Now I don’t want to be pinickety but I am going to be. Roaring river is hardly roaring. And that’s even after a few months of rain. I’d say it’s gushing laudably. The fast-paced flow spins through small bridges and mangroves, along fields and eventually down into the small colourfully-wooden-housed-village below. There was a deep green-blue hue to the water when I visited and this cooling sight along with the occasional spray were a refreshing treat as we walked up the hot forrest steps towards the caves. It was hard to resist the temptation to throw myself back down into the beckoning stream – especially as a few people were already sploshing around in the current. Nature lovers get ready – this is an idilic setting.

A garlic leaf. Identical in aroma to clove garlic:

OK, so the river didn’t roar – but the caves are definitely cavenous. Our friendly guide had spent the past decade or so taking people deep into the mouth of these rocks and he was well versed in explaining how boiling volcanic lava had met with the icy water to produce such intricate and windy passageways into the earth below. Our luck was in as on the day we arrived an almost omnipotent ray of sun streaked through the opening of the caves and onto the cave floor. I’ll say no more and let you see for yourselves:

I don’t know what it is about caves that bring out people’s imaginations, but in each of the caves I have been in I have always baffled to learn that “this 4000 year old stalactite in India looks like Ghandi” or that “These ancient granite formations in Nottingham resemble Robin Hood” and so on and so forth. It’s as if the natural beauty of geology and ‘the science bit’ that explains the uncanny creation of rocks and air pockets under the ground, from molten liquid at a temperature of 1000 degrees centigrade, isn’t enough. So I wasn’t surprised to see Bob Marley and The Lion of Judah appear like a mirage on almost every wall. Let me share the excitement with you:

I even started to get good at the apparition thing myself – and proudly pointed out this mangrove.

After a good half an hour under the earth I was kind-of missing the beating rays of the sun and the tropical heat above. On our way back we rushed up and down and even had to crouch limbo style (well, it is a national dance of Jamaica after all!) to get back through the passages we had blindly followed our guide along…and as we surfaced once more into the light we were welcomed with this rather apt shrine to the sun from the caged exit:

Enquiries and directions, call:(+1) 876-979-7987 OR 876-979-7988 for more information.
Please take note: There are lots of tour touts at the entrance. Make sure you get an official guide from the office.

The journey there:

Make sure you get your tickets & tour guide from the official complex…or bargain extremely hard! The official grounds look like this:

oh my oh my oh my oh my oh…. ok i won’t bore you with more words. instead i will show you what i am talking about…. courtesy of (us at go-jamaica.com) and YouTube, I bring you Kool Running’s, Negril, Westmorlands, Jamaica, The Carrabean. Ahem – listen up…Get involved:

It’s a quarter to midnight right now and we left Kool Runnings at 3pm (it opens at 11, we were the for four hours – and didn’t see more than 2/3rds of it). Why am I writing you a mathematical style travel blog? Because I need to tell you that my adrenaline is running again after just watching these videos – 8 hours after I slid. Here’s another video just for fun:

Superfast rocket – ‘Not for the weak hearted’

As the lady who showed us around the complex said “you’d never guess that this place has these kind of attractions by looking at it from the outside” (more on that later, dear, lovely, soon hopefully to be inundated marketing person). From an English perspective and the joys of Rickmansworth waterslides, when you first set eyes on the washed-out (they have hurricanes here in Jamaica don’t you know) colours of the tubes at Kool Runnings, you might be forgiven for thinking that this is just another water tube experience. But oh no! I think it’s time for another video and a few pictures:

Underwater Journalism…

Holograms are displayed in the tubes. “We come in peace. And swimsuits…”

‘Green Grotto’ Hologram Ride Video

Did I mention the food? Jamaican Jerk (of course. Ps. it was tasty with a capital T) Eskevitch (of course, Ps. it was finger licking good!) Cheeseburger (this is an international tourist resort after all, so, of course. Ps. they even do ‘take-out’ for the journey home), fresh fruit smoothies (yum schlurp yum), and smiley smiley no problem staff…. but did I mention that all of this water and laughing and scrummyness is also helping to save the local marine life?

I have been to a few of Jamaica’s best tourist attractions so far and, despite my adrenalin, the most outstanding thing about this place seems to me that it is supporting the local tourist market… most of their visitors are domestic tourists including many local Jamaican schools (many have their end of year excursions here) and, again, as our friendly guide around Kool Running’s informed us – this is great for local kids and foreign tourist children alike… everyone gets to meet each other when they are at Kool Runnings, it’s a real mix of Jamaica and the rest of the world – all be it most of the time thrown upside down or inside out!

