Diving the Backside of the Blue Hole!

Check out this incredible, and one-of-a-kind dive . . .

See more about diving Blue Holes here

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The Most Geological Diversity in Diving . . . and all within a 20 minute boat ride!

People always ask me where my favorite diving locations are. That's a tough question because there are so many factors involved - water visibility, water temperature, fish and sea life, the quality of the dive operation and dive staff, and the location itself (the local people, landscape, and food).

But to me Small Hope Bay Lodge has it all. There are 3 main reasons why I think this is my favorite diving location in the world:

1.  The most Geological Diversity within a 20 minute boat ride. This means we have the opportunity to dive sheer walls that start at about 70 ft and drop down 6000 ft in to the Tongue of the Ocean. We have wrecks, two of which (a barge, and a small airplane) were sunk specifically for Small Hope as dive sites. We have many coral gardens, at shallow, mid-level, and deeper sites. We have great caverns with little pocket rooms and swim throughs. And we have blue holes (both ocean and inland) for some of the coolest dives you will ever do in your life! And all of these sites (totaling somewhere between 60 and 100!!!) are within 20 minutes from our dock.
2. We are the only people diving this reef! This is the third largest barrier reef in the world. And there is no one else around. It is a rare day indeed when you spot another boat on the water and even more unusual to see other divers. This means we have the reef and dive sites all to ourselves. I have been on many dives in other locations when in the middle of a beautiful dive a swarm of 20+ divers descends on the reef, starts kicking up sand, etc. I have been on night dives in other countries where we had to wear a certain color glow stick on our tank to differentiate our group from the many others that were there too. Not here! Just our divers and no one else!
3. The best dive staff EVER. They are safe. They are professional. They are FUN! There is no minimum number of divers for us to go diving. If we only have one person who wants to dive - we're going diving. We also have the highest ratio of staff to guests in the water that I have ever seen. As a dive professional myself, this is key. 

 In addition to the above reasons, Small Hope also has gorgeous weather year-round. 21 cabins right on the beach. The kitchen staff prepares incredible food. The staff and Andros locals are some of the friendliest in the world. The water temperature and visibility are awesome! All these things make it a no brainer. I wanna dive at Small Hope Bay Lodge!

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The Incredible Blue Holes of Andros Island . . .

Rainbow Blue Hole

Andros Island, Bahamas is know for many things - great scuba diving, world-class bonefishing, tons of bird species, etc. One of the things we are also known for are the many blue holes we have here! We have both inland and ocean blue holes, and we have hundreds of them. Some are good for diving, including cave diving, some are great for swimming, and many are so tough to get to we'll probably never know very much about them.

Diving the Ocean Blue Hole

At Small Hope we offer many opportunities to see and experience the blue holes of Andros. We have our very popular dive at the Ocean Blue Hole, a.k.a. King Kong's Blue Hole. We offer several specialty dives to inland blue holes to do some cave diving, such as Stargate, or the Guardian. And we also offer our more terrestrial guests tours and trips to inland blue holes like Rainbow, Cousteau's and Captain Bill's Blue Hole.

So many ways to see these incredible geological creations . . . What's your favorite blue hole?
 

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The Wonderful Nature and Birding Tours at Small Hope!

Nature? - check! Birding? - check! Island history? - check! We have tours for everyone here at Small Hope! Our extensive list of tours offered include (but are not limited tot) the following:

• Our most popular Blue Hole Tour - a half day tour that visits Rainbow Blue Hole, Maidenhair Coppice, Cousteau's Blue Hole, and Captain Bill's Blue Hole; 
• West Side Story - an full day trip by boat to the West Side of Andros Island. Great for nature and bird lovers alike!
• Kayak Tour of Davis Creek - a half day tour exploring the mangrove and creek right in our backyard. The tour ends with some snorkeling at the mouth of the creek.
• Birding Tour - Half or whole day guided tour to various spots nearby where our guides have spotted many varieties of birds.

 And speaking of birding guides . . . Our very own Dennis Burrows has completed his Bahamas National Trust/Audubon Bird Guide Training and is now an Audubon certified Bird Guide! Congratulations Dennis!!!!! We have known for some time of his great nature guide skill. We are proud of him on his certification!!!
Come and go on a tour with him to see for yourself!

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Some of our favorite photos from this summer . . .

We have a had a beautiful and hurricane-free summer at Small Hope. We are getting ready for our annual re-opening next week and the staff can't wait for the guests to come back. Here are just a few of our favorite photos from this summer . . . 

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Christmas at Small Hope Bay Lodge

Small Hope Bay Lodge is now preparing for our New Year's Eve party and celebrating going in to our 53rd year!!! Can you believe it? 53 years is an incredible feat and we plan on commemorating it with a great party.

We just wrapped up a fantastic Christmas, filled with old and new friends and family. We got to enjoy some exceptionally sunny and warm days and spent the time diving Over the Wall AND a Shark Dive. Other guests took a field trip to Captain Bill's Blue Hole, played some beach football and relaxed on some of our coziest beach hammocks. What could be better than that?

Here is little video of how we spent our Christmas . . . 

And our wonderful Shark Dive . . . 

This will be our last blog of 2012. We send all of you our warmest wishes for the new year. Love from all of us at Small Hope and enjoy your New Year celebration!


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Friends from Scotland

We were luckly enough to have a visit from Nick, Tory, John and Lizzie from Scotland this summer and here are a few words from them about there stay here at Small Hope....

We originally came to Small Hope Bay Lodge only to snorkel, because Nick had seen the resort in 1000 Places to see before you die!

To begin with we were not sure if the children would enjoy it, but as it turned out we have all had a wonderful time.

The adults in particular liked the snorkeling, the food and the company. Lizzie (12) loved snorkeling, diving, Captain Bills Blue Hole and Rex Small Hope’s dog.

John (16) thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to learn to dive and the company in the evenings.

Nick, John, Lizzie & Tory Scotland UK Pin It Now!

Captain Bills In-Land Blue Hole Clean Up

Group Picture of helpers on the day

Mel

                                                 

                                                 Joe

Aidan

                               

                                          Silt and Algae where all the trash was hiding

On Saturday 25 September the dive masters of Small Hope Bay Lodge helped clean up Captain Bills In-Land Blue. We found The following is what we collected:
Plastic bottles: 21
Glass bottles: 742
Aluminum cans: 458
Shoes: 4
Pull tabs : 5
Toys; 2
Shut gun shells; 1
Bait containers: 1
Buoys/ floats: 1
Ropes : 3
55 Gallon drum; 1
Lighters; 2
Chair: 1
A big thank you to Gabrielle from  Ancat  Andros Conservancy and Trust for organising it all. All so a big thank you to Andros Island Divers, Greenforce, Forfar and Bahamas National Trust for their help.

55 Gallon Drum 

Pulling up the trash

Sorting the trash

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Warm Wishes from the Snow Family

The Snow family came to Small Hope Bay Lodge looking to spend quality time together as a family. Isabelle, age 11 and her Dad, Ben, took the discovery scuba diving course and enjoyed diving some of our 40 foot dives! Oliver, age 9, and Mom, Alison, enjoyed snorkeling around the dock and on the beaches of Small Hope.
The Family also took a trip to the inland blue hole where they enjoyed an entire afternoon jumping off the dock and swimming in the giant fresh water blue hole. It took a little encouragement to get Isabelle to jump off, but after her first jump, anyone 20 miles around could hear her yell "That was Awesome!". Isabelle set the new Small Hope record for most jumps off the Blue Hole dock, when jumping 46 cannonballs in a row!
Watch a video of the Snow's and other guests time at the Blue Hole here.
Before leaving, Isabelle and Oliver made thank you cards about the fun they had here at Small Hope Bay Lodge.
“Dear Small Hope Staff,
Thank you for being the best resort staff that I’ve ever had. In a few days you guys made me and my family feel like family. You taught me how to dive, to never-ever do a belly flop again and the song “Buttercup Baby”. It was fun to learn your personalities. From acting to diving, to jumping off a platform into deep water really well.
When I grow up I want to work in Small Hope as a summer job. Thank you for giving me the stay of my life.
From Isabelle, August 7- 12th 2009”
“To all staff,
Thank you for a wounderful stay it was very fun.
From Oliver” Pin It Now!

One of a kind dive!

This morning SHBL’s divers left the dock early at 8AM to visit the Backside of the Ocean Blue Hole. The reason for the early morning was due to the changing of the tides in order to see the ancient underwater riverbed, the mixing zone, and the “Spider Webs”.
Due to the change of tides, divers witness an underwater riverbed and a mixing zone while diving the Backside of the Blue Hole. During outgoing tide, fresh water from the interior of Andros Island migrates to the Blue Hole through connection cracks and fissures as a result of the tidal lag or the freshwater hydraulic gradient, causing denser saltwater, forming two layers. During our rainy season the denser saltwater is cooler than the above salt water by as much as 5 degrees Celsius. This allows divers to visually see 2 levels of water and what appears to be an underwater river!
The third phenomenon is “Spider Webs” or what they have also been affectionately referred to as “Whale snot”. During low tide, the decaying vegetation, which was deposited in the Blue Hole thousands of years ago, breaks down into hydrogen sulfide which is eaten by small marine life. The digestion of the hydrogen sulfide creates spider-like webs of organic material which can range in size from a few inches long to well over 20ft. in length.
This is by far one of the most unique dives Small Hope has to offer,and is the only dive like this in the Bahamas! Many divers this morning commented, “They never experienced any dive like this before”. Follow this link to watch a video on the Backside of the Blue Hole and for more information on our Blue Holes and other dives offered at Small Hope click here. Pin It Now!

A Day At The Ol' Swimmin' Blue Hole At Small Hope Bay, Andros Island, Bahamas

Well, the weather is fine, the sun is warm and you're in need of a good cooling off. At Small Hope Bay Lodge you could just step out of your cabin and walk onto the beach. Or...how about an old fashion trip to the "ol' swimming hole?" On Andros Island, we head out to Captain Bill's Blue Hole, smack dab in the middle of the Central Andros National Forest. Taking full advantage of the new cabana and boardwalk and dappled shade of the big Andros Pine Trees, we plunge into the pleasantly warm, fresh water of the blue hole.

Ahh, yes...the ol' swimmin' hole!
































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