Gustavo gets one last panoramic image of the
brume rising from the canyon floor, and the unham-
pered lichens nosing out of the sandstone cracks.
He focuses his camera lens toward the river bank,
only slightly upriver from the falls. A Schneider’s
Dwarf Caiman (Paleosuchus trigonatus) is trolling
amongst the tiny green islands of algae. Adults
grow to only about 1.5 metres in length and weigh
around 15 kilograms.
Ranger Williams regains my husband’s attention.
“You don’t need any bug repellant here in the park.
There are no mosquitoes. That’s because we have
four different kinds of insect-eating plants here at
Kaieteur.” A yellow bladderwort peeps out from
under a rock. “There’s one,” he points, “And that
reddish one too, with the flower pattern.” He directs
his walking cane toward a sticky sundew plant
bristling with tiny hairs.
Our party bids adieu to one of the most incredible
cascades in the world; a hidden gem in a pristine
environment. All of Guyana is like that - its biodiver-
sity never ceases to amaze. Whether you’re a
diehard field herper, a conservationist or simply a
lover of nature, the Lokono-Arawak Amerindian
Reservation offers the adventure of a lifetime. And
you’ll help stay the chronic unemployment that
threatens not only the indigenous peoples’
livelihood, but also their time-honored, traditional
ways of life. All in all, it’s been a fabulous six days.
Ayonto Hororo combined homestay, Eco-Lodge and
Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Guyana’s Upper
Mahaica River and can be contacted via e-mail at:
[email protected]
Above: Kaieteur Falls. Image
supplied by Vickie Lillo.
Left: the tiny Golden Rocket Frog
(Anomaloglossus beebei) is en-
demic to the Kaieteur Plateau, and
entirely dependent on the giant
bromeliad Brocchinia micrantha.
Image by Erik Zandboer.