view a map of our destinations

Group size: 10

Cost: $4200.

Airfare: Approximately $600 from Miami on American and $800 from San Francisco, plus $150 Trinidad to Tobago round trip. Quoted 5/06

Art Supplies: Approximately $180 - $220

Deposit: $300; $150 is refundable.

Tour leaders: Edward Rooks, our wonderful Trinidadian naturalist and artist, has been enjoying everything in nature that Trinidad & Tobago has to offer since he was 12. Now residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, Edward is an expert naturalist and knows all the birds of Trinidad. Ed will be assisted by resident naturalist/guides.

Conditions: A nonsmoking safari.

Itinerary revised: 6/2006

• April 21, Saturday: Travel day
• April 22, Sunday: Asa Wright Nature Centre
• April 23, Monday: Asa Wright Nature Centre
• April 24, Tuesday: Blanchisseuse Road
• April 25, Wednesday: Mount Plaisir and Leatherback Turtles
• April 26, Thursday: The forest trails of Grande Riviere
• April 27, Friday: Point Galera and Sharks River
• April 28, Saturday: Travel to Tobago and Blue Waters Inn
• April 29, Sunday: Blue Waters Inn and Speyside
• April 30, Monday: Charlottesville and Pirates Bay
• May 1, Tuesday: Gilpin Trace and Roxborough Forests
• May 2, Wednesday: St. Giles Island & Little Tobago; return to Asa Wright
• May 3, Thursday: Oilbird Cave and Asa Wright
• May 4, Friday: Wallerfield and Nariva Swamp
• May 5, Saturday: Waterloo and Caroni Swamp
• May 6, Sunday: Travel day

April 21, Saturday: Travel day with evening arrival at Asa Wright Nature Centre
American Airlines has good flight times from many cities. From San Francisco AA departs at approximately 7:30 AM to Miami for a good connection in the mid-afternoon, arriving in Port-of-Spain at approximately 9:15 PM. Flights are also available on other airlines, such as BWIA from Miami. You will be met by a driver from the Asa Wright Nature Centre. An hour’s drive from Piarco Airport, past the town of Arima and up the forested Arima Valley brings us to Asa Wright Nature Center and Lodge. The Asa Wright Nature Centre is centrally located for our field trips and offers good accommodations. If you choose to arrive a day earlier, please contact us, so we can arrange that for you. If your flight arrives earlier in the day, we will arrange your transfer and evening meal. You’ll enjoy the extra time to walk the trails through the rainforest or enjoy the birds coming to the feeders on the verandah.

April 22, Sunday: Asa Wright Nature Centre: workshop on drawing birds
Today will be very exciting just enjoying the amazing Nature Centre grounds. The verandah at Asa Wright, a 90- year old plantation home, offers a panoramic view of the lush Arima Valley and wonderful bird photography. From this perch, we will see vibrantly colored tropical birds visit fruiting and flowering trees almost within touching distance: White-necked Jacobins, Copper-rumped Emerald Hummingbirds, Green Honeycreepers; Purple Honeycreepers, numerous tanagers, and Golden-olive Woodpeckers, to name a few. From the distance we will be treated to a chorus of Bearded Bellbirds, toucans, forest frogs and katydids. There are hundreds of plant species in the valley, 32 snakes, 15 lizards, 1 turtle, 15 frogs, 1 land crab, 12 mammals, not including the mice, rats, and over 40 bats and innumerable insects. Among the avian highlights are Channel-billed Toucans, three trogons, euphonias, and Grey-throated Leaf-scraper. The gardens around the lodge are planted with flowering plants to encourage hummingbirds like the White-necked Jacobin and Tufted Coquette, a most diminutive hummingbird. There are many bird feeders that attract tanagers, honeycreepers, thrushes, motmots, oropendolas, Red Squirrels, Agoutis and large ground lizards. Asa Wright Nature Centre’s verandah overlooks a forested valley and is a great place to look for raptors like the Gray-headed Kite, Black Hawk, Ornate Hawk-Eagle and Zone-tailed Hawk. After a couple hours of getting familiar with the feeder birds, we will explore a forest trail to look for such forest-birding treasures as trogons, bellbirds, woodcreepers, manakins and toucans. In the afternoon a three-hour workshop on drawing birds will be held.

