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Here is the group photograph- to prove we made it.

Susan and I take a well earned rest- Tony's walking sticks stayed with us.

After we returned, by air, to Georgetown, Rosie, Clare and I watched the film "Up" via the lap top screen, huddled in the one double bed, under the mosquito net.

Although the film tells of an adventure of discovery to Paradise Falls, Venezuela, the opening scene is sufficiently reminiscent of Kaiteur for us to claim recognition.

The film's themes seemed a fitting finale to our Kaiteur hike.

On Sunday 15th April Rosie and Clare flew back to the UK and I prepared to take up my work as a volunteer for the next and final twelve weeks of my placement.

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Hike to the Kaiteur Falls.

Within the Kaiteur National Park is Guyana's most famous natural feature: the Kaiteur Falls. Five times the size of Naigara, at 741 feet, (with 822 feet to the bottom of the gorge) Kaiteur is the world's largest single drop waterfall.

As time, energy and good health were all in supply, we had formed a party of six to take a four day hike, up the Potaro river, combining boats, walking and climbing, and staying overnight in wooden lodging houses, or in quickly constructed tarpaulin shelters, carrying all our belongings and supplies.

As we progressed inland, moving from tarmac road to rough dirt tracks, encountering small occupied or abandoned mining settlements on riverside locations we were aware of the remoteness, the lack of human habitation or interference with nature.
Our expedition was lead by Tony (Anthony Melville), an experienced Amerindian from the Patamuna tribe, who features in the documentary film The White Diamond (2004, director Werner Herzog) about  the history of aviation and an attempt to fly over the forest canopy of Guyana, including Kaiteur, in an airship.

Tony took us up river by boat, stopping at smaller waterfalls to enjoy the sheer beauty of nature, adapting and changing our schedule according to weather, the availability of the few boats on the river and the endurance of individuals in our party.

View from the island on the Potaro river where we spent our first night

Rapids along the Potaro- surrounded by endless miles of uninhabited lands

In spite of several soakings and anxieties about dangerous wildlife (unrealised) everyone kept in good spirits, sharing the biscuits, cereal bars and (cold) tinned beans, mosquito spray, baby wipes and the poor taste jokes. Nature is a great leveller.  Coming from four different countries:- the UK, the Netherlands, the USA and Canada:- and following Tony's lead, we helped each over rocks, on to wobbling boats, waited when one person was tired, was taking photographs and answering the call of nature.
As if by order, it rained for most of the second day, the boats we used were leaky and by nightfall we arrived soaking and exhausted at a lodge. Hammocks had to be strung up, food unwrapped and shared at one table, then preparations made (extremely limited and basic) for retiring for the night.

Tessa and Drew outside our lodgings for the night.

On the third morning- the day of the final boat journey to the far reaches of the Kaiteur Falls and a climb of over 700 feet to the plateau, the weather cleared and we were blessed with sunshine with occasional cooling clouds.

The damp and discomfort of the previous day evaporated as we rose to our challenge and slowly made our way, step by step, following Tony along the vaguely defined trail.

Tony, noting that two of us- me at 55 and Susan at 65- were a little slower than the others, and fashioned walking sticks for each of us, using the knife/machete implement he walked with.

Our long sweaty tiring hike was rewarded when we reached the first of three viewing points for the Falls.
Unlike tourist attractions and sites in the UK, where protective fencing is erected, areas marked and facilities installed and charged for and commercial potential exploited, sometimes ruining what should be enjoyed, here we were able to sit dizzyingly close to the edge and enjoy the power of the Falls, watching the swifts which nest in safety behind the actual Falls darting overhead.

Rosie, Clare and I pose for a picture.


And- don't look at the next picture if you are scared of heights- as I am.

The item of furniture just visible on the right of the picture is a standard wooden park bench- for taking the view.

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More boats

Susan and Tessa bail out- one leaky boat.

The  Corentyne river village boat- disembarking at Orealla.
(We arrived at 3am)

All aboard the village boat to Orealla, amid the cargo (including crates of live chicks) and other passengers.

Hiking- in the rain forest.

Our plane- which picked us up at Kaiteur, flew us back over the waterfall, then on, via Mahdia, back to Georgetown.

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Boats- continued.

