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Ultimate Guyana Adventure

12 Aug
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Better late than never!

We have been a little reticent about posting blogs due to our major move from Ecuador to South Africa. Finally our container arrived and most things are now installed. We love it. Quite simply it is spectacular here in Betty’s Bay in the Western cape.

Earlier in the year we took two groups, once again to Guyana – that seldom talked about, English speaking country nestled in the north-east corner of South America between Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela. Why it is so often overlooked on people’s lists of a fabulous tropical/wildlife destination remains a mystery to us. The two trips were different, the first a more tried and tested Pete Oxford Expeditions trip and the second (a closed trip) was a hard hitting, short, intense look at key areas with some very important conservationists from the world stage.

Once again the country did not disappoint and wildlife was all we hoped it would be ranging from spectacular looks at giant anteaters, giant river otters, myriad birds, huge black caiman, a plethora of tree boas and the world’s largest spider, the Goliath bird eater.

Change is afoot in the country with massive oil and gas reserves recently discovered offshore. With production soon to begin Guyana is hailed by some as becoming the richest country per capita in the near future.

Today Guyana stands proud as one of the most pristine countries in the world with a massive tract of intact primary rainforest cover still standing. The FAO estimates 71% of total land area is forest with a further 17% cover of ‘other wooded land!”

Without doubt oil and gas revenues will be a blessing or a curse and need to be carefully applied and distributed for the sake of the wellbeing of the peoples and biodiversity. We remain attentive.

In the meantime, in April of 2020 we again have two trips planned. We have chosen to deviate from the norm and highlights will include actually staying overnight at the super-impressive Kaieteur Falls, which believe me is stunning and quite a privilege.

Apart from the savannas. We also plan a 4 night stay, in hammocks, under a permanent roof with good food in one of the very best wildlife areas. It is remote and very seldom visited. We hope to see harpy eagle close to camp as well as snorkel in the clear-water river! It is an adventure and not for the feint hearted. My best memories of the country have come from these areas!

Join us, if you dare!!

Borneo

08 Mar
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Borneo, it was top of my bucket list of places left to go for as long as I can remember. The second largest island in the world Borneo is divvied up politically into Brunei, Sarawak (Malaysia) Sabah (Malaysia) and the bulk to the south, Kalimantan (Indonesia).

I had made a quick foray into the southern end of Kalimantan once before and from a house boat had waded waist deep though a swamp in a tropical downpour to finally get to see my first wild orangutans – a mother and a baby. A special moment indeed, more Zen-like and I took no images. This trip was to be different. A group of California friends, knowing I had never been asked me to set up and lead them on a wildlife trip to Sabah in the north east of the island. I was thrilled with the opportunity. It was to be an expedition for all of us!

Arriving at Sabah’s capital, Kota Kinabalu, or simply KK it was surprisingly modern and ordered. Our high-rise hotel gave us a spectacular vantage point overlooking the South China Sea and the frenetic activity of boats plying to and from the market docks.

Out trip was to take us in a more or less circular route hitting the primary highlights on the way.

Sacred Mount Kinabalu – Sabah’s highest summit – put us in the realm of a wealth of montane species not to be found at lower elevations. The scenery was spectacular as Mt. Kinabalu changed its mood throughout. Everything was new to me, despite having travelled widely, birds were omnipresent and included Sunda and chestnut-hooded laughing thrushes, chestnut crested yuhinas, a Whitehead’s broadbill and the spectacular Bornean crested fireback. Mammals were mostly diminutive, the big stuff was yet to come but included giant squirrel, mountain tree shrews and Jentink’s squirrel. Eventually we headed south past the Poring hot springs to look at my first Rafflesia flowers, a totally incredible flower but a truly tacky ‘pay-to-see’ set up. 

We threw ourselves at the place investing inordinate time and effort to maximize on possible sightings. Certainly, it became my highest diversity of mammals ever seen in such a short-time. Twenty-five species in a mere four days? Highlights were too numerous to mention but number one was a clouded leopard that walked for more than a kilometer in our company making an approach to 5 meters from our vehicle! 

