Mon Repos

Visitors to the Bundaberg region can witness an incredible natural phenomena from the season of November through March as turtles make their way onto Mon Repos Beach for the laying of eggs, followed by hatching afterwards. Home to the largest display of nesting turtles on the Aussie mainland, Mon Repos lies around 14km to the east of Bundaberg Proper and can be visited via booked guided tour in order to view the turtle laying and hatching processes in the company of a qualified ranger guide. Mon Repos has thus developed something of a reputation as Australia's turtle watching capital, and is well worth the visit from Bundaberg. The beach is also home to a dedicated Turtle Centre set up to provide auxiliary learning and educational opportunities oriented around all-things-turtle, including a video documentary about the turtles' life cycle. The centre offers a great emphasis on interaction and going hands-on for kids to be entertained while learning, and serves as an ideal primer before heading off to see the turtles in person. Seeing the turtles up close is regulated and must be done in the company of the guides, as tours are conducted with an eye towards education and conservation that put the turtles' wellbeing at the forefront. In the off-season, Mon Repos serves as a picturesque stretch of sand and sea in its own right, with a lovely coastal outlook that can be explored via both foot and bike.