Once everyone made it to the hostel we had the opportunity to explore the city of Cairns and go on a couple excursions. The first weekend in Australia, we had the chartered a boat to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef. Since the purpose of this trip is to work with sea turtles; my classmates and I wanted to explore the area where these wonderful creatures call home. It was an experience! We saw several species of fish and sea life (but no wild sea turtles) however, we also first hand the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef. Unfortunately due to global warming, the reef is experiencing the coral bleaching and expected bright colors were mostly washed out in appearance. This destruction of the coral reef made me realize that sea turtles and other sea creatures are rapidly losing their home.

This was a life changing experience for me because I realized how altruistic all of the volunteers were.

On Monday, half of the team went to Fritz Roy island to assist with turtle rescue. The ride to island was a ferry ride that took forty-five minutes and This when we learned how to clean filters and feed sea turtles. The volunteers at the island are clearly devoted to their mission because each person we met understood and knew each turtle individually. The volunteers also took the time to discuss each turtle’s story and prognosis. Although chopping up squid and peeling pawns weren’t an easy job but the satisfaction of watching these beautiful creatures eat food was just simply amazing.