From October, the local fraternity of flatback, loggerhead and green turtles travel across the Southern Great Barrier Reef looking for the perfect spot to nest, and our very own barefoot paradise, only 30 minutes from the Capricorn Coast mainland, is repeatedly deemed to be a popular birthing centre for many of these incredible creatures year on year.
With Keppel Turtle Fund’s Mark Edmistone a passionate advocate for the good-natured reptiles, his role each season, together with a team of dedicated helpers trained by the Fitzroy Basin Association’s (FBA) Team Turtle CQ, is to patrol the beaches of Great Keppel and national park islands, finding and counting nests.
“During the 2021 nesting season, we were thrilled to find 43 nests across the nine beaches patrolled on Great Keppel Island, along with one on Conical Island and one on North Keppel Island (Konomie),” Mark said. “Of these, there were eight green turtle nests, one loggerhead nest and 36 flatback turtle nests.”
“With another big nesting season anticipated again this year, we have a larger team being trained by FBA to assist with the monitoring, for which we are extremely grateful as there is a lot of beaches to walk.”
The Keppel Turtle Fund (KTF) was established to grow reef appreciation, provide education, and support rehabilitation and conservation on Great Keppel Island and throughout Keppel Bay.
Aside from the monitoring of nests, KTF conducts the ongoing clean-up of beaches and promotes reduction in plastic use and wastage on the islands.
“The sea, reef and overall environment on Great Keppel Island all contribute to the wellbeing of our marine life,” Mark said. “While we have turtles prominently in our branding and name, we strive to raise awareness of all reef animals including dolphins, dugongs, whales, tropical fish and coral gardens.”
In 2021, the Keppel Turtle Fund (with the support of Capricorn Enterprise) were successful in securing funding from Austrade as part of the Regional Tourism Bushfire Recovery grants program to launch a new educational trail on Great Keppel Island.
The 300-metre GKI Sea Way Trail has become an incredibly powerful asset for the island and broader destination, sharing the stories of our impressive marine life, highlighting local marine facts, values, and conservation, and educating visitors on ways that they can play their part in protecting this marvellous wonder of the world.
The trail’s sculptures include a starfish, dugong, hard and soft coral, jellyfish, turtles and hatchlings, butterflyfish, coral cod, giant clam, shark, whale, dolphin, seahorse, and a snorkeler over a reef.
Targeting children and families this September holidays, Keppel Turtle Fund, in partnership with Livingstone Shire Council has created a GKI Sea Way Trail activity booklet in a bid to educate and raise awareness of the importance of the reef and islands with the upcoming generations.
“The activity booklet compliments the trail and encourages kids to follow the path and provide answers to the questions and have fun doing the activities within,” Mark said. “They are a free resource for locals and holiday makers and can be collected from Great Keppel Island Hideaway reception.”
In addition to the activity booklet, Mark will also be providing guided tours along the GKI Sea Way trail this holiday, with a focus on turtle nesting season and explaining what to look out for on the beaches.
“The tours will be provided on demand, and the team at Great Keppel Island Hideaway can assist with more information and bookings,” Mark said.
Capricorn Enterprise CEO Mary Carroll encourages visitors to make the most of this school holidays and book day strip or longer stay to Great Keppel Island and discover what’s on offer.
“The array of activities on offer at Great Keppel Island from glass bottom boat tours, hiking, swimming, and snorkelling with turtles and other marine creatures among the colourful coral gardens allow visitors to truly absorb the natural beauty of our destination,” Mary said.
“Keppel Bay is an environmental wonderland, and we are incredibly fortunate to have Mark from the Keppel Turtle Fund on the island, providing such important education to our youngest residents and holiday makers.”
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