Let’s have another photograph or two to show you what I mean….

Kool Runnings opened in February and is currently working on making sure that local Jamaican communities on the island benefit from their success. So – for those of you interested in the Jamaican bobsled team called ‘Kool Runnings’ you should soon be able to visit these picturesque houses below and discover inside artifacts from this (unlikely) world famous Olympic and hollywood (even more unlikely) bobsled team. They will also be making space for local arty exhibitions from the Negril community.

And if water’s not your thing…don’t worry – there’s also go-karting (did I mention that we only saw and took pictures of 2/3rds of this place) and an old-fashioned carousel. There’s also a number of restaurants and a cricket-themed bar on a breezy varanda, for those that like a drink rather than swimming it. A drink or two that is (It’s tellingly called ‘not-out bar’).

Young or Old, Rain or Shine – Kool Runnings should not be missed if you are in the area. Sorry, but underwater video is not strictly allowed by guests at Kool Runnings. For this privilege you should apply for a job at The Gleaner Company Click here…

Opening Hours: Tuesday- Sunday, 11am – 7 pm.
Price: Kids US$14 – Adults US$28 (for group savings & special offers click here)
Official website: http://www.koolrunnings.com
How to get there: Kool Runnings Water Park is located on Norman Manley Boulevard in Negril, Jamaica. Just across the street from Beaches Sandy Bay Resort.

Click here for directions and map…

Text, photographs and videos by Oliver Wright

Now, I am allergic to horses. It might have something to do with having been kicked-across a field by a stallion at the age of four. And subsequently breaking my right arm. Or perhaps it has something to do with falling off an old nag, only to have it temporarily paralyze my left arm by standing on my funny bone when it stood up (NOT funny, I assure you). Or maybe it’s from the 14 hour trek on a wooden saddle through the mounds of Mongolia with only salted yak butter tea to drink. Which paralyzed my butt and my gut. BUT – these horses were so adorable that I forgave them for making me sneeze and itchy-scratchy and got up close to bring you their friendly faces:

After horsing around with the camera and gee-gees I sped off in an All Terrain Vehicle (see link to blog entry on the right of this page) Jermaine however, pictured below with video camera in hand, took up the challenge and went horse-riding for the first time (I spared him my off-putting tales, instead saving them for you, lucky reader!)

After he cantered up the rocky and muddy hills and galloped along the grass the horses lept refreshingly through the sea up to their waste in water. With all riders still on their backs. Jermaine will be posting video footage some-time soon. It’s crazy crazy, so make sure you keep checking back at this site to catch it. Or better still – come to Chukka yourself. I’m sure it won’t be the first and last time that Jermaine does this trek. And it looks good enough that I think one day I might just put my sneezing behind me and go too…

Price: Around $US 75
In case you were wondering: Suitable for all ages and riding skills
Visit the Chukka website to make an advanced booking: www.chukkacaribbean.com
Or call their hotline: Mobay/Negril area Tel: (876) 953-5619 Ocho Rios area Tel: (876) 972-2506

Text by Oliver Wright. Photography by Oliver Wright. Horseriding by Jermaine Evans.

As you can see, the light flooding through the jungle, above the flooding river, is an atmospheric delight. It’s so delightful that every mosquito in Jamaica seems to have taken up root there… and it feels like they’ve been at the ‘root juice’ too (click here for blog post on ‘root juice’). Not to worry – a good mozzy repellent should do the trick and at Chukka Blue the guides were at the ready with spray if you forgot yours.

This has probably been the best of Chukka’s tours, if not the best tourist attraction, that I have experienced in Jamaica. Continuous wooping breaks the tranquil rustle of the trees and every Honeymooning American can be heard to exclaim AWESOME!!! as they fly up down through past into out-of above and below the rivers and trees. I would have to agree with them.

Safety rope smiles

Sailing through the air!

Welcome aboard the flying machine…

For more information and pricing, visit Chukka’s official website by clicking this link, RIGHT HERE FOR OCHO RIOS. Or RIGHT HERE FOR MOBAY/NEGRIL.

Text and photography and video by Oliver Wright

http://www.chukkacaribbean.com/MontegoBay/canopy.php