Oh what fun we had. I last kayaked at a PGL adventure course back in the UK, back in 1984. Digital camera’s didn’t exist. And of course the internet didn’t exist either. But it would seem that this childhood course had still prepared prepared me perfectly well for this assignment – and luckily i discovered that kayaking is just like riding a bike. You never forget the basics. Like rule 101 – capsizing!! Ahem:

Maybe we were lucky with our choice of guides, but it was a great pleasure to spend the afternoon with the Chukka crew once again. This might be their ‘job’, their 9-5, the daily-grind, the kayaking equivalent of a ‘rat-race’, but I think they enjoyed the trip down the river even more than we did. Deftly maneuvering their kayaks to pull and push the paddling public from drifting into the surrounding mangrove, or being sucked along the wrong rapid, these guys were always ready at the same time with a smile for the camera:

Plus they always had an encouraging woop to give us all confidence as we splashed and bashed our way down the river and the half a dozen gentle yet fun foamy ‘white water rapids’. The trip takes a couple of hours all-in, so you really get immersed in the local water flora fauna…and ceiling of the forrest. You see – halfway down the river you park your kayak for a while and head for the tree-tops. Sunlight splashes through the wet dense overgrowth of mangrove and bamboo as you climb into your canopy harness and ready yourself for the next part of the adventure – flying through the trees at a height of 50 plus feet! See below (but don’t look down when flying!)

Then it’s back, your body buzzing, into the kayaks. To top-it-all-off there’s, an optional, second stop along this safari – in the form of a highly strung rope dangling above the river banks. You grab it. They pull you back. Way back. And then you are hurled forwards through the air, over the river bank, you let go, your stomach goes WOH-AH! for a second – and then SPLASH! into the cool cool water and gentle current below.

Back at the ranch, jerk chicken, rice and peas was awaiting. So we paddled-back to tuck-in, on the way meeting a local fisherman who had just pulled his lunch from the same water we were kayaking in. I think you can see why the staff are always smiling.

Please note: I would say that prior experience of kayaking is not mandatory – there are many gentle meanders – but you should be confident in water. In fact, I found the water so luring that I capsized again and again (Disclaimer: Don’t try this at home. Or at Chukka. OK?)

Duration: 2hrs plus
Price: Around $100 US – contact for group bookings and tour discounts
Telephone for bookings: (876) 953-5619
Official Chukka Website: http://www.chukkacaribbean.com/MontegoBay/kayak.php
Bring: Swim wear, shorts, aqua shoes or strapped on sandals. Sun block, bug repellant, towels, money (souvenirs and snacks for sale on site)

Waterproof camera? Check. Life-jacket? Check. Sunglasses (for looking like Miami Vice)? Check. Safety procedure. Check? Ignition key? Check. Snorkle mask, flippers and breathing tube? WHAT?! Yes, yet again, Chukka puts the icing on the cake and adds under-water excavation to what would already be a fun-and-fuel-packed half day out. Our safari team zooped and swashplooshed (soon to be in the dictionary, or on Wikipedia if nothing else) up and down it’s own white-watery-wake, burning past tropical forrest and then way out towards the horizon.

My waterproof camera (these are great – get one by clicking here) is still a little fuzzy from the aftermath of the watery foam from the swashploosh – so please forgive the slightly blurry photo-report below while you enjoy the sights and smiles – and the Miami Vice style showing-off!

After whizzing along the coast and getting the hang of the speedboats, you are taken way out to sea for the snorkling. There is a multitude of fish, shell fish and marine vegetables to be viewed during the underwater tour but unfortunately we had to miss this part of the adventure – so we could squeeze in some all terrain vehicling and horsing around! I’d love to go back to do the whole sea safari one day – and I hope to see y’all there. On a practical note, you should aim to do a maximum of two of Chukka’s tours in one day – and make it a long one so you can enjoy their Jerk burger, chicken and pork feasts for lunch and supper.

For full information on each of the Chukka Tours please visit their official website by clicking here
All local hotels, as well as Sandals, have a Chukka rep – so rest assured you won’t be able to miss-out.
Contact info:
Phone: (876) 953-5619
Fax: (876) 953-5740
Email: montegobay@chukkacaribbean.com

Make sure you come back to www.go-jamaica.com/roundjamaica to catch Jermaine’s amazing video reviews!

Text and Photography 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.

‘All terrain’ doesn’t just describe the type of four wheel drive quad bikes and ‘moon-buggies’ that this trip has on offer. A 2-3 hour adventure takes you and up to a dozen friends through the mud flats, field and jungle and way up into the hills, to terrain 2000 feet above sea level (other than the blue-mountains, this is pretty high for the island). Proving spectacular views down to the coast, you see it and ride it all. On the afternoon that we went a farmer was making a huge fire in the fields – and smoke billowed and blew, forming a blue-grey belt around the horizon of jungle.

The quad bikes are pretty easy to drive and have a suitably forgiving suspension as you bounce across rocks and down surprisingly steep hillocks. They are fast too – reaching speeds of around 60km per hour – so for petrol heads and adrenaline junkies alike, this is a trip that you will like. This wasn’t the first time that I heard the words “man, just wait until we tell the people that chose to go ‘horse riding’ instead!!! (Having said that – horse riding was to come, and like most things at Chukka, is full of surpassing surprises).

Visit the official Chukka Jamaica website, where you can also make advance bookings: Click here

Chukka resorts are all over the Carribean (Belize, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands). Checkout their global website

Oh, and in case you were wondering…you won’t ever go hungry at Chukka…

Text and photography by Oliver Wright