurant and even got some leftover cake from one of the couples who had travelled out with us – as they were on honeymoon. Everyone is so friendly on the island, and there were only about 20 people (including us) when we stayed, which was one of the things I loved about it so much. It was so lovely to not run into many other people.