From 16 to 23 February, the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Turtle Conservation Centre team will be embarking on their 2026 Turtle Road Trip along the Garden Route and Southern Cape coastlines. The trip aims to engage with key role players in turtle rescue along the route, as well as to spread awareness for the turtle stranding season.

Starting in Plettenberg Bay on 16 February, the Road Trip team will work their way down the coast towards Cape Town, making stops along the way to engage with interested members of the public, touch base with well-established members of the Turtle Rescue Network, and encourage new members to join.

During the stranding season, hundreds of tiny baby turtles are stranded on the beaches of the Western Cape after the weather pushes them out of the warm Agulhas Current. They need to be found and safely brought to the Turtle Conservation Centre, where they are nursed back to health and prepared for release. This is where the growing Turtle Rescue Network and caring members of the public are essential.

The teams will visit two of Hessequa’s towns as follow:

Thursday, 19 February 2026

Stilbaai NSRI Building from 14h30 until 18h00

Friday, 20 February 2026

Witsand Community Hall from 12h00 until 13h00

We encourage the public to attend these information sessions and learn more about the work the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Turtle Conservation Centre does.