Need Advice - Wildlife Preserve

Hi -

I am trying to plan our day in Barbados. I love animals and want to see the monkeys in the wildlife preserve. Is it possible (with a private guide) to get there, see the preserve and return in 3-3.5 hours?

And is it worth the time and expense? If we do what I'm thinking we would be at teh reserve in mid-morning.

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

I believe I answered you when you asked this question in the thread entitled "A great day with Cameron," but to repeat, yes, I believe it would be entirely possible. We made some other stops on the way to the Wildlife Reserve, so we didn't get there until around noon, but I think if you went straight there that would be plenty of time. I am so glad we took the time to do it. If you tell you driver what you want to do, they will be glad to oblige you, I'm sure. If you know what driver you want to use, you could even ask them about the time frame ahead of time. Any driver/guide will know the time it takes to get to a specific destination. I would recommend going to the Wildlife Reserve, especially if you are an animal lover. It is probably the closest you will ever get to a monkey! We picked up pieces of banana off the ground and they took it out of our hands!

Hi -

..trying to plan our day in Barbados.

I love animals and want to see the monkeys in the Wildlife Preserve.

Is it possible (with a private guide) to get there,

see the preserve and return in 3-3.5 hours? ===> Yes.

 

And is it worth the time and expense? ===> Yes.

If we do what I'm thinking we would be at the reserve in mid-morning.

You should like the Wildlife Preserve, since most folks do.

And since you're into animals, you're gonna love it.

There are big tortoises walking around, a big Anaconda in a cage(last time I was up there)

and lotsa other critters for you and the kids to see and enjoy!

I believe I'm right in saying that Admission to Wildlife Preserve

also gains you Admission to the old Brit.Army Grenade Hall signal station nearby (1/4 mile?)

so it's a good deal all around.

If Wildlife Reserve is your Numero Uno mission for the day,

instruct your taxi driver to not waste time crawling along the West Coast Road(Hiway1) -

urge him to use "the top road" that parallels Hiway 1 (it's actually Hiway 2A)

which will get you up to the Farley Hill area in about 20-25 mins,

if he's not stretching it out for you.

Farley Hill is also nearby,

so you'll probably do Wildlife Preserve, the Signal Sta. and Farley Hill,

since they're all within about a quarter mile of each other.

What's Farley Hill?

It's the grand ruins of a splendid Great House that belonged to the Briggs family

(Sir Graham Briggs of Briggs-Dayrell, Baronet,1871)

It burnt in the early 1960's but its impressive walls remain

on several acres of manicured grounds.

Walk Eastward, up the slope away from the Great House

and the best sweeping panoramic view of our Scotland District awaits you!

Under the Mahogany and Casuarina trees on the edge of the escarpment

(you'll be on the EDGE!) the breeze at 800ft. elevation is cooling,

and you'll be hard pressed to leave that idyllic spot, believe me..

so do W.Preseve and the Signal Sta first, then go over the road to Farley Hill to chill out!

If you're done with that trio by about noon,

and if you have the time,

maybe your taxi will drive you thru Belleplaine, along the East Coast Road,

and along to Tent Bay where lunch awaits..

but that's another story.

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Incidentally, the monkeys you'll see at Wildlife Preserve can be found all over the island

(even in Bridgetown on top the Parliament Bldgs, on occasion!).

They are an introduced Vervet species, Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus

brought over from West Africa in the 1600's, at the time of the slave trade.

The Green Monkey is here to stay,

with fully adult males attaining the size of a medium-sized dog,

and a tail of about 1 metre in length,

but they're too wily to let you get close: you'll know when you see an adult male!

The 'teenagers' are more friendly, curious, will come for food etc.

and these are the ones all over my house early mornings, some days

(I kid you not) - they're cute with their little black faces and greenish-gold fur

Thanks to you both.

cinnam0n - we must have crossed message paths. I checked that thread before posting this one. But thanks again for the posts. I believe we are going to use Cameron Reid to make the trek. Probably could use a regular taxi for less but hoping he will enrich our jaunt up there.

aplmac - thanks too for all your info. I'm saving the info and will use the info when discussing our morning tour plans with our tour guide/driver.

After a spell of no monkey activity,

suddenly they were all over my roof this morning.

It was a troop of young playful ones - 'teenagers'!

Grabbed the camera and got a few shots

so you can see what this Vervet species looks like.

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I've been watching these guys all my life

but this morning's new trick was tight-rope walking.

This calls for agility! - and an upright tail, for balance!

The pink flowers in the shots are Oleander.

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Sorry these shots aren't coming out any bigger

- anyone wanting larger copies

please email me at pcdoctor (at) caribsurf dot com

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