We arrived safely at Huon Reef this morning after a very good 25 hour (170 nautical mile) passage from Puom, in the company of “Wombat of Sydney”. As tired as we were, we still put the dinghy in the water and spent a few hours ashore. The long thin sand and coral island has no trees,
rises to no more than 3 meters above the sea, and has grassy patches away from the beach. There are hundreds (thousands?) of sea birds which nest here. Large boobies flew out to greet Sabbatical III some miles from the anchorage, trying to catch a ride to the island. Once we were anchored, they roosted all along the bow — cackling and pooping without end. On shore, the boobies sit on their eggs (at most two), or on the newborn chicks. Fluffy feathered fledgings wait for their parents to feed them. Male and female adults do their synchronized mating dance, oblivious to our presence.
rises to no more than 3 meters above the sea, and has grassy patches away from the beach. There are hundreds (thousands?) of sea birds which nest here. Large boobies flew out to greet Sabbatical III some miles from the anchorage, trying to catch a ride to the island. Once we were anchored, they roosted all along the bow — cackling and pooping without end. On shore, the boobies sit on their eggs (at most two), or on the newborn chicks. Fluffy feathered fledgings wait for their parents to feed them. Male and female adults do their synchronized mating dance, oblivious to our presence.
The big attraction to us here is the green sea turtles that come from thousands of miles away to mate and nest. Green sea turtles are the largest of the hard shell turtles — adults weigh 200 to 500 pounds. We saw lots of them on shore and in the water. The beach is covered with turtle tracks leading to the holes that they dig for their eggs. More on this later.
M.
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