Then there were the eerily haunting calls of northern Bornean gibbon, leopard cats, four civet species including the rare and spectacular banded civet, a small-clawed otter, slow Loris, Borneo pygmy elephants and on and on.

Rhinoceros hornbills were spectacular, tiny Borneo falconets, the world’s smallest bird of prey hung around camp as did blue-throated bee-eaters. It was overwhelming. Another cherry on top was a magnificent look at a Borneo keeled viper – a big tick in my book! Thanks, Mike for your expert guiding.

Mentally and physically exhausted we moved out, heading to Sepilok. Renown for the orangutan sanctuary we spent our time also with a behind-the-scenes tour of the sun bear rehabilitation center which captivated us both in the proximity of these beautiful animals and of learning of their plight in the wild. We each donated $100.00 to the cause. Apart from stunning looks at bushy-crested hornbills the highlight had to have been our spectacularly lucky view of a western tarsier. – So much more impressive ‘in person’ than the countless photos I had already seen.

Experiences began to merge as sensory overload kicked in and we were only half way through. The wide and lazy Kinabatangan River filled in more gaps with silver leaf monkeys, and the hugely anticipated proboscis monkeys, the males with that unbelievable long and swollen nose. We saw scores of them, plus big crocs, fish eagles, kingfishers, some great snakes, bizarre pitcher plants of several species and great looks at more elephants feeding peacefully on the riverbank.

Darum Valley – our last stop was indeed a gem of a place to end. Such a pleasure to see my second ever binturong, flying squirrels and more of those enigmatic colugo – wow! We came for orangutans, we saw them in Deramakot, Kinabalangan and again in Danum. There was no way however that I expected to see them so well and so close as we saw them here. They were giving us a full show – lots of them at different sightings. It was just so humbling, the sense of privilege I felt at being so close to something for so long that was suffering so badly at the hand of man. Will they be around for the next few generations? Not if we do not act together now! 

All said and done a personal goal that I really, really wanted to see was a bearded pig. Boy did I get a good look at one of those! Borneo, I fell in love with you – thank you!

The Undiscovered Jewel – Guyana

17 Jun
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I have lived in Ecuador, South America for 32 years and have travelled the continent extensively. One destination that retains an inexplicable calling is Guyana.
Having published arguably the two most important coffee-table books on the country I have been privileged to have traveled its length and breadth by road, boat and helicopter. The continent’s only English-speaking country, Guyana is virtually pristine and rich in biodiversity including a ‘full house’ of the South American giants. An undiscovered jewel it is, with good reason, a firm favorite in our suite of expeditions.

Pete Oxford Expeditions is proud to jointly lead many trips with the Oceanic Society a USA based conservation NGO, the first in the states to be dedicated to ocean conservation. This was no exception and after assembling the group at Georgetown’s colonial Cara Lodge we headed out the following morning in our privately charted Cessna caravan aircraft to land at Guyana’s most iconic destination – Kaieteur Falls. This stunning waterfall, set in the wilds of a pristine forest is the world’s highest single-drop waterfall, several times higher than Niagara at 741 feet. With a choice of spectacular lookout points and no barriers whatsoever the experience transports the visitor back to an ageless time when Nature was still in charge. As if that was not enough, in the falls we absorbed ourselves in finding the endemic golden frogs at the base of the leaves of the humongous and omnipresent giant bromeliads.

Before returning to the aircraft we ducked into the forest to the well-known lek of one of the country’s most flamboyant birds. We easily spotted the gaudy, bright orange male Guyana Cock-of-the-Rock on his favorite perch. Obligingly he let each of us photograph him in his element offering various poses as we did so.

Taking off from the dirt strip at the falls the pilot offered both port and starboard sides an intimate aerial view of the Potaro River thundering over the escarpment as we turned north to Fairview and the Iwokrama forest. Checking in to the Iwokrama Lodge on the bank of the mighty Essequibo River our first call was to Sankar – a huge black caiman that has been hanging around the dock for many years. Portrait photography of this living dinosaur was spectacular as his prehistoric gaze stared down the barrel of the lens to be immortalized in an image.

Iwokrama has been well studied scientifically and is well known for its huge biodiversity. Many species are endemic to the Guyanan shield on which the lodge sits and are different from the main Amazon rainforest. This is of particular note to birdwatchers who ‘flock’ to the area for new ticks on their list.
On our boat ride on the river, using a spotlight we found many more caimen, some roosting birds including the very attractive capped heron and two tree boas hunting for food.
From Iwokrama we had elected to leave to our next destination – Atta Lodge and the Canopy walkway – via open truck at night along the ‘main road’. Although the dirt track is indeed the main artery connecting the coast to the interior and the Rupununi Savannas it travels in a virtual straight line through primary rain forest. It has become the best spot in Guyana to see jaguars. We had a good spotlight, drove slowly and had our eyes peeled. Although I’ve seen quite a few on this road before, this time we were not so lucky and the jags remained elusive.

At first light, we hiked the 500 meters from our lodge to the canopy walkway – a series of 3 platforms some 30 meters in the canopy. We spent the morning looking at the birds that came through and listened to the unmistakable, megaphonic, sounds of howler monkeys.
From Atta we were preparing to drive to a spot from where we could hike into the forest to hopefully find a harpy eagle – the most powerful eagle in the world. Camera packs were already loaded in the vehicle when, unbelievably, an adult harpy flew right into camp! A harpy in the hand, was definitely worth one in the bush so we stayed and marveled at the one that had come to us.
Our next stop was Rewa – an Amerindian owned and operated eco-lodge. Rewa is known for its healthy population of arapaima, another South American giant and one of the largest fresh water fish in the world. It was not always so, but once the community realized that the population of arapaima was dwindling they initiated a self-imposed moratorium on fishing these fish for 5 years until the population was seen to increase. Arapaima are territorial and obligate air-breathers, meaning that they periodically break the surface to gulp air. Individual fish can therefore be identified by size and sex to the trained eye. Hunting with bow and arrow the fishermen can then selectively take individual fish in a sustainable manner. Their entire project has been heralded as a conservation success and numbers are once again at a high level. We spent an afternoon at one of the well-known arapaima lakes, surrounded by giant water-lilies and waiting for the huge fish to break the surface, gulp and roll.

Boat trips on the river from Rewa also showed us several troops of monkeys, a plethora of herons, large-billed terns and black skimmers. Night walks produced many smaller animals and birds not least of which were a dozen or so pink-toed tarantulas!
Our last stop was to be the famed Karanambu lodge – home of the ‘otter lady’ the late Diane McTurk. A legend in her own lifetime Diane had dedicated the latter part of her life to rehabilitating giant otter orphans back to the wild. Steeped in tradition and the true spirit of pioneers Karanambu is a delight and worthy finale. Through a combination of walks and boat rides, we could secure great views of many bird species and of course giant otters. These, the longest otter species in the world, are highly endangered throughout most of their range with Guyana being one of the last strongholds of the species. Highly social animals they are very efficient predators and seem to be able to catch a good-sized fish any time they put their mind to it.
Perhaps the highlight of Karanambu however was our early morning sojourns by 4×4 out into the Rupununi savannas. With a local vaquero (cowboy) on horseback to guide us we always managed to get excellent views of one of the animal kingdom’s most bizarre denizens – the giant anteater. A strange animal indeed, somewhat laterally flattened the shaggy beast walks awkwardly on large claws that it uses to break open hard termite mounds whereupon it squats on its haunches to lap up the teeming insect with its long sticky tongue.

The camaraderie of a great group, lively meal time conversations and the wonder of new life-time experiences our 2018 Guyana trip lived up to expectations. I miss it already!