Pulau Selingan Things to Do

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The next day, on my way back to Sandakan, our boat turned around just after we left the island. The tourguide had seen a turtle in the open water.

As we turned around we could clearly see not only one, but two turtles moving heavily at the surface. They were mating. The guide told us that this was a very special spectacle to see, but of course it is possible that he says that every day. At least I thought it was really spectacular. It took about 5 minutes until the animals went down again, appearing to be satisfied.

Then the rough trip back to the mainland could start again.

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After the baby turtles have dug their way out of the nest at the Hatchery, they are collected by the Rangers and are taken to the beach to be released. Before they let them go, the tourists are allowed to hold them for a while. It is amazing to feel the power that these little creatures already have. Hard to imagine how that will be when they are grown-up.

Then it is time to release them. Close to the water the Ranger lets all the turtles go. Then, all you can do is hope that they will make it. The tiny animals have a lot of dangers to overcome once they are out there in the Sulu Sea: they are often eaten by birds or fish. Only 2% of the total number of turtles will make it to an adult.

It can take up to 20 years for the turtles to become completely mature. And after that maybe they will come back at Pulau Selingan to lay their eggs.

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After the eggs are taken by the Ranger and all counted, they are taken to the Hatchery. Here the Ranger buries all the eggs that are found on the island, in a fenced, protected area. Every "nest" is indicated by a net and a piece of wood that tells the date of nesting and the number of eggs that is found.

Because every day new eggs are found and because it takes 50 to 60 days for the little turtles to come out, the area really looks like a graveyard with countless nets. After the period of 50 to 60 days the little turtles come out of the 30 centimetres deep nest, mostly at night when the soil is cooler. Then they are ready to explore the Sulu Sea for the very first time.

The Turtle Islands Park has a strict policy that only one nesting a night can be observed by the tourists on the island. At this way they can make sure that most of the nestings happen completely undisturbed.

Once the Park Ranger has seen a first turtle landing on the island, they will call the tourists to have a look. You will see the turtle (they can be huge!) laying the eggs in a self-dug hole in the sand. It is strictly forbidden to use flash for your camera's and to shine with torchlights at the animal, so don't expect the best pictures. You should just enjoy the moment.

The eggs are immediately taken away by the Ranger to prevent them from robbery by humans and animals. They are counted and taken away. The night of my visit the nesting was good for 99 eggs!

After your dinner in the restaurant you will have to wait a while before the turtles show up. This can even take a few hours. That time you can use perfectly to get to know just a bit more about the creatures you are about to see in the Pulau Selingan Information Centre.

At the first floor of the mainbuilding they have made an interesting exhibition about the animals. You can see the eggs, skeletons of the turtles, several maps of where they live and much more information, also about other animals. It's a perfect preparation for the real thing!

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You will always arrive at Pulau Selingan at daytime. Way before the turtles will show up. There is nothing like a village where you can hang around, so hanging around on the beach is the only pleasant way to spend your time.

The beaches are just like you would expect them on a tropical island: light sand, blue sea and all surrounded by palmtrees. Every now and then you can clearly see the traces left by the turtles the last night, when they were on their way to lay their eggs.

You can swim in the ocean (water can be cold), take a sunbath, or you can climb the viewtower at the centre of the island if it is opened for public. During my stay it wasn't.

So off we are to our next destination.... The trip continues.....

The previous leg of my journey was a visit to Libaran Island, some lazy time at the beach, a excursion to the mangrove forest and finally an interesting walk through the islands village.

And from the Turtle Islands park and Selingan Island I am heading to the Sepilok Orang Utan Cente

I hope you will join me on this virtual trip and enjoy reading my travel stories and see the pictures. For me it has been fantastic to write about my journey because it has made me relive the trip once again :-)

I went to Selingan Island as part of a round tour in Sabah. I booked the trip in Sweden through my travel agent, but the trip in Sabah was organized by Wildlife Expeditions. We travelled with a 'group' of only three people together with our great guide Redzuan (or more easily called by the nickname of 'One'). I guess we had a fantastic stroke of luck that we only had such a small group, it felt more like 4 friends travelling together :-)

The trip I made can be booked at Wildlife Expeditions directly, you can find an overview of the itinerary of this trip on my State of Sabah page. There are separate trips organized by Wildlife Expeditions to only Selingan Island as well. From Sandakan this trip will cost you 475 RM and an extra 190 RM for the flight when you travel from Kota Kinabalu. Take a look at their website for more information: http://www.wildlife-expeditions.com/.