Tobago botany / Cuffie River

[Pat Cavanagh]

I am going to Tobago in Jan / Feb and am particularly interested in wild plants. Can anyone recommend books or guides? Also, has anyone been to Cuffie River and would you recommend it for a couple of days stay? I will be staying most of the time at Turtle Beach. Incidentally I last went to Tobago a couple of times, about 15 years ago, maybe longer (the Grafton Beach hotel was just being built, and I think they had just started, or were about to start, direct flights - we flew via Trinidad), and stayed at the Cocrico Inn in Plymouth and Blue Waters in the north. We tried to drive round the island but the road came to an abrupt stop just north of Blue Waters. I will be very interested to see what has changed.

[Steve Wooler]

Hello Pat

Welcome aboard!

I shall have to leave it to someone else to recommend good reading map on plants, but you could be in luck on the guide side. William Trim has just returned to the island after completing his Masters degree in the forests of Guyana. He's a native Tobagonian and one of the island's top bird watching guides, but his specialist fields are agro forestry, tropical forestry, dendrology and silvculutre in particular.

You can contact him via [email protected] to discuss the possibilities. Other than that, I would suggest Newton George, ([email protected]) the island's top bird watching expert, but who has just retired after some 30 years as a Forest Ranger. He may best be known for bird watching, but he is totally expert in everything about Tobago's flora and fauna.

You never know, we might bump into each other at the Cuffie River. We're staying there to do a review in late January.

Direct flights to the island started in 1992 and the Grafton was built, I believe, in the mid 80s. You won't be surprised - once you get away from Crown Point remarkably little has changed.

I'm intrigued by your comment that the road to Charlotteville came to a stop just north of Blue Waters. I can only think that there must have been a landslide, or something, blocking the road. I have been travelling that road through to Charlotteville since the late 50s. I still recongines some of the same pot holes. Mind you, if you were trying to get to Charlotteville from the north side of the island, yes, the road came to a complete stop just north of L'Anse Fourmi. They started building a road between L'Anse and Charlotteville back in the early 60s. The basic engineering was finished and a base for the road laid. Then Hurrican Flora came along and caused immense destruction in '63. The road gangs were diverted to more important restoration work and, being Tobago, were not put back on the road until the next century - i.e. two years ago. It is not officially open yet, but you can now get through with just about any vehicle. Never having made the journey, it's on my "must do" list for our next trip.

[Julia C.]

I can't advise on a specific book, but on our way back I had a good look at a little book stall in the departure lounge at the airport. One of the books I looked at was a book about Caribbean plants and their properties. It looked fascinating and I wish I'd bought it.
One of the things that delighted me during our stay was the knowledge, a lot of the people we met, had about the local plants. And I don't just mean Aloe Vera. I found it always worth asking about what was in home-made drinks and in pickles and relishes served with food. Many of these, I was told, also contain medicinal properties. Probably why we felt so well in Tobago! We were also shown other medicinal plants by guides in the rain forest, including one for "ladies" problems.
I think I may add a book on Caribbean plants to my Christmas list so would also be interested in a recommended book.
(oh why didn't I buy that one at the airport! )

And yes Steve, you must do that road.