Volunteering – week 2

Camp life continued as normal to begin with; surveys and releasing hatchlings between games of volleyball and snorkels along the reef. Unfortunately, however, Kerry had started to feel unwell. When things hadn’t improved we decided that antibiotics were needed and headed off to what we thought would be a quick visit to the doctors.

We were in for a surprise.

After a gruelling wait in the surgery, she was finally called.

Another wait. 5 minutes, 10… 20.

A long time to issue some simple antibiotics.

More waiting…

Eventually, she emerged. Tears in her eyes.

Apparently, she needed an operation.

Long story short, hours of waiting and trying to understand multiple doctors, we now understand that there is no need to worry… So nobody worry! An ultrasound revealed a cyst on one of Kerry’s ovaries and fluid around the kidneys. The operation was delayed by three days to allow for a course of antibiotics. Thankfully, these reduced the inflammation and we spoke to an amazing doctor who explained everything properly. The cyst wasn’t causing the pain, and as long as we keep an eye on it, the operation can wait for a while and potentially not have to be done at all! Panic over… Although, the next day she nearly chopped her foot off with machete so she’s not letting me relax just yet. If you want more information about Kerry’s condition just send her a message on FB J

On a brighter note, Kerry and I ended a running dry streak at the camp. The shark surveys had been unsuccessful for several weeks, not one had been caught. With little optimism we were stood in the twilight, geared up, watching for sharks. Kerry used a fishing rod to cast out large chunks of tuna. The first attempts had her reeling back in empty hooks, pecked clean by greedy fish. But, after a while, she got a big bite. She reeled in the shark close enough for me to jump in and scoop it out of the water with a net. Dry streak over! The staff took over to take measurements, DNA and observations before releasing it back into the sea. Our names are now recorded as the latest catchers in the survey book. Not bad after just two weeks!

Freeing turtle hatchlings!

Photos from our first week volunteering on Curieuse

Our bedroom for the next month (Kerry top bunk, Jack bottom) …

The toilet ...

But ... one of the many gorgeous beaches here ...

The giant tortoises ...

My surprise birthday cake ...

Skinks everywhere, including our bedroom ...

Early morning treks through the rainforest ...

Full of razor palms!!

The views are worth the scratches ...

Volunteering – week 1

It’s been a tough but really rewarding week.

Our camp is basic … really basic: bunk bed dorm rooms (with no air con or fan), outside toilets that you have to manually flush with a bucket of water, an outside (cold water) shower which you can only use once every 2 days, meat is only available to eat twice a week and there’s no phone signal, let alone WiFi. We also learnt that the island we’re based on used to be the isolation island for people suffering from leprosy and our dorm rooms were the patients’ bedrooms!

Having said all this, the island is absolutely stunning and the camp base is situated right on our own private beach that is frequently visited by wild giant tortoises. We've now met the voluntary group we’ll be spending the next month with and it didn't take long to realise they’re a great bunch.

The volunteering involves trekking through dense forest to record bird sightings, wading through waist-high water trying to catch wild sharks, climbing coco de mer trees to record growth rates and, of course, there’s the turtle work. There’s nothing quite like digging up a recently hatched turtle nest to discover several baby turtles still trapped in the earth. Freeing them and watching them flap and flop their way into the ocean is an incredibly rewarding experience. 

A few snaps from our first days in Mahè, Seychelles

Welcome to Paradise

After 48 hours with no sleep, neither of us felt great. We spent our final flight from Dubaivainly trying to sleep. Blurry eyed, dazed and disorientated, it was a relief to hear the pilot’s voice crack through the intercom, “28 degrees and pure blue skies. Guys, welcome to paradise.”

He wasn’t wrong.

It took a moment for Kerry to orientate herself and for me to blink my contact lenses back into place but we soon forgot our fatigue when we saw the view - we landed alongside crystal clear waters against a backdrop of dense, mountainous rainforest that was so vibrant it seemed to exist from a different spectrum of colour. 

The transfer to our hotel was spent staring in awe at our surroundings, coves cut into mountainsides creating secluded beaches of white sand and palm trees teeming with coconuts reaching towards the blue sky.

Our room wasn’t ready when we arrived (it was only 8am) so we decided to have a look around the area. The beach is less than 100 meters from our room and looks like this:

I think we’re off to a good start.