First trip to Half Moon Caye on Lighthouse Atoll

Here you can see the Eastern half of Half Moon Caye in the distance as we head back to Belize. This end of the island features a bird sanctuary that is home to Red Footed Boobies and Frigate Birds.

The Belize Audubon Society (who are responsible for the reserve) built this brand new dock at Half Moon Caye recently to make it easier for visiting boats to dock. It also make a great place for diving into the crystal clear warm water. You can find out more about the Belize Audubon Society and Half Moon Caye at their website http://www.belizeaudubon.org/parks/hmcnm.htm.

Ahh..... paradise!! One of our guests, Wendy, found the perfect place to relax and enjoy the view from our camp on Half Moon Caye.

This picture shows a closer view of the new and old Lighthouse on the Western end of Half Moon Caye.



In this picture you can see the old and new Lighthouse plus the Ranger station at Half Moon Caye.






The above three pictures are of our camp at Half Moon Caye, home for our guests for the next 6 days. With the white sand, shade from the coconut trees, access to various beaches, incredible snorkeling and even a Bird Sanctuary, it is not hard to see why Island Expeditions guests and staff love this amazing place.

These three pictures are taken from the boat as we first arrive at Half Moon Caye. After months of waiting to get out to Lighthouse these pictures show that the beauty of Half Moon Caye was worth the wait, it truly is Paradise!

These first two pictures show passengers aboard the boat during the 2 hour ride from Belize City to our base at Half Moon Caye. Water and plenty of sunscreen was a necessity as the sun was shining during the entire trip.

Ever since I knew I was heading to Belize I had been looking forward to visiting Lighthouse Reef Atoll and in early April I finally got my wish. As I had a breakfast meeting the following day I only got to spend about 30 minutes at our base camp at Half Moon Caye, but it was worth the 2 hour boat ride from Belize City to see this incredible island. Half Moon Caye is one of two Atoll base camps run by Island Expeditions, the other being our camp at South West Caye on Glovers Reef Atoll.

Lighthouse Reef was made famous by the 1970 expedition of the famous Jacque Cousteau to the Blue Hole. The Blue Hole is a deep, circular and incredibly blue sinkhole in the center of Lighthouse Reef and attracts divers from all over the world.

The Half Moon Caye Natural Monument was established in March of 1982. The was the first reserve to be created under Belize's National Parks System Act of 1981. Half Moon Caye is located at the southeast corner of Lighthouse Reef, the easternmost atoll of Belize's three atolls. Lighthouse Reef is located about 50 miles east-southeast of Belize City. The Caye itself is only eight feet above sea level and approximately 45 acres in size. The Caye is divided into two very distinct ecosystems. The western half of the Caye is densely vegetated. The soils are made rich and fertile by guano from thousands of sea birds nesting in the area. The eastern half by comparison is vegetated primarily by coconut palms and very little underbrush.

You can learn more about Lighthouse Reef and Half Moon Caye at the websites below.

http://www.travelbelize.org/hmcnm.html

http://www.belizeexplorer.com/index.html

Moho River, December 2006

Here we are at the take out point at the end of the trip looking just how high the water level was. The day before the water was gushing over this old bridge.

Then it was Caits turn to tackle the same drop and as you can see she was pretty stoked to run this small (20') drop, good job Cait:)

These two pictures show me shooting one of the largest of the drops on the Moho and as you can see I was pretty happy when I managed not to get flung out of the boat, which was no easy task!

These two pictures show our camp, which is the second of the three camps usually used when running the Moho river with our guests. In the second picture you can see Cait preparing a nutritious dinner whilst the rest of the guys talk about the days adventure.

This first picture is of two of the Mayan guides, Pedro (at the front) and Camilio. In the second picture we can just about see Cait at the front of the boat (taking this picture) and our other Mayan guide, Greg, at the rear. These guys are expert paddlers and excellent bush guides.

