Thursday, January 28, 2010

Birding and Nature Walking on Andros Island


Torrey and Lee joined us at Small Hope Bay Lodge from St. Louis, Missouri. Avid birders, they have been all over the world in pursuit of as many species of bird as possible. With over 100 species of bird present on Andros, Torrey and Lee had plenty of opportunities to add species to their list. They took eco tours to the north side of the island, participated in nature walks and spent the rest of their days relaxing around the lodge, spotting birds from the comfort of their lounge chairs!

All in all, they spotted over 35 species of birds, including 9 species they had never seen before! Pin It Now!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Family Relaxation on Andros Island


When Rob and Donna brought their daughters, Braelyn and Ryan, down to Small Hope Bay Lodge, they had one thing on their minds -- total relaxation. Rob did some diving and Donna did some biking (like to the Androsia batik factory) but Braelyn, who just graduated college, and Ryan, a college student, applied themselves fully to doing absolutely nothing! They relaxed on the beach, soaked up some sun and played with Small Hope pooches.

Remember, hammocking is an extreme sport at Small Hope Bay Lodge! Pin It Now!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Nature Walking Through Andros


Small Hope Bay Lodge is good for more than just great diving, snorkeling and bonefishing. We are surrounded by pristine mangroves, coppice land and Andros pine forests. Other Bahamians call the 2300 square mile island the "Big Yard because of the abundance uninhabited land, which makes nature walking and eco tourism an easy thing to do!

Ian and Ann from Nassau, along with their Canadian friends, Eric and Maureen, came to Small Hope to do some nature tourism exploring of this out island. Ian and Ann had never been to the island, even though we are only 27 miles away from Nassau! They thoroughly enjoyed their explorations, heading north to Red Bays to watch the basket weaving and sponging activities. The four friends took long walk in the mangroves and embarked on the Bush Medicine trail that led to the Rainbow Blue Hole.

All four sat with Divemaster Amanda after lunch and talked about their experiences at Small Hope Bay Lodge.

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Monday, January 18, 2010

Learn To Dive On the Andros Barrier Reef

Frank and Benedict escaped the rigors of a wedding for a couple of days of relaxation at Small Hope Bay Lodge. Listen to them talk about their time here, enjoying the food, people and activities! Both tried the Discover Scuba Diving course and Frank went to the reef to see the fish from below the water. Benedict was content to stay on top, viewing the Andros Barrier Reef while snorkeling!

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Thursday, January 14, 2010

Father And Son Diving

Stuart and Michael Boreen came to Small Hope Bay Lodge for one reason -- diving! The father and son duo were not disappointed since we showed them all of the diversity that the Andros Barrier Reef had to offer -- wall dives, cavern dives, coral garden dives, wreck dives.

Michael decided to take things a step further and complete the requirements necessary for the PADI Master Scuba Diver rating. He needed Rescue Diver and another specialty certification to achieve this. Michael worked hard over the time that he was here and by the end of it, had earned his Rescue Diver and Multilevel Diver certifications!

Here is what the duo had to say about Small Hope Bay Lodge.

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Sunday, January 10, 2010

Bonefishing, Diving and Fun at Small Hope Bay Lodge


Ryan and Angela Dunne, along with their friend Christian, joined us here at Small Hope Bay Lodge for a week of bonefishing, bonding and a whole lot of fun. Ryan, Angela and Chris were here for the New Year's Eve festivities and they made friends with people from all over the world!

Ryan swears that this was just supposed to be a relaxing vacation but he, the avid fisherman, just "happened" to schedule his vacation at one of the best places in the world to bonefish and Ryan and Chris made sure to book a guide and head out to the flats in search of the gray ghost. They returned with happy fly rods, having landed a few fish each.

Ryan and Angela took advantage of our beginning diving course, the Discover Scuba Diving resort course. They both went out to the open water under the supervision of instructors and got to experience the Andros Barrier Reef from 40 ft. At Brad's Mountain, both of them had close encounters with our resident reef sharks.

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Friday, January 8, 2010

New Year's Eve 2009

The last evening of 2009 brought with it lots of fun, high spirits and a beautiful full moon shining over our Bahamian seas. Follow Divemaster Amanda through the night as the guests drank, feasted, made hats and celebrated the dawn of a new decade at Small Hope Bay Lodge.

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Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Family Fishing and Diving Fun


Over the Christmas holiday, we were joined by Ted, Beth, Teddy and Ross (who were referred by long time guests, Josh and Lauri!) The Oparowskis celebrated the holiday with us by making ornaments, indulging in the Christmas feast and working up an appetite for this all by diving, deep sea fishing, snorkeling,kayaking and biking all over the island.

On their deep sea fishing adventure, the boys each managed to catch a fish but Dad Ted swears that the biggest one got away! The whole family got wet with our recreational diving program, including Ross, who learned how to dive on this trip. Both Teddy and Ross took home souvenirs -- shark teeth that they found on our shark observation dive.

Here is a video of the Oparowskis reflecting on their time at Small Hope Bay Lodge.


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