April 23, Monday: Workshop on painting water & a visit to Asa Wright Nature Centre’s pool
In the morning Edward will conduct a workshop, which will be an introduction to basic watercolor materials and techniques. After lunch we will take a short walk to swim and paint at the centre’s river pool. This beautiful, small, river pool was created by damming a tributary of the Arima River and is surrounded by tropical plants. It’s an ideal setting for an hour or two of painting, exploring, or you can take a swim. Edward will discuss painting water, water drops, waves, reflections, & transparency.

April 24, Tuesday: Blanchisseuse Road
This is a full day trip. While traveling along the circuitous 22-mile forested mountain road to the coastal village of Blanchisseuse, scout for animal life along the way and stop at a few good spots to bird and perhaps sketch birds and scenery. We will look for Golden-headed Manakins, Striped Cuckoos, Blue-headed Parrots, Speckled Tanagers, Swallow Tanagers, Black-tailed Tityra, Blue Dacnis, Gray-headed Kites, and Channel-billed Toucans. After lunch there will be an opportunity to enjoy the coastline. There are rocky points, a white sand beach and tall coconut trees blowing in the North East Trade Winds. Swimming is an option, but if it’s rough, caution is advised as long-shore currents can be a problem. Edward will talk about techniques used to paint skies and clouds.

April 25, Wednesday: Mount Plaisir and Leatherback Turtles
It's a beautiful trip to Mount Plaisir Estates Hotel; it takes about three hours to drive there from Asa Wright. The hotel called Mt. Plaisir is on the beach beside a small fishing village, Grande Riviere. It is located along the remote northeastern coast of Trinidad. Pelicans, terns and shorebirds can be seen in the bay, but the best bird watching is in the forest that grows right up to the beach. After lunch we will be free to swim and explore on our own until 3 PM when Edward will lead a short bird walk. The hotel was built and is managed by the Italian photojournalist, Piero Guerrini. Nesting Leatherback and Hawksbill sea turtles use the beach. We will be there at the height of the turtle nesting season. Sometimes turtles rest at the steps of the bunglows! After dinner a local guide will take us to see the giant Leatherbacks digging nest holes. Flash photography is prohibited at night.

April 26, Thursday: The forest trails of Grande Riviere
5:30 AM: Wake early to enjoy and photograph turtles laying eggs on the beach. This is a unique opportunity to see the turtles in daylight. After breakfast we will take our painting gear and a pack lunch for a hike into the rainforest with a local bird guide. Trinidad's forested Northern Range Mountains rise up behind our Caribbean style hotel and this is a great place to look for birds, other wildlife and to paint rainforest scenery. Bird watching highlights could include the Double-toothed Kite, Swallow-tailed Kite and Crimson-crested Woodpecker. We will walk through a cocoa plantation into the forest. We are going in search of the Blue-throated Piping-Guan. This is one of the last places on Trinidad where you can find the endangered Blue-throated Piping-Guan. Other birds include Orange-winged Parrots, Buff-throated Woodcreepers, Golden Headed Manakins, Channel-billed Toucans, Yellow-rumped Caciques and White-Winged Becards and raptors are quite abundant at the forest's edge. Edward will discuss techniques used to draw and paint trees.

April 27, Friday: Point Galera and Sharks River
5:30 - 8:00 AM Before breakfast Edward will lead a walk aimed at finding the elusive Blue-throated Piping Guan. After breakfast from 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM we’ll visit the Point Galera lighthouse at Trinidad’s northeast point where the Caribbean meets the Atlantic. We will spend 2 hours in the morning painting the dramatic, rocky coast and drive back along the beautiful; north coast road where the mountains and forests fall steeply to the Caribbean. This is excellent habitat for birds like the Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Orange-winged Parrots and raptors like the Swallow-tailed Kite & Black Hawk. From 1 PM - 5 PM we will drive to Sharks River where we could enjoy a cool swim. It’s also a natural place to paint a dramatic river scene with deep pools and tropical trees on bedrock. Edward will discuss drawing and painting rocks.

April 28, Saturday: Travel to Tobago and Blue Waters Inn
We will leave Mt. Plaisir early for the long drive to Trinidad’s Piarco airport. The flight to Tobago's Crown Point Airport takes 20 minutes. Tobago is relatively flat, heavily farmed, and moderately developed. The natural vegetation is mostly littoral woodlands and secondary growth with some rainforest along the high ridges. Some of the new birds that we will see include Red-crowned Woodpeckers, Caribbean Martins, and Gray Kingbirds. We will stop in Tobago’s capital city to eat our pack lunch at Fort King George. This is an old British colonial fort that commands an over view of the capital and its surrounds. Here we will spend a couple of hours painting landscapes and visiting the museum before driving for an hour to the northeast end of Tobago along a scenic coastal road through many small towns and villages to the private bay and littoral forests surrounding Blue Waters Inn. The northeast end of the island is more mountainous and wetter than the southwest and supports a more luxuriant vegetation and a greater diversity of animal life.

