Eight years after its conception, Arrowpoint Nature Resort was officially launched last Thursday as a "Back to Nature" getaway with an eye on the adventure mountain biking market in the heart of the Santa/Aratack Amerindian Reservation.
"You don't come here to lie in a hammock," explained Arrowpoint and Roraima Airways chief, Gerry Gouveia, at the opening ceremony on the Pokerero Creek, West Bank Demerara. "You lie in the hammock in the afternoons after having a hectic day of activity.
"It's a fun resort and we encourage people to discover nature while having a lot of fun and adventure," he said. "We also operate with the concept that the community must benefit and be involved.
"It is built totally by Amerindians from this area using materials mostly obtained from the surrounding areas," he remarked.
Arrowpoint has been a commercial entity since 1999, serving prior to that as an escape for Gouveia's family and friends, and has attracted visitors from around the world.
Roraima Airways and Arrowpoint Chief, Gerry Gouveia, welcomes Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manzoor Nadir, and Director of Tourism, Tessa Fraser, at the official launching of the Arrowpoint Nature Resort in the heart of the Santa/Aratack Reservation on Thursday.
The resort is located seven miles west of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri and derives its name from the many arrow trees that grow in the area. These trees were the raw material used by Amerindians to make arrows for hunting.
According to Gouveia, Arrowpoint caters for groups of up to 30 persons overnighting with two outdoor cabins and two rooms in the main lodge. Electrical power is provided at night and there are also solar powered hot showers.
There is a clean beach, which flows down to the creek while the facility itself backs onto the rainforest. The staff are friendly and helpful but do not interfere and the food is particularly impressive.
Access to the resort is via an interesting 45-minute boat ride from Timehri docks through the winding Kamuni Creek.
The resort prides itself on the 'Back to Nature' concept, offering a range of activities in the eco-adventure mould largely based in a complex set of safe, well-marked trails behind the resort.
"We have a range of activities including mountain biking, surf biking, wave-runner rides, nature walking and canoeing," Gouveia stated and singled out the mountain biking niche as the main area of current marketing focus.
"Mountain biking is a nature-based sporting activity and has been a very popular sport in Peru and Ecuador with a lot of Canadian groups going [to those countries]," he said.
"We are now targeting those groups to come to Guyana to use the maze of jungle trails behind this resort," he continued.
He revealed that a more adventurous tour from Paramakatoi to Orinduik via Kato was in the pipeline for those bikers left wanting more.
At night at Arrowpoint a beach bonfire and barbecue has proved a visitor favourite along with the "Creatures of the Night" tour, where the tourist ventures out into the wild with just a torchlight and a guide of course. "To cover that adventure though we take safety as a very serious form of our management procedures," Gouveia stated, outlining strict safety practices including an extensive communications network.
The environment is also kept safe at Arrowpoint. "Eco-adventure tourism dictates that the environment remains the same and the culture of the communities remains intact," he said. "We have been embracing these things.
"At Arrowpoint we pay close attention to the environment," he continued. "Garbage is separated into three separate containers - plastics, [glass] bottle and cans and then general wastes which is burnt in our incinerator and then buried.
"All liquid waste passes through a degreaser and a soakway before going back to the environment," he remarked. "And visitors are asked not to interfere with our flora and fauna."
On the hot topic of giving back benefits to the local communities, Captain Clive Patterson of the Santa/Aratack council explained: "Arrowpoint and the community have developed a close relationship during the years.
"Employment has been created, trading has been implemented and educational opportunities have derived," he said.
More specifically, Arrowpoint and Roraima Airways adopted the school at Santa Mission and take the local children on tours across the country, including visits to Kaieteur Falls and Omai Gold Mines. There are also incentive programmes in place to encourage better performance in school and an educational movie night once a month for the local youth.
Delivering the feature address at the ceremony, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manzoor Nadir, applauded the efforts to involve the local communities.
"Tourism will take off if many persons start making money out of it," he said. "We want to ensure community involvement, communities have to benefit and need to start grasping the opportunities with tourism in their areas.
"We have a lot to do for tourism. We have a lot to do to make it big," he said. "I don't want to talk about El Dorado I want to talk about the hard work that we have to do to realise that potential."