After leaving the Brisbane winter spring, my first stop was Gladstone. I’m a beach person, and although I’ve heard legends (and horror stories) about the outback, it didn’t particularly interest me, so I’ve stuck to the coast during my travels.

HelpX is an amazing platform and works very well in Australia. You can find various places and jobs, meet wonderful people, do some good by volunteering, and expand your world in a way that wouldn’t be possible sitting at your desk in an office staring out the window. This is how I ended up at the Quoin Turtle Retreat, where I spent three weeks.

I chose the train from Brisbane to Gladstone. The trip took about 8 hours (distances are killer in Australia), but the trains here offer the same service as European budget airlines, and if you buy your ticket in time, it can be pretty cheap.

I arrived at Gladstone in the evening, was picked up at the train station, and we still had to get to the island, which is 5 km from the mainland. I have this thing with boats: I hate them. Not because I’m seasick, but because I don’t trust anything artificial on the water.. especially late at night, in pitch black.

I didn’t know anything about turtles; I like them but we didn’t have many encounters. I arrived with zero experience in animal care (I wouldn’t count dogs, cats, chickens, and bunnies here), and I didn’t really think about what this volunteering meant and what had to be done. I didn’t even read any Turtles for Dummies.. I simply just thought it would be fun. Little did I know.

Sea turtles are incredible creatures and amazed me every single day. They can be frenzy drama queens sometimes but still radiate that ancient wisdom (they have a third eye, too). We took care of sick, injured turtles that were collected by the shores or in the middle of the waters. They were clearly not in their best shape, and since they couldn’t just swim away, the struggle for their loss of freedom was obvious. However, how they slowly settled and accepted the situation, opened up, and trusted us step by step so that we could learn their little things (what they like and what they don’t) was beautiful.

Right on my first day, I fell in love with this sweetie, Shelly:

Maybe she’s actually he (you can’t tell with young turtles, only if you put them under x-ray), but look at those girly eyes; I’m sure it’s a she. She was exhausted at the beginning; I fed her and talked to her a lot, and after a few days, she also recognized me (or just waited for the food.. same-same). And although I was the most amateur volunteer, I felt immediately when something was wrong (unfortunately, a few young turtles got parasites, but they were cured). We had nine sea turtles (some were long-term tenants), each with a unique personality. I won’t lie, I had my favourites, but I unquestionably liked and respected them all.

Something strange also happened during my stay. I know it may sound lunatic to some, but one night, a very sick and old turtle (named Luna) arrived. When we looked into her eyes, it felt like we were staring at Mother Nature. I can’t explain; tears began to fall from our eyes, and we felt infinite awe. She was at peace and ‘told’ us that she appreciated the efforts to save her, but everything’s fine, she will pass away (which actually happened a week later). I was speechless and tried to find the meaning behind all of this. But then I realized that sometimes it’s better to feel things than to understand them. Because ultimately, that’s all that matters. This picture doesn’t reflect her essence, but this is all I have as evidence:

These weeks presented instant and constant experiences that took me out of my comfort zone. First off, do you know what turtles eat? Well, it depends on the species, but since we had limited options on land (obviously), the answer is squid (and fish). I don’t eat anything from the sea, and I don’t touch anything from the sea (except empty shells and stones). Due to my unpreparedness, I had a mild heart attack on the first morning, questioning my life decisions. But the funny thing was that after taking a deep breath and touching the first few pieces of squid in disgust (everything was on my face, I couldn’t hide it), that slippery jelly thingy between my fingers started to feel normal.

The next stage was the preparation of the squid. A massive amount arrived every week, frozen, and after a night of thawing, we had to clean (remove the spine), cut, and portion them into small containers for the following week. Of course, I tried to escape from this amazing opportunity, and I was prepared for a huge freakout, but there was no way out. After the others showed me the trick of how to do the corpectomy like a pro, time flew fast by chatting and backboning around the basin of dead jellies. I was actually so proud of myself for doing all these things I never thought I would do. Not the fish, tho. I could gut only one tiny fish in hysteria with shaking hands and tears. And that was it. No thanks, never again.

Besides the turtles, wild wallabies live on the island, and yes, they also had to be fed. The babybies are one of the cutest in Australia, and how they nomnom from your hands makes you melt. But maybe only a few people know that when wallies get excited (e.g. from the food), they get an erection. I wondered every day how the chooks didn’t pinch their ‘worms’.

We also had sugies, echidnas, and possums to keep us entertained for the night, so the island was indeed a reserve.. with only three humans. This is not a place for highly extroverted people. We only had visitors on Saturdays (local volunteers for half a day) or when a new turtle arrived. This isolation and quietness can be suffocating or triggering, especially when the company sucks, and you can’t talk to each other. But I was lucky and blessed with my homies; everyone had their own bungalow and alone time, but we spent the evenings in the common areas cooking, chatting, and watching terrible Aussie TV shows.

Once a week, we could go to Gladstone to see some ‘civilization’. What can I say.. Queensland is boganland; I went to the city once (on my first week), after which I rushed back to chill on the deck and enjoy the sunset.

When the time came, leaving was bittersweet. I was sad to leave all the beautiful souls (human and animal) but happy to finally be rid of the sandflies. Okay, I have to pause here: If anything drives me crazy, it’s these tiny bloodsuckers. Since we spent the days near the waters, only a daily dose of antihistamine, aloe vera, coconut oil, and extensive swearing gave some relief (not to mention my forearms looked like I had some deadly disease).

A few months after I left, Shelly was released – I couldn’t be happier for her and hope she’s doing well. I also got the heartbreaking news that some of the turtles were euthanized (due to their severe injuries). I felt so upset and sorrowful, but unfortunately, this happens when you don’t have a vet around to check them on arrival and regularly.

Big words, but how else could I describe these few weeks if not as a life-changing experience?! I never thought or hoped to end up on a private island and learn this much from animals and about myself. To my biggest surprise, the challenge (I irresponsibly caused to myself) was accepted, mastered, and I loved it. This was definitely one of the highlights of my Australian adventure.