The car and passenger ferry across the Essiquibo- on our way to the Kaiteur Falls (photo K Bailey)

On a small river boat, along the Potaro river.

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Coming from a country dependent on the privately owned vehicle and to a lesser extent public transport, getting around in Guyana is certainly a challenge.
Taxis
In Georgetown, where care over personal safety is important at all times, we relied mainly on local taxis.

There is no system of public transport in Guyana, though regulation of vehicles does operate.

Around and between the main towns mini-bus services operate.

If leaving from a main terminus, passengers are confronted by drivers urging you to choose their particular bus. As vehicles only leave once completely full, a head count of those already aboard help determine selection.
Music will be played throughout the journey, at full volume, according to the driver's preference:- gospel, soul (cheesy pop), soca, chutney, reggae or a local radio station will be on offer.
"Maximum passenger numbers" is an advisable figure. Individuals call the conductor- who acts as money collector, door operator and logistics adviser for the driver-saying when to stop along the route.
Luggage is carried wherever it can be stored; comfort is secondary.

Buses

We used the buses to travel between towns.

photo- Trek earth

In the eastern region, Berbice, the Tapir vehicle is used for taxi-ing. These vehicles were built in Guyana and are extremely basic.

Boats

Guyana means land of many rivers. During our three weeks we crosses many of those rivers in a variety of boats.

Climbing on to the speedboat at the stelling

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A key holiday goal was to see Guyana beyond Georgetown and the coastal strip- where 90% of the population live travelling into the remote sparsely populated interior.
A very slow, lazy week was spent in the Amerindian village of Orealla, 50 miles up the Correntyne River which forms Guyana's eastern border with Surinam.

Fitting in with a culture means adapting to local ways. As our Guest House, the only one, in Orealla seemed to double as a local meeting place and drop in centre for village residents, we regularly found ourselves in conversation or playing games with local children. It had been recommended we bring some board games, colouring books, crayons and the like, and as our bounty was revealed, it was as though Santa and his sleigh had arrived.

Above the river bank level, after scaling a steep rough path, used daily by all, we came to the upper village level on a plateau about 100 feet above the river level.
Here beyond the village lay savannah and areas of forest, and within a forest tract, the owners of Orealla Guest House are developing a creek for holiday use. We were taken, by tractor, to the benab (an open structure with a roof made of local materials), where we could change and swim.

Previously I had rejected all persuasions, but this creek was special. The surface of the water was patterned with lilies, there was a total absence of litter (a huge problem across the populated areas of Guyana) and the setting was secluded, unlike a crowded creek "resort".
The water was the typical tea or "black" colour, cool and with a silky feel. The current was deceptively strong: moving downstream became an easy glide; working back upstream was akin to the exercise bicycle, all motion and no progress.
In this way Rosie, Clare and I celebrated my 55th birthday.

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Reminders of Guyana's colonial past- some pleasant-some less so- are everywhere.
The Promenade Gardens, now a public garden, occupies a portion of the site once used for the public execution of slaves involved in the 1823 uprising on the east coast of Demerara. The park, which once held the largest collection of wild orchids in the Caribbean, has recently been renovated after a period of neglect. With its statue of Gandhi and monument to the Arya Samaj movement it is an important symbolic venue for days of commemoration and inter-faith observance.

The annual Easter Hat Parade, in its 34th year and organised by the Inner Wheel of the Georgetown Rotary club had the characteristics of its English counterpart, but with a Caribbean twist. The event takes place in the Promenade Gardens, where laid gravel paths make symmetrical patterns and enclose beds of  pruned perennial flowering shrubs and trees.
The hats- some illustrated above, from the Original category, the others being Elegant and Topical- were typically home made adornments of and additions to a simple bought frame. Contestants paraded around the bandstand and one by one, walked up the steps to pose for the judges, seated along a table crowded with shining trophies at the foot of the stand.
While a background CD accompanied the competition, between the events and the results, the Guyana Police Steel Band provided soft calypso-style melodies.
Purchasing special tickets entitled us to join our land-lady- who seemed to know many of the people there- at the tea tables, under awnings, where "Afternoon Tea"- sandwiches, savoury pastries, sweet sponge cake and tea with milk and sugar- was served.
The snacks were promoted by Lipton's tea, and staff uniformed accordingly.