A moment to savour

There are many times on Crab Island in between the hard work and heat when you stop, take a deep breath and soak up the place and moment. A couple of nights ago was one of those moments. It was a full moon, the beach was bright and had the bluish hue that only a moon, unaffected by artificial lights, can shine. It was still, with only the sounds of gently breaking waves and the odd shore bird, and we were on the beach towards the south of the island. The beach stretched on into the far distance, before disappearing into the ocean as the island bent towards the east, the water reflecting the glow of the moon. Standing there and looking south we could see small ‘explosions’ of sand, rising to a couple of metres, scattered all over the beach and as far as we could see. Within the ‘craters’ of these explosions were glowing dome shapes, the shells of sea turtles reflecting the moonlight. Within the waters, beyond the surf break, within the surf and on the waters edge, sea turtle’s shells glowed, still wet, as they emerged to nest. Turtles could be seen making their way up the beaches, stretching into the distance, their backs still wet from the ocean and reflecting the blue moon brightly. The sounds of sand being flung like a beating rhythm and the deep breaths of turtles as they struggled to drag their heavy bodies up the beach now dominated. It was a moment to savour, one of many….