PreviousWild side of Grand Bahama
Feature_WildSide_WTDFJan10
Wild side of Grand Bahama
Many things to see and do
Anyone who comes to Grand Bahama is guaranteed a wild time, whether your idea of “wild” consists of speed and roaring engines or rare birds calling out in hidden groves–or even a combination of the two.
Those in search of their inner Easy Rider can straddle a Harley at Reef Tours and head out, in the company of a guide, along the Taino Beach road. Budding Fondas, Hoppers or Nicholsons should be aware, though, they have to demonstrate prior experience, not just of motorbikes in general but of these high-octane Fat Boys and Road Kings in particular, before they will be allowed to rev them up on the open road.
“We know that everybody thinks they’ll be able to do it,” says Brittney Silvera of Reef Tours, “so we do a quick survey and watch how they handle the bikes, just to check.” Reef Tours has also introduced an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) tour to Barbary Beach, in the eastern part of the island, where up to 20 holidaymakers at a time can cut up the sand to their hearts’ content. “Guests should be prepared to get dirty,” promises Silvera.
On the other hand
A calmer kind of off-road experience is available from Grand Bahama Nature Tours, which has a fleet of jeeps ready to take guests into the pine forests at the island’s heart and introduce them to beautiful plants, such as endemic red powderpuff and the birds that feed on its blossoms.
Another of Grand Bahama’s most fascinating ecosystems is the mangrove swamp, rich in birds, fish and orchids. Visitors can explore this vital habitat with Bahamas EcoVentures, a husband-and-wife team that conducts guided tours on an airboat. According to owner and guide Tansey Louis, the airboat is the best way around the shallow waters of the north coast: “Even the most nervous creatures, like bonefish, don’t get spooked.”
For more traditional outdoorsmen and women, Grand Bahama Nature Tours takes visitors kayaking through the mangroves of the Lucayan National Park and also arranges guided kayak trips out to sea to explore tiny Peterson Cay, the smallest national park in The Bahamas at only 1.5 acres, and home to the rare, migratory brindled tern.
The independently minded have no need to go on an organized excursion at all. Lucayan National Park has been made visitor-friendly by the Bahamas National Trust, with trails and boardwalks that offer views of mangroves and wetlands. The park is also home to Ben’s Cave and Burial Mound Cave.
Morays and sharks
Some of the island’s most amazing natural sights, however, are found offshore. The Underwater Explorer’s Society (UNEXSO) offers reef dives, night dives and wreck dives. And if that’s not toothsome enough there are opportunities to observe Caribbean reef sharks and watch them being hand fed.
Although not truly wild, UNEXSO’s dolphins have been diving in open water with visitors since 1990, offering the never-to-be-forgotten experience of interacting with a marine mammal in its natural environment. Non-divers can also meet the dolphins in their home at Dolphin Sanctuary, either standing with them in shallow water or swimming in their enclosed lagoon.
One of the joys of Grand Bahama is that the beauties of the undersea world are not reserved for divers. The shallow, clear waters allow swimmers and snorkellers to see the sights. Reef Tours has a new 80-foot catamaran, the Yes Dear, that plies the southern coast choosing the best reef for visitors to snorkel according to wind and water conditions.
But there is no need to get in a boat to enjoy some spectacular snorkelling. Out west at Paradise Cove, Deadman’s Reef is an easy swim from the beach. Glass-bottomed kayaks mean you don’t have to get wet to see the reef and its creatures.
Garden of the Groves
Those who feel seriously enervated and have a need to recharge their batteries can visit the 12-acre Garden of the Groves, opened in 1973 by Wallace Groves, the founder of Freeport. Decimated by a series of hurricanes in 2004, the garden was abandoned for two and a half years before local nature expert Erika Gates embarked on a 15-month restoration programme that saw it reopen in October 2008.
The new Garden, says Gates, is populated with fewer “exotics” than before. “We wanted to create a more natural habitat,” she says, “with flowering plants and trees that produce berries or nectar to encourage local wildlife.” Among the garden’s occasional denizens is the western spindalis, a native which Gates describes as “perhaps the most colourful bird in The Bahamas.”
A log chapel, which is a replica of one built by Groves in 1973 and can be used for marriage ceremonies, overlooks the heart of the Garden. Since 2008 this has housed a special kind of labyrinth. On a 50-foot-wide octagonal base sits a replica of the sacred labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral in France. The Grand Bahama labyrinth’s founder, Barbara Chester, describes it as “a spiritual tool offering repair and renewal.”
Inner calm and complete fulfilment can come in all sorts of different ways, of course, from bowling a 300 game at the Water World Bowling and Recreation Centre to contemplating the fire at the heart of a diamond from John Bull or Colombian Emeralds International. Perhaps the most rewarding way to come here is to see the whole island of Grand Bahama as a kind of meditation labyrinth, allowing everyone, from bikers to birdwatchers and scuba divers to shopaholics, to rediscover their own inner nature.
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