Revised April 4th, 2000
1.
Snorkel the close in (right at shore...) soft coral reef and depressions at the beach. Just goto the old hotel, enter the water and swim right (south) till the sandy bottom turns into grass then soft and hard corals as well as holes and crannies appear. This area lasts for a couple of hundred yards down the beach. Its not 'heavy' reef but it is interesting and close in. There are dozens of octopus out there in 3 ft of water. Look into holes that are surrounded by lots of clam shells. Try not to stand upwhile in the reef area you may damage some delicate coral or creature! Also keep a lookout for a school of 12 or so almost transparent reef squid (cuttle fish) that hang out there. Many times they're also near the hotel pier. They range in size from 6 to 12 inches. In the small holes in the reef area you should spot small tropical fish and hard and soft corals. You might get lucky and spot a sea-horse in the grassy areas, a lobster hiding in a hole or a stingray floating over the sand.2. Go Scuba Diving in Nichols Town with Philip Rolle 329-2661 or Andros Scuba 329-2515. The wreck of the Lady Moor (85ft), the wreck of the Potomac (20ft), Petrified Forest (50ft), Ali-Baba's Cave (40ft), Caverns and Caves (15ft), and Off-the-Wall (90ft) are favorites of mine. You can also drive farther south and scuba dive with either Small Hope Bay Lodge (SMBH) 368-2014 or the Andros Undersea Adventures at the Light House Marina in Fresh Creek. They are 40-42 miles south of Nichols Town. Friendly dolphin in Fresh Creek are known to ocassionaly cavort with divers and snorkelers! I've snorkled with solitary dolphin right at the SMBH pier.
3. Snorkle 'Hens and Chickens' (alias Coconut Grove, alias the McDonald reef). It’s a great reef right at shore. Simply walk left (north up the beach) until the beach is about to end and the 'Bluff' hill start. Its quite nice. If you're lucky you'll see a large one-eyed barracuda, perhaps some sting rays, eagle rays, nurse sharks or maybe even a black tip shark if you're real lucky (but I doubt you'll see any sharks...)
4. Line up the old hotel pier poles and swim straight (maybe use paddle board or kayak) out about 120 yards until you hit a small reef. Note that the water is only about 12 ft deep up to about 1 mile out...
5. Use the paddle board or kayak to get out to the farther reef (300 yards), or even the final barrier reef (400+ yards). Again note that the water is only about 12 ft deep up to about 1 mile out... Keep looking for barracudas - they're beautiful fish which you won't want to miss. They're quite safe to be around though I don't recommend wearing bright flashy jewelry near them as they might mistake it for something edible.
6. Hire Phillip Rolle (329-2661) to take you out in his boat to the main reef for snorkeling. The wreck of of the Potomac in Conch Sound is an interesting area to snorkel as well. The kayak of course is also a good way of getting to the reef. We usually drag It with us for diving. If there are more than 2 persons, try inflating our small raft and towing up to 2 people in the raft behind the kayak. The raft is also a good place to stow diving gear.
7. Snorkle the ocean blue hole in Conch Sound. Its a couple of miles down the road - you can bike there easily. Its in waist high water about 40 ft off shore from a picnic area. The hole is about 25 ft deep and is an entrance to a horizontal underwater cave stretching some 2 miles. The hole is teeming with life. Divers have explored the cave to a distance of over a mile!
8. Visit the Evans Cave inland Blue hole. Its just few minutes walk from our house and is a fascinating cave and blue hole - about 300 yards inland but still ocean water. Ask Birgie to find some child to take you there after school. Wear strong shoes rather than sandals and dress grubby as there is some light climbing. Note that someone may charge $1 to $3 each to take you there (its a tradition...).
9. Walk the beach and rough shoreline at Conch Sound at low tide. Its good shelling. Be sure to wear beach shoes!
10. Walk the beach at Pleasant harbor (call Diane Knoll from list for directions). Money Point/Cay out there is a great shelling place. Dolphin also feed in the shallow water there a couple of times a day. Its about 5 miles by bike or hire Phillip to take you there. There should be water bottles for the bikes in the freezer or shelves (we fill them with water and freeze for bike trips). You might want to take a lunch.
11. Wade into the shallows near Money Cay (call Diane Knolls - she lives there), and try bone fishing in the shallows. Be sure to bring your fishing rod.
12. Hire a bone-fishing guide for a day of bone fishing. They're an exciting sport fish that travel in schools swimming on the 'flats' in very shallow water (1-4 ft). Andros is the bone fishing capital of the world, with visitors from all over. Bring your fly rod, only beginners (like myself) use spinners or weighted bait. Try either Phillip Rolle (329-2661), Prescott Smith (phone:368-6050), Standford Johnson (329-2107) or Arthur Russel. Phillip lives just a few houses away ask someone for directions. Prescott has a wonderful fishing lodge 25 miles south at Stafford Creek but does much of his bone fishing north of Nichols Town. Costs range from $220 - $400 per day for up to 2 fishermen depending on your guide.
13. Hire Phillip (242) 329-2661 to take you out to the Cays (islands) on the flats and search for shells. You'll see lots of stingrays, small young sharks, barracuda, and more - in just inches of water. You're likely to see small spinner dolphin as well. If a spouse bone-fishes, let them fish while you search the Cays for shells. Make them promise to pick you up!
14. Visit Charlie's Inland Blue Hole. Its well marked on the way from the Airport. It probably 5 miles from the house. You may want to find someone (Phillip) to take you there. Its an inland pond that is again a cave to the ocean - some miles away. There may still be a rope to swing over it and jump. You have to climb up a rocky face some 8 ft from the water... Scuba Divers have explored this and other blue hole caves for an incredible distance - some never made it back...
15. Rent a car or have someone drive you to Red Bays (about 30 miles). They make absolutely wonderful baskets there. They only got electricity there in 1989. They're descendants of Seminole Indians and escaped slaves from from Florida who weren't discovered living on the back side of Andros until something like 1930. YOU CAN’T LEAVE THE ISLAND WITHOUT BUYING A RED-BAYS BASKET! You can rent cars from Bill Pratt 329-2081 or Patrick Robinson 329-2515.Note that you can also buy the baskets at a shop by Grizzly's restaurant and bar just outside of Nichols Town. The owner is from Red