Turtle Tour with Capt B

From the very, very beginning, this trip had “delight” written all over it. Captain Benoit arrived to pick us up at the marina, and he was practically vibrating with energy and enthusiasm—from his warm, friendly greeting to his sheer excitement at showing some wide-eyed first-timers the turtle. (Yes, the turtle. Singular at this point. We didn’t yet know we were about to hit the jackpot.)

First question from Captain B: “Can you swim?”
Cue our very Aussie response: “Of course—we’re practically born doing laps.”

The tour is limited to five guests, but today? Just the two of us. Private tour vibes without the private tour price tag. How lucky are we?!

We zipped out of the marina and across the lagoon toward the reef, where things started to feel… a little more real. Big waves breaking on either side, big enough for surfers, paddle boarders, and outrigger canoes to be catching rides. It was a full aquatic carnival out there.

Then—dolphins! A whole pod of them cruising alongside us, clearly on their own mysterious dolphin mission. Who knows where they were going, but honestly? We’d follow them anywhere.

We reach our destination and anchor just off the reef. Cue a fresh wave of apprehension. Ten-meter-high breakers just over there, a strong current swirling beneath us, and my overactive imagination serving up visions of being flung onto the reef and shredded like parmesan over coral pasta. Spending my staycation covered in splotches of Betadine is not exactly my idea of a chill day in the tropics.

But in we go, following Captain B on our noble turtle quest.

Swimming was a mixed bag—at times, I was kicking like a caffeinated frog and going absolutely nowhere, and other times, I was floating peacefully like a sea cucumber on holiday. Nature is weird.

But true to his word, Captain B delivers. First, one turtle. Then a second. Then three at once—like he ordered them ahead on some kind of Turtle Uber app. We floated in awe, watching them feed while being surrounded by hundreds of fluorescent fish darting about like they had somewhere very important to be. It was peaceful. Majestic. Kind of like finding yourself inside a David Attenborough doc, but with better swimwear.

Captain B, meanwhile, is snapping photos like a man possessed. And the turtles just keep showing up—some grazing along the coral buffet, others drifting like Zen masters in the deep blue.

He then shows us a special spot where fresh water from the island’s mountains seeps up through the lava tubes into the sea. It looks like underwater smoke, or as I like to call it, “volcanic spa mist.”

We spot more turtles (because apparently, it’s Turtle Tuesday) and laugh as they get pushed around by the current too. Even turtles have clumsy moments. It’s comforting.

Back to the boat with huge grins on our faces—roughly the same size as the turtles we’d just seen. We count at least 15 turtles. Wild, graceful, magnificent.

We notice other boats have joined us—thankfully, after we’d had our magical moment. And double thankfully, we had Captain B, not one of those other crews who seemed to be throwing guests overboard with all the finesse of someone shaking crumbs off a picnic blanket. Their guests were flailing around and scaring off all the turtles like underwater toddlers. Timing really is everything.

On the way back through the surf, we even stop to pick up a local surfer who paddled out to the reef to catch a wave but didn’t quite have the energy to paddle back. Just another example of the locals always looking out for each other. (And maybe a reminder that reef surfing is not for amateurs.)

Captain B drops us off with a very French farewell—air kisses on each cheek and a promise to email us some photos.

A few hours later, boom: 134 photos arrive. Half are blurry shots of fish but the other half? Absolute gold. National Geographic, eat your heart out.

What a morning. What an adventure.

Later that day, we accidentally stumble upon the turtle rehabilitation centre at the Intercontinental—while Suz is booked in for a pedicure (you can take the girl out of the Eastern Suburbs, but you cannot take away her pedicures).

It’s sobering to see the turtles up close—some with half their shells missing, others just floating, unable to swim. It’s heartbreaking, and a powerful reminder that while our oceans are full of wonder, they’re also fragile.

We’ve got to do better—for the turtles, and for all the creatures just trying to live their best aquatic lives.

Experience: 10/10
Service: 10/10
Value: 10/10

Taking a leaf out of the Travel Guides TV show playbook, today’s tour with Captain Benoit Turtle Tours gets a full score from us:

30 out of 30.