We booked a bungalow - the one on the beach with two rooms. It was fabulous. In the morning (making sure I wore swimming shorts) i just opened the patio windows and woke up by swimming in the Caribbean!
The place where we situated was stunning - and I could chill out just by looking at the view. Possibly the most spectacular setting for a stay I have come across. Goat Island lies just in front of Little Tobago and is the place where Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond 007 novels, used to own a house.
Sophie & Margaret loved the bird feeders or more strictly what was attracted to them - around the whole place it seemed sugar solution stations were put out for the fast Hummingbirds that just zoomed around!
For me - looking to dive every day the jetty was important because it was off here I got Kern to check me out for proficiency and thereafter got the boat out to do the dives.
Tobago's position in the extreme lower, southeastern corner of the Caribbean, below the semi-curved island chain of the Lesser Antilles, is responsible for its profusion of marine life. This rich and diverse marine environment is sustained by currents such as the North Equatorial Current, originating off South America and bringing nutrient rich waters from the Orinoco.
Along with its larger sister island, Trinidad, to the south, Tobago is part of the South American continental shelf, 70 miles off the eastern coast of Venezuela. The island sits in the pathway of the North Equatorial Current (the prelude to the Gulf Stream, which begins in the lower Caribbean) from the open Atlantic and the Guyana Current, which follows the contours of South America's eastern coast. The latter current brings with it some of the nutrient rich waters of the Orinoco River. As these bodies of waters collide and intermingle, they generate a rich ecosystem for the vigorous sponge, coral and fish communities. Currents are common here, ranging anywhere from a leisurely one-quarter knot to swifter two to three knots. This has a profound effect on some of its sponge colonies; Giant Barrel Sponges in particular are sculpted into bizarre, convoluted shapes. On the south of the island near Speyside, four large volcanic spires surround Goat and Little Tobago Islands.
Identified by their shorter rock formations protruding above the water, Sleeper, Bookends, Special and Shark Bank drop steeply at 60-degree angles to 110-145 feet before reaching a sandy plain at the bottom. When large swells roll in from the open sea, the tops are awash with sea foam and aerated water. Depending on the intensity of the surge, divers can often find several large Tarpon hanging below the white cloud formed by the aerated water or midway down the pinnacles slope. In addition to the four pinnacles surrounding both Goat and Little Tobago Island, the entire region facing the small Batteaux Bay community of Speyside, marks the heart of Tobago's finest dive sites. Decorating the contours of these two little islands, which drop at steep angles to as great as 140 feet, are flourishing Octocorals of every kind, such as Searods, Sea Plumes and Deep Water Sea fans. Their dark chocolate hues are intermixed with Tube Sponges in yellow, orange and purple. Like serpents sprouting from Medusa's head, long winding Rope Sponges in deep red, purple, green and lavender are in sharp contrast to the numerous bright Orange Elephant Ear Sponges.
21st October 2001 - The first dive site was 'Coral Gardens' (or Kelliston Drain - not as good a name!) - a reef dive with an abundance of soft corals with a gentle drift - going down to about 25 metres, with visibility of about 20 metres. Saw
o Brain coral, probably the World’s largest!
o Nurse Shark
o Grey Angelfish
o Blue Angelfish
o Stingray
o Trunkfish
o Filefish
o Barracuda
The second dive site was 'Black Jack Hole' in the Southwest corner of Little Tobago. It seemed to be a wall of a reef going down reasonably gently but with a strange current / drift
I went down to 31 metres and found the visibility again - maybe 20 metres.
o Black Jacks (!)
o Creole Wrasse
o Chromis
o Green moray eel
o A turtle
A good drift dive from a boat, but the area seemed quite exposed - the surface was choppy.
Next day 22nd - we dived the 'Japanese Gardens', North of Goat Island - which was a reef dive from a boat into 15 metres or so ... with a poorish visibility - say about 10 metres. We started this dive just off Goat Island and move over a reef covered with the most wonderful colours of Coral and Sponges. Halfway through the dive there is a rock passage to swim through and then the nature of the coral changes to rolling hills with Tube Sponges sticking through Green Coral.
