Birds . Animals . Plants

Activities

Horse riding with Castro the vacqueiro		Returning from the Rupununi River		Visitors on the Nature Trail

Nature tours will allow the visitor intimate contact with the diverse ecosystems around Rock View, learn more about the delicate balance between the communities and the natural resources and see the plant and animal life through the eyes of the people who have depended on their natural resources for the past centuries.

Community conservation sites - Sponsored by Iwokrama, and managed by the villagers themselves. Examples of this are the Paurine tree conservation project by the village of Rupertee, the Cock of the Rock lekking site by the community of Wowetta and the rainforest camp and nature trail at Aranaputa.

Reference books can be taken into the field for a better understanding of the biological diversity and our guides will do their best to explain the significance of the resources to their daily lives.

“Really impressed by what you are doing here and sure Rock View is an emerging success story – from canoeing through the rainforest, plodding over the savannah, hiking the hills and rum by candlelight, it’s been a fun couple of days. Hope to see you again.”
- Fred Burton (Cayman Isles)

Birding Rock View has become a favourite location for bird watchers from North America and Europe. Exciting bird lists have been prepared for the villages of Annai and Surama as well as for the Iwokrama rainforest. Visitors can see for themselves how the distribution of birds varies from savannahs to mountain, river and rainforest. Enthusiasts will be able to have the thrill of being able to add to these lists for future bird watchers.

Horse riding, hiking and cycling Rock View makes an ideal base for cycling or hiking across the savannahs and villages around. Ride out with our vacqueiros and take the cattle out to the savannah for a day’s grazing.

Boating Outings to see the Victoria Regia lilies on ox-bow lakes, sports fishing and pic-nics on the sand banks.

“Wonderful to see the anteater feast on termites. Lovely birds. Very comfortable rooms.”Lucy Spelman (National Zoo, Smithsonian Institute)

Photography and painting - The peace and creative tranquility of the Rupununi, where time is never against you, is ideally suited to photography and painting. The sitting room of the old ranch house has a wide collection of arts and craft from the region and other cultures, books on sculpture, painting and photography, reference documents on the ecology of the region, journals and novels.                   

Water colour painting in the village – Shirley Felts with some of her paintings

“Excellent hosts, beautiful accommodation, amazing views, wonderful light. I’m in love with the Rupununi and I have to come back soon.” Ute Pfudez (Photojournalist, Germany)

 “An art gallery in the savannah.”
Richard Teeuw (University of Hertford, England)
     

Recommendations and advice …  To make your visit a more memorable one, extended stays and more adventurous trips on the Rupununi River, to the Pakaraima Mountains, to Brazil and further afield can be arranged at reasonable additional charges. We can also arrange visits to other exciting locations such as the ranches at Karanumbu and Dadanawa, the village of Surama and the International Iwokrama Rainforest Programme and the Canopy Walkway.

Packing advice… We recommend that you travel light, packing cotton clothing, sun tan or protective lotions, sun glasses, straw hats, insect repellent, comfortable footwear, small backpack and bathing suits as well as cameras with plenty of film. You should, if you wish, take a course of anti-malaria drugs before coming, but this is not essential as Rock View is outside the Anopheles malaria mosquito belt.

The climate … The Rupununi has two rainy periods each year, the main rainy season which occurs between May and August and a shorter season commonly known as the cashew rains which falls around the Christmas and New Year season. On average the annual rain fall is around 1,800 mm. or about 70 inches with a monthly peak during the months of June and July when one can expect anything up to about 400 mm. in one month. The rains make it more difficult to drive around off the high roads and are also responsible for more insects such as mosquitoes and sand flies. However the biting kabaura flies are not present at Rock View as this insect is almost exclusive to the river banks of the white water rivers such as the Rupununi. The mosquitoes of the savannahs are not of the malaria carrying Anopheles type. The temperature will vary from 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit) at night to 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit) during the heat of the afternoon with a relative humidity of between 42 per cent saturation in the afternoons of the dry season to about 80 per cent saturation in the mornings of the rainy season.

Note

Transportation of boat to landing charged separately
Consumption of fuel and lubricants for outboard motor charged separately