Here Dave shoots one of the more demanding drops on his own. On these drops we would take turns running the falls whilst the rest of the team stood guard and ready to spring into action.

Here are three of pictures showing the force and beauty of the Moho River.

These first three pictures show Dave and I shooting some of the drops on the Moho, and boy did we have fun!

In December 2006 I travelled to the southern part of Belize with two of my North American Guides, Cait & Dave, and hooked up with three of our Mayan guides, Pedro, Camilio & Greg, to run the incredible Moho River.

This river is usually run over four days but as we were all experienced paddlers we did the trip in just over a day and stopped overnight at the second of our three camp sites. When we started this trip it had been raining hard for a number of days and the water level on the river was very high, which made for a great run. The Moho river is known for its many drops, some up to 20' and also has some sections of rapids up to grade 3/4.

It was an amazing run and one of the highlights of my first season in Belize!

Manatee Lodge and Manatees at Gales Point Nature Sanctuary

Last month we took a group of guests to Manatee Lodge, a remote lodge near Gales Point. On the way to the Lodge we stopped to look for Manatee's in the Gales Point Nature Sanctuary and got really lucky. A couple of Manatee's came very close to our boat, much to the delight of our guests.

Manatee Lagoons, also known as Northern and Southern Lagoons are located only 11 kilometers southwest of Belize City and 25 kilometers north of Dangriga. The entire protected area covers approximately 8250 acres. Average rainfall for the area is approximately 70 inches per year. The land surrounding the Manatee Lagoons averages about 10 feet above sea level.
The site consists of a variety of different habitats. Lying in the coastal plain, Manatee Lagoons are actually filling in from the erosion of the Maya Mountains. Within a couple of thousand years, it is possible that this area will be completely dry and covered with broadleaf tropical forests.

The Manatee Lagoons are known for the rich fauna found there. Jabiru Storks frequent the shallow shorelines to feed. The Central American River Otter frolicks up and down the rivers and through the entire lagoon complex. Very healthy populations of Morelet's and American Crocodile live throughout the area, from the highest reaches of the rivers to the coastline.

This area is an important breeding ground for waterfowl. Many of the surrounding shorelines are feeding grounds for ibis, egrets and herons. In Northern Lagoon lie two islands protected as crown reserves for nesting waterfowl. Ibis nest in large numbers here. Smaller numbers of egrets and herons also nest here.

One of the most noteable species in this area however is the manatee. Manatees are common all along the coast of Belize, but the highest concentration in the country outside of the mouth of the Belize River is in the Manatee Lagoon area. It is estimated that the Manatee Lagoon complex is the largest breeding ground for these docile creatures in the entire Caribbean Basin.

Students heading to Glovers & SWC

After their trip to the Jungle the student group headed out by boat from Dangriga to Glovers and then South Water Caye for the final part of their adventure in Belize.

Southwater Caye Marine Park is best known for the SCUBA diving. The drop off is a spectacular ridge running the entire length of the park. The longest unbroken stretch of the barrier reef lies within the park boundaries. And the areas among the mangrove cayes are some of the most biologically productive habitats in Belize. The students had plenty of opportunity to snorkel, kayak, sail, swim or just relax in the sun at both Glovers and South Water Caye.

Placencia

Last Wednesday I visited the Village of Placencia with one of my Guides, Jamie, who is from New Zealand. I had heard a lot about Placencia and how it has grown into a real tourist resort. There are a lot of large exclusive resorts being built on the outskirts of the main village, so Placencia is continuing to grow and attract more tourists. As a result the village has much more to offer tourists and visitors than Dangriga, but has less of cultural diversity and authenticity. Placencia is also a popular port of call for boaters, especially sail boats. You can even hire Catamarans from the main dock, for a hefty fee of course. Placencia has a nice long sandy beach with a couple of great beach front bars.

You can learn more about Placencia at the following site;

http://www.placencia.com/