Days are slow — the tide, the heat and the turtles set the timetable. Activity is concentrated at night and around dawn.
1 Turtle nesting
Leatherbacks, the largest of all turtles, are the most often seen, with green turtles next; hawksbills and olive ridleys are scarcer. A female digs a chamber with her hind flippers, lays some eighty to a hundred eggs, disguises the nest and returns to the sea within an hour or two. Later in the season, wardens release hatchlings from protected nests at dusk.
Practical: Night walks with wardens during the season, usually around high tide. Red light only; keep behind the turtle.
2 The beach
The shore shifts constantly as mudbanks move along the coast, so the nesting beaches are not in the same place every year. Stretches of pure shell alternate with sand and with drowned coconut groves where the sea is advancing.
Practical: Walk in the early morning; there is no shade at midday.
3 Mangrove creeks and rivers
The route in threads narrow tidal channels through mangrove and swamp forest, including the winding passage boatmen call the “99 turns”, and the Baramani and Waini rivers. Look for kingfishers, hawks, howler monkeys and river dolphins.
Practical: Seen on the boat journeys; several hours each way.
4 Coastal birdlife
Flocks of scarlet ibis feed on the mudflats and roost in the mangroves, alongside egrets, herons, spoonbills and, in the northern winter, migrant shorebirds from North America.
Practical: Best at dawn and dusk, and from the boat.
5 Almond Beach community
A few Arawak and Warao families live on the beach, fishing and growing coconuts, and several work as turtle wardens. Their knowledge of the turtles is the foundation of the conservation project.
Practical: Meet through your hosts; ask before taking photographs.
6 Mabaruma and the north-west
Mabaruma sits on a ridge above the Aruka River amid some of Guyana’s most fertile farmland, with the port of Kumaka below and the old settlement of Hosororo and its small waterfall nearby. It is the administrative centre of the region and the usual flight gateway.
Practical: A night here breaks the journey. Take local advice about travel near the Venezuelan border.
