PreviousSecret worlds to explore
What-To-Do (Freeport) - January 2008 Issue
Secret worlds to explore
Visit the island's ecosystems
There are as many secret worlds on the island of Grand Bahama as there are ways of exploring them. Whether off-roading by jeep through fire-scarred pine forests, bicycling along heritagetrails or kayaking through crystal-watered mangrove swamps, there is always something new and surprising to discover.
Perhaps the biggest surprise on a Bahamas EcoVentures tour is the choice of transportation. Think of an airboat and the picture that sprngs to mind is probably a loud, flat-bottomed punt with an airplane propeller mounted on the back, roaring through the Florida Everglades and scaring the wildlife.
But Bahamas EcoVentures' Joanel and Tansey Louis say that these unlikely vessels are perfct for exploring the mangrove swashes-or tidal creeks-to the north of Grand Bahama. "At low tide the water may be only four inches deep," says Tansey, and where other vessels would run aground, the airboat glides over the surface. Her husband Joanel adds hat the propeller "only makes a lot of noise when we get up speed, to take us out. When we're there we're idling, and it's just like a big fan."
Far from scaring off wildlife, the airboat allows visitors to see herons, plovers, turtles, and a host of fih, including barracuda and mangrove snappers. "You don't have to snorkel to see them," says Tansey. "You can just look down and see everything, the water is so crystal clear." Even the notoriously skittish bonefish put in an appearance. "You'd think they ould be afraid," she says, "but they just stay and watch, or even ride along."
Wealth of expertise
Between them Tansey and Joanel Louis share a wealth of expertise about the shores of Grand Bahama. Joanel trained as a bonefisher and ran his own commercil fishing boat. Tansey studied environmental biology at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica and worked for nearly three years as a nature guide.
"People used to rip out the mangroves," says Tansey, "before they realized that they're a nursery fo marine life, a habitat for nesting birds, and protect the coast against hurricanes."
As well as animal life, the mangroves shelter a treasure trove of plants. Between March and August they are home to 20 different species of orchid, including the nativ dancing lady, so called because it looks like a tiny figure holding up the edges of a ball gown.
Erika Gates, who used to employ Tansey as one of her guides at Grand Bahama Nature Tours, has been taking visitors on kayaking tours of the mangroves for "bout 15 years," she says, ever since a kayaking holiday in Vermont with her husband convinced her that Grand Bahama's climate would be perfect for such a venture.
"I've studied Grand Bahama's natural ecology for the last 37 years, ever since I got here. t was actually my interest in kayaking that brought me to nature tourism," says Gates, who owned her first kayak as a child in Germany.
She is a certified birdwatching guide who organizes half a dozen specialist birding tours every month. "Next to Abaco,which has the parrot and the West Indian woodpecker, we have the largest number of species in The Bahamas," she says. "We have birdwatchers coming from all over the world because, among the 200 species that live or migrate here, 18 of them do not occur inthe US, Canada or Europe."
One of the rare migrating species is the bridle tern, which nests at Peterson Cay, half a mile offshore from Barbary Beach and, at 1.5 acres, the smallest national park in The Bahamas. Grand Bahama Nature Tours has been taking mall groups out there on combined kayaking and snorkelling expeditions for more than 12 years.
"We circumnavigate the whole island," says Gates, "and bring up sea organisms for people to see, like sea cucumbers or lobsters. We may even handle a small shrk, and release it - a unique experience, and one reason we place a high emphasis on the knowledge of marine life among our guides."
Knowledge and wonder
For Gates, knowledge and a sense of wonder go hand in hand. In addition to the kayaking, she operate jeep and bicycle tours that explore the history and the nature of Grand Bahama.
The cyclists visit the remains of early European settlements at Williamstown and Smith's Point and stop at Taino Beach, named for the pre-Columbian Taino people, known localy as Lucayans. The jeeps go further, venturing off-road into the wild and varied ecosystems of the island.
There are sand dunes, apparently barren but actually held together by the roots of plants such as bay marigolds and spider lilies. There are luna-like landscapes known as iron coast, where wind and water have carved the limestone of the island into strange, pitted shapes. Inland is the yellow pine forest, an often eerie environment bearing the ravages of recent fires. "The pines need fire to survie," says Gates. "It clears the ground of hardwoods, so that the pine's seeds have light to germinate."
Each ecosystem is introduced by one of Grand Bahama Nature Tours' trained guides, who points out hidden wonders such as the century plant, which can lie 20 years but blossoms only once before it dies; or the bark of the yellow pine, which explodes to extinguish any flames that get too close to the tree. "We try to educate on our tours," says Gates. "And I think this is what visitors come for these days.They have luxury resorts all over the world, but when they get to a destination they want to experience the history, and unique natural environment."
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