DESTINATION MARKETING INC

                                                                                                                      IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Tracey Thompson – Tel# 914 907 9789

Email: tracey@destinationmark.com

www.destinationmark.com

Calling all Nature Lovers!!

Tracking Leatherback and Loggerhead Turtles

A fabulous tour for nature lovers! An utterly mesmerizing tour... not only is the  turtle sighting incredible, but imagine walking at night within the nature sanctuary beyond Leven Point, with no lighting -  eyes soon adjust to the dark - and the sounds and smell of nature all around is food for the soul.  Limited to 10 people per tour.

Visit South Africa's Kwazulu Natal between November and March, and view the enormous and extremely endangered Leatherback and Loggerhead Turtles. This unique and fascinating tour, enters the reserve either in the afternoon or at dusk (depending on low tide) and viewing of the turtles takes place at night... on a pristine beach, under a canopy of stars, moonlight that highlights the mad-dash of a ghost crab into it's hole, with the crash of the ocean deafening in the darkness.

Departing from St Lucia in the late afternoon or early evening depending on the low tide, guests are collected from the various lodges and guesthouses, within St Lucia and taken into the Eastern Shores Game Reserve, which is the 'narrow strip of land' sandwiched between Lake St Lucia and the warm Indian Ocean. Within this reserve, guests have the opportunity of spotting rhino, buffalo, leopard and many antelope species, such as Zebra, Impala, Waterbuck and Kudu. This area is also renowned for it's prolific birdlife.

Once one enters the park, it takes 40 minutes to reach Cape Vidal, which is the point that one drives onto the beach in search of the turtles. En route to Cape Vidal, game sightings result in regular stops to discuss the wildlife and enjoy photo opportunities. At Cape Vidal, a short stop allows the guide to make-ready the vehicle to drive on soft beach sand, and it also gives him an opportunity to brief his guests on what to expect, the signs to look out for to help him spot turtle activity, some history, statistics and a brief insight into turtles and what has led to their current plight on the critically endangered list and the steps being taken to save these marvelous creatures.

From Cape Vidal, the vehicle heads up North towards Leven Point, with guide and guests scanning the waters edge in the hopes of spotting female turtles emerging under the cover of darkness from the sea. Leatherback and loggerhead turtles return to their original birthplace to perform their ancient nesting ritual. Once a turtle is sighted (or her tracks) the guide will stop the vehicle and guests will follow her slowly from behind while she seeks a suitable site above the high tide mark to dig her nest. Nesting will last approximately 2 to 2 and a half hours where she will lay up to 60-120 eggs. Afterwards she will close her nest, trying to conceal it from foragers such as jackals, genets, honey badgers and ghost crabs. The female turtle will mate with 4 to 5 different males and will carry the sperm with her. Throughout this breeding season she will repeat the nesting ritual 4-9 times (depending on the species of turtle) making the cumbersome journey back to the sea to fertil ize the new eggs and returning to the beach at approximately 10 day intervals laying up to 1000 eggs in a season.

During the latter part of the season, between January and March, you may be lucky enough to watch the hatchlings emerging from their nest and making their way towards the sea. The survival rate of the hatchlings is however very low – just 2 in every 1000 will survive into adulthood! Once in the ocean these tiny hatchlings are caught up in the Agulhas current, ending up as far down as the Cape of Good Hope. From here they are lost to us with no further data available on their lives during this period. Ten to twelve years later the female will return to the same beach where she was born to perform this ancient nesting ritual again – how they know their way back to the place of their birth remains a mystery to us…

In South Africa, Leatherback Turtles are fully protected under the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Management Act and the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park Authority, therefore a portion of the costs of tours go towards Conservation and Community development to assist in protecting and obtaining the data to ensure the protection of this highly endangered species.

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For more details on travel packages to the Kwazulu Natal region,  contact tracey@destinationmark.com

or Tel# 914 907 9789 or Contact African Classic Encounters direct at Tel# 212 972 0031. www.classicencounters.com