April 29, Sunday: Blue Waters Inn and the village of Speyside
Carrying our painting gear and binoculars, Edward will lead a bird watching and landscape painting walk in the hotel’s gardens and surrounding areas. The littoral woodlands and Lowland Rainforest around Blue Waters Bay include a mixture of evergreen trees, semi-deciduous trees, fan palms, woody shrubs, cacti and giant anthuriums. It is home to Orange-winged Parrots, Rufous-tailed Jacamars, Blue-backed Manakins, Scrub Greenlets, Black-faced Grassquits and Blue-crowned Motmots. Here you’ll find beautiful views of Blue Waters Bay, Goat Island and Little Tobago. On a nearby stream we will look for Yellow-crowned Night-Herons and Green Kingfishers.

Our hotel is located along beautiful Blue Waters Bay and has a small fringing coral reef on the north east point. The coral reefs on Tobago have very good snorkeling and after lunch we can swim or snorkel, however, the long shore currents can be dangerous, so be sure to have someone explain the dangers and precautions to you. The resident dive shop has masks and snorkels for rent, but not always in your size, so consider bringing your own mask and snorkel. At 4 PM enjoy a 2 hour workshop on light, shade and value at Blue Waters Inn.

April 30, Monday: Workshop on Composition, Charlottesville and Pirates Bay
After breakfast we will take a taxi to the picturesque coastal village of Charlottesville. The town is situated along the turquoise waters of, Man of War Bay. We will carry swimming gear, painting gear and a pack lunch. Our destination is a somewhat secluded Pirates Bay, which is a spot of beauty worth painting and harbors a small reef for us to snorkel on & enjoy the tropical fish. We’ll return to Blue Waters Inn by 3 PM and hold a 2 hour workshop on value and composition.

May 1, Tuesday: Gilpin Trace and Roxborough Forests
Tobago's Rain Forest is accessed by the Roxborough-Bloody Bay Road. It is at the top of Tobago's Mountain Range. This is usually a wet day. We cannot plan on painting, but will carry our gear just in case. We will walk about one mile down the Gilpin Trace looking for the rainforest birds like the Blue-backed Manakin, White-tailed Sabrewing, Stripe-breasted Spinetail and Great-black Hawk.

May 2, Wednesday: St. Giles island and Little Tobago
After breakfast, we will take a boat out to St. Giles Island, a well-known pelagic bird rookery. Here we will look at large numbers of nesting terns, frigatebirds, tropicbirds and boobies. This is a wonderful experience with dramatic scenery of large waves beating against cliffs. It is usually a rough ride, so be prepared to take motion sickness medication. After lunch we will take a glass-bottomed boat to another island - Little Tobago, where we will spend time on shore as we paint the scenery and look for Red-billed Tropicbirds, Brown Boobies, and Laughing Gulls. The plants are representative of a seasonal, deciduous, littoral forest. On the return, we will drift over a coral reef with many invertebrates famous for their beauty, where you might choose to “drift snorkel” along side the boat.

In the late afternoon fly back to Tobago for overnights again at wonderful Asa Wright Nature Centre.

May 3, Thursday: Workshop on painting landscapes & Asa Wright Nature Centre’s Oilbird Cave
During this three-hour morning workshop, Edward will concentrate on techniques for drawing and painting rocks, trees and clouds. In the afternoon we will walk for 30 minutes along an overgrown estate trail to the Oilbird cave where we will see these unique nocturnal birds on there cave-wall roost. We will use this opportunity to paint a forested river scene at the cave entrance.

May 4, Friday: Wallerfield and Nariva Swamp
This will be our longest excursion. On the way to Nariva swamp we will stop at Wallerfield, an agricultural area, in search of wetland species, such as White-headed Marsh Tyrants, Yellow-hooded Blackbirds, Southern Lapwings and open field specialties -- Red-breasted Blackbird, Green-rumped Parrotlets, and Savannah Hawks.

Our second stop is in the mangrove forest. Unusually large black mangrove trees are found in this area where we will be looking for a few interesting birds, the Pygmy Kingfishers, Silvered Antbird, Black-crested Antshrike, and Green-throated Mango. While along the coast we'll again have a wonderful lunch on the beautiful Manzanilla beach looking out at sea for possible seabirds. We will spend a couple hours at the beach painting.

Finally, we drive into a herbaceous swamp of sedges and grasses. From here we will have our best chance to find several unique birds, including the rare Azure Gallinule, Pinnated Bitterns, and Red-bellied Macaws. The Red-bellied Macaws fly through the swamp at dusk to roost in Royal Palms.

May 5, Saturday: Waterloo and Caroni Swamp
The morning will be free for everyone to explore at the Nature Centre. At 11:00 AM we will have an exhibition of some of the many paintings and sketches created during the trip. After lunch we will drive to Trinidad’s west coast to draw, paint and just look at birds on the shallow muddy shoreline at Waterloo on the Gulf of Paria. This area is the birth place of the Nobel Prize author, Vidia Naipaul. This site is also well known for a Hindu Temple built out in the sea and an 85 foot tall Hindu sculpture of the monkey god, Hanuman.

Caroni Swamp is the feeding ground for wading birds, shorebirds, gulls and terns. Birds we expect to see include the Wilson's Plovers, and Large-billed and Yellow-billed terns, Pied-water Tyrants, Yellow-throated Spinetails, Common Potoo, Red-capped Cardinal, along with other swamp inhabitants like the Cook’s Tree-Boa. Some visitors have also been lucky to see the Two-toed Sloth. Caroni Swamp is home to the brilliant spectacle of the Scarlet ibis. We will view lines and chevrons of Ibis as they fly into the swamp during sunset hours to roost for the night in the mangrove trees. This should prove a wonderful finale to our trip.

May 6, Sunday: Travel day
An early start is required for us to catch the first plane back to the USA. The American Airlines flight leaves Port of Spain at approximately 9:15 AM. Connections from Miami home are readily available. The San Francisco flight arrives at approximately 5 PM.

Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris
20800 Kittredge Road
Saratoga, CA 95070-6322

Telephone: (800) 527-5330
Locally (408) 741-5330
Fax: (408) 741-0358

For questions, comments or reservations,

e-mail us at: info@Cheesemans.com
or use our information form.

Upon receiving your deposit and signed reservation form we will send extensive trip materials, including a travel guide, reading list, species lists, animal behavior notes and maps.

Payments & Cancellations: A second deposit of $500 is due October 1, 2006. The final payment is due on January 15, 2007. Refunds given after the final payment are based on monies returned to Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris by the outfitters. In case of cancellation before the final payment, a non-refundable cancellation fee of $150 can be applied to a future trip if a new reservation is made within six months of the safari departure date.

Travel Insurance: Additional information on travel insurance will be provided at the time you register for this trip. If you have any questions about trip insurance please give us a call.

Not included: Flights, including from Trinidad to Tobago, which we will arrange and include with the final payment. Tips to our driver and resident guides, also to any porters, approximately $100 per person total. Any departure tax if not included on the international flight tickets, bottled beverages, items not on the regular menu, laundry, art supplies and other personal expenses are not included.

Climate: The coast and inland are very tropical in April and May. Bring lightweight hiking boots or walking shoes with good support for trails. An umbrella is a good idea to bring, as rain is certainly possible.

Conservation: We urge you to join conservation organizations that protect natural habitats and to donate to special projects that benefit Trinidad and Tobago directly.

Responsibility: Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris, Saratoga, California, act only as agents and shall not be responsible or become liable for any delay incurred by any person in connection with any means of transportation, nor for the loss, damage or injury to person or property by reason of any event beyond the control of the agency or default of such agency suppliers. The right is reserved to cancel the tour prior to departure, in which case full refund will constitute full settlement to the passenger. No refund will be made for any unused portion of the tour unless arrangements are made at the time of booking. All rates are based on current tariffs and are subject to adjustment in the event of any change therein. Baggage is at the owner’s risk.

Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris is registered as California Seller of Travel #2063050-40. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California. All payments for transportation or travel service not provided to the passenger shall be promptly refunded, in accordance with terms described above, unless the passenger otherwise instructs us, in writing. All client payments are deposited into a trust account in accordance with California law. This business is a participant in the Travel Consumer Restitution Corporation (TCRC). We will always make due refunds in a timely manner, as we have for over twenty years. However, if we didn't, you, the passenger, may request reimbursement from the TCRC within six months of the scheduled end of the tour. Please feel free to ask us for more information.
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