| Caroni Swamp is found not far south from the capital and a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of that city. You can go on a boat tour with a guide that take you through a maze of mangrove lined waterways. Its best known inhabitant is the scarlet ibis that roost together during the night on a couple of mangrove tree Islands in the swamp. During the day they can be found anywhere in the park, but just before sunset they return to their roosting places. The boat tours wait for them to arrive to enjoy the colorful spectacle. Apart from these birds you can expect to see caimans, fiddler crabs, herons and tree boas. We were lucky enough to spot a silky anteater - a real treat! |
| On the northern outskirts of Port of Spain, Mr Ferguson has termed his home 'Yerette' - home of the hummingbird. And for good reason: he has set up 20 odd feeders in his garden to attract 13 species of Hummingbirds in season. On request you can visit the garden for close encounters with these busy little creatures. On busy days there can be more than a 1000 individuals flying around. Ideal for photography. He has a nice exhibition ofhummingbird photos taken by him in his own garden. He can tel you all about them. |
| We stayed at this Hotel/resort for 4 days. Its location is exceptional in a private bay on the beach. Every room has a view onto the beach and the sea. There is enough to do to keep you busy for a couple of days: relaxing on the beach, taking a massage, go scuba diving, hiking, birdwatching,taking a boat trip to one of the islands you can see from the beach. The hotel has a restuarant and bar, but the food could/should have been better. Unfortunately you have to walk to a village nearby to find other food. Also the staff was not always as friendly we'd hoped. Nonetheless we really enjoyed our stay, mainly due to its great location and good scuba diving. |
© Bart Everts
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| Tobago is one of the better places in the caribbean for Scuba diving. There are many dive sites around the island, with the highest density on the North-East end. Most diving is done from a boat as from shore only few good spots are accessible. My own impression is that the coral is generally in good to very good shape. Supposedly, the biggest braincoral in the world is found here. Fish-life was varied. We didn't get lucky but turtles, Manta Ray and barracuda are regularly seen as well. The diving center, connected to the Blue water's Inn Hotel, was reliable and well organized. |
| Asa Wright Nature Center is a magnet for birdwatchers and considered one of the top birding destinations in the world. It's located in the Northern Range in Primary and Secondary Forest at 400m altitude. It is an old English teaplantation that has been converted into a lodge centered around veranda from which you have views over birdfeeders and the surrounding forests. From the veranda you can easily spot 10 species of hummingbirds, trogons, toucans, tanagers, honeycreepers and many more. With a little more effort you can find wattled bellbirds, mannakins and under supervision of a guide, Oilbirds. Asa Wright is one of the best places in the world to see the latter. In addition, agoutis, lizards and butterflies abound. The guides are highly knowledgeable and the staff is very friendly. As a first time birding-visitor to South America, this is an absolutely amazing place to go to with all neotripical families represented and easily accessible. On the other hand, if you have been birding in South America before, most species will be familiar. However, the lodge and veranda are beautiful and there are several species that can be seen here with more ease than anywhere else. Hence, this place is well worth visiting for the ones interested in nature and tranquility as well as the most seasoned birder. |
| Size-wise Tobago is the little brother of Trinidad. This extends to bird species as well. Tobago harbours only a third of the species found on Trinidad. However, due to its small size many species that occur on Trinidad are more easily seen onTobago. Moreover, some species are only found on Tobago. Gilpin Trace is one of these places where those unique species can be spotetd, Gilpin Trace is part of the central mountain range that is protected by the oldest National Park in the Western Hemipshere, 'the Main Ridge Forest Reserve' (since 1776). With the help of our highly knowledgable guide, Gladwyn James, we were able to spot species such as theblue-backed Mannakin and endemic White-tailed Sabrewing. Apart from birding Gilpin Trace wealso visited some on the bodies of water at the Western end of the Island which are good for water-associated species such as white-cheeked pintail nd black-bellied Wistling Duck |
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| Physical activities: eg Walking / Rafting / swimming Nature: eg National Park / Reserve City / Cultural site |
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