Category Archives: Barbados Attractions

Barbados Attractions

A Visit to Welchman Hall Gully, St Thomas

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Welchman Hall Gully is one of the Barbados’ environmentally protected places. It has been owned by the island’s National Trust since the 1960s. It gets its name from the fact that it was once part of a plantation owned by a Welshman. I enjoyed the peaceful, natural surroundings as we made the trek through the gully. The guided tour lasted approximately one hour. This attraction is fun for the whole family and I asked my 9 year old daughter for her perspective on what makes it fun for kids. Here’s what she said:

Welchman Hall Gully, Barbados flora

I think kids like it because they trek through the gully and it’s quite interesting. They get to learn about different things (such as what plants are good for you and which ones are bad. Plants that you never knew did anything do a completely different job from what you expected) and have fun at the same time.

The cave at the entrance is quite interesting – it’s cool that you can hike in there and see what’s in a cave. It’s kind of rough and uneven and when you’re in there you can see palm trees and sometimes bats and if you go high enough up a slope you can see up to the sky.

Welchman Hall Gully, Barbados - cave

People can also see down into the cave from a little place at the lookout point. The lookout point’s view is very pretty and sometimes you can hear people singing from a nearby church. There’s a long bench where you can sit and rest if you are tired after the hike. You can see lots of hills, the sky and clouds and you can see the sea and houses.

Welchman Hall Gully, Barbados - view from the lookout

When you’re hiking inside the gully, it’s quite pretty because of all the flowers. There are plants there that you can’t see anywhere else and there are signs up everywhere telling you about historical things that happened in the gully or affected the gully. The muki puki tree (the real name is the macaw palm) is covered with spikes and they hurt if you get them in your hand or anywhere. But it’s quite interesting to see how big the spikes can get.

Welchman Hall Gully, Barbados - muki puki tree

In one particular place there was tons of bamboo growing out wide and there was a cocoa tree. In Nutmeg Grove there are tons of nutmegs

and you

are allowed to keep them sometimes.

They showed the back entrance to Harrisons Cave and that was kind of cool if you didn’t know that the two of them were next to each other. There were the remains of lots of huge stalactites and a few stalagmites. One or two joined and made a kind of pillar. The people there are really kind to all the animals including millipedes and the only thing they let you get rid of are African snails.

My favourite part was just walking through the flowers with the cool air blowing at you on the way back. If you haven’t been to Welchman Hall Gully, I think you should go and I give it a 5 star rating.
Five Stars

See more photos of Welchman Hall Gully (taken by my daughter) below:

How to Teach Your Children About Coral Reefs

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As we live on a coral and limestone island, this guest post by Tyler Koenig is timely.
Coral

How to Teach Your Children About Coral Reefs

Introducing the coral reef to our youth is exciting. It is one of the most colorful natural habitats in nature. It’s also simply fun to look at and the science of its creatures is fascinating. The coral reef has literally thousands of different

life forms within its structure, and this single fact makes protecting our coral reef an important part of our lives. Furthermore, this natural habitat must be protected to keep our Eco-system in the proper balance. Also, don’t forget that coral reefs help protect the sand on our beaches, so if you live in a coastal area or vacation on the shore, you might have coral to thank for the natural beauty that surrounds you! Coral is complicated, so simply follow this process when you think your kids are ready for the knowledge.

1. Coral Reef Life
Start by teaching your kids about how coral reef are actually animals. They are small animals that stay exactly in the same spot their whole life. Many species within the coral reef too. Just say that a small animal secretes hard substances to protect itself and forms a hard shell. This is what we call coral. The life forms within the reef make up a very important part of the advanced life forms in our eco-system.

2. Let the Light Shine
Just like any other living organism, they must have light in order to grow. Since, it is an actual living organism; it must have the right amount of the essentials, food, and light to grow big and healthy. Water that is polluted will cause coral to die, so take this chance to teach your kids about pollution. Compare it to the trees in your front yard or flowers on your block. Croal must be treated just as any life form, and they must be protected by all that use the area.

3. Home Safe Home
The top of coral can be a great way to teach your kids about other endangered species too, because the reef provided homes for many different species. The Sea Turtle is an endangered animal that hatches on the beach. As they migrate into the sea, some will reach the reef and find safety within the coral and grass. Many species of fish make a habitat here as well. They can get protection from the waves and storms thanks to the durable nature of the coral. This is great way to broach the topic of eco-systems, and how everything is connected.

4. Suppertime
Coral also provides food to many organisms. For instance, algae naturally holds the coral reef together. It provides a natural food source for many sea creatures too. The coral reef has sea animals as small as shrimp and as large as a shark seeking food around and in the structure. Without coral, our entire food chain could be in trouble. This is a great way to illustrate the importance protecting the reef.

5. Natural Sandy Beaches
Lastly, point out that the reefs provide natural beauty to our coastline, because they absorb some of the impact that the waves create by crashing on the shoreline. What fun could we have if our beaches had no sand? This process simply allows the waves to remove less sand back into the ocean water. We must protect our coral reefs to ensure that our beaches and endangered sea life have a chance to thrive. This can be a great way to bring the whole topic back home if your child doesn’t really understand the importance of it all. Remind them that some of their favorite memories or sights are largely contingent upon the existence and protection of coral reef.

The environment relies upon us to make sure that it remains safe and usable for all creatures. Being pro-active and engaged will help us preserve this and many other life forms. Understanding why they are important is the first step in preservation, so start instilling this knowledge into your children at a young age, so that they can be good global citizens as adults.

Tyler Koenig likes to write about travel, the environment & and save money at the beach by frequenting www.boatinsurance.org

Gymnastics invitational in Barbados

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The Barbados Amateur Gymnastic Association held its first invitational gymnastics competition on 21st April 2012. The event was held not only in the superb surroundings of Concorde’s hanger, but the airplane hadn’t been removed meaning that participants and spectators watched a lively event under the wings of a superstar.

Under the coaching of Alison Jackson,Team Barbados and her Flip Gym teams earned many gold, silver and bronze medals.

Seven other teams from Caribbean countries including Trinidad and Tobago added to the efficiently run competition.

Professional judges operating under USAG rules with quick scoring through electronic systems provided the competitors and audience with up to date information.

Many of the gymnasts were competing at levels 1 through 5 with a handful at levels 6 & 7, with just Barbados’s top gymnast, LaToya Ince, at level 9.

Events were held simultaneously in vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise and pommel horse. The parallel bars and the men’s and women’s artistic events brought both enthusiasm and applause from the audience.

This possible annual event brings Canadian Ms Jackson’s Barbadian 20 year’s gymnastics association to the forefront. With over 250 local gymnasts regularly participating and 40 making the national team squad, the future looks very good.

With an entry fee of just BDS$10 and programmes at only BDS$5, the admission prices ensured a full attendance allowing the spectators to make sufficient noise to show their support for their favourite individual and team performances. Events ran from 9am to almost 10pm providing excellent value for spectators, but hard work for the gymnastics association and volunteers.

Countless individuals provided some excellent athletic performances, which provided entertainment to many spectators at their first gymnastics event. The enthusiasm of the audience to applaud great skills from the gymnasts of all teams and countries was a great show of Barbadian friendliness.

The exciting location at the Barbados Concorde Experience will bring tourists and locals to spend the day looking around Concorde, even when the gymnastics are long gone.

Things to do in Barbados #42 – Visit the Parliament Museum

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Barbados Parliament - Photo by Andy Berry

 

Though the Queen is the official head of state and the island remains part of the Commonwealth, Barbados has a long history of self-government. It boasts the third

oldest Parliament in the Commonwealth, dating back more than 350 years. The history of Parliament mirrors the island’s history and is beautifully explained in a self-guided tour. The tour also includes the National Heroes Gallery.