Saw
o Fusiliers
o Morays
o Pork fish
o Butterfly fish
o Squirrelfish
o Angelfish
o Trunkfish
o Hawkfish
o Turtles
For our second dive that day (4th overall) we did 'Spiny Bay'. Just off a headland this shallow reef, which is also known as 'Spiny Colony', created awkward dive conditions - with strong wind and some rain we suffered surges and currents. Visibility seemed poor (was this the Orinoco effect?). Once we started down we saw some great corals, Tarpon, Barracuda and small sponges, Hydroids and Tunicates. The sandy seabed at 12m was dotted with coral heads and a good variety of sea life, including Peacock Flounders, Spotted Drums and Goatfish.
Third day - 23rd October - we dived 'Book Ends' which is South of Little Tobago. The dive began in open water, rough at times (intermediate diver difficulty) but turned into another reef / drift / down to 24 metres but we had OK visibility at 30 metres. The current was really strong. The ‘Book Ends’ are two granite rocks that break the surface of the water. Dive starts at a bowl-shape reef with gently sloping sides. Saw
o Barracuda
o Tarpon
o Angelfish
o Shrimps
o Grunts
o Cowfish
o Goatfish
o Scorpion fish!!!
For our next dive - the second of 23rd but the 6th overall we did the 'Cathedral'. A gentle stony coral laden reef dive down to about 14 metres. The visibility wasn't brilliant - about 25m. The fairly consistent mild currents seemed to flow North. I saw Creole Wrasse, Black Durgeon (see picture below), some Angelfish and a Tiger Grouper.
Apparently - well sometimes the northernmost end of this reef is dived as another site called Flying Manta. It all depends on where you enter the water and where the currents take you. I (I was told) should be beware of an area to the northwest of Little Tobago known as the "Washing Machine." The swirling currents create a whirlpool effect making it a dangerous dive.
24th October 2001 - We dived 'Angel Reef' - down to about 15 metres - with visibility about 30m. There was a large amounts of coral, and I saw lots of Parrotfish, Surgeonfish and Coral Wrasse amongst others. This is among the most beautiful reefs to be found in Tobago.
The second dive on 24th was the 8th overall and we did 'TDE's Special'. Down to about 20 metres with reasonable visibility (30 m) we dived this as a six-some - two Canadians and three English people led by Kern. This short knife-edge ridge of coral-covered volcanic rock rises from the depths and barely breaks the surface south of Little Tobago.
Sea surges create an area of breaking white water around this lonely group of rocks. The conditions mean that the rock has little sponge or coral growth, but are covered in Tunicates, Hydroids and Bryozoans and Lobsters, Shrimp, Anemones and Hermit and Arrow crabs. The name of the site comes from the large shoals of fish, such as Big-eye Snapper, not normally seen in schools. Other regular visitors include Blue Head Wrasses, Green Morays and African Pompanos.
The next day - 25th October - was to be my last diving day before flying home. We did 'Picker' off Little Tobago. Because of the rough surface conditions, this site is reserved for intermediate to advanced divers apparently and, even with this restriction, is visited only when weather conditions permit. I saw Nurse Shark, Barracuda, Black Jacks (again!) King Crab and - even - a Leather-backed Turtle again!
The dive is along a slope with a rocky bottom and plenty of hard coral & it is said that even on a bad day there is an abundance of fish. Visibility was poor only about 10 metres.
The second dive of the day was 'Flying Manta' - very similar to the Cathedral site since it starts where Cathedral ends. It features much of the same marine life.
Then - excitement - everyone agreed to do a night dive. My first! We met again at about 11:15 and got ready. For the dive site 'Coral Gardens' was chosen. It's a reef dive but with drift and goes down to 25 metres with visibility of around 5 metres I would have said. The drift at this site was OK but my torch was poor. Borrowed a better one. The entrance scared me a bit so I used a lot of air. Once I calmed done it was really like flying – that is doing a night-time drift dive. There was an abundance of soft coral and I saw
o Angelfish
o Barracuda
o Leather-back Turtle (male!)
o Squid and Cuttlefish
o Moray Eels - out prowling too!
o Octopus
o Nurse shark
o Trunk-fish
o Crabs
o Angelfish
But no Mantas!
Footnote: Atlantic Manta Rays (Manta birostris) are rare throughout the rest of the Caribbean and The Bahamas but Tobago has a reputation for face-to-face meetings with them. I never saw one! They are even called Tobago Taxis! However, even during their peak season, between late April and September, an encounter is still a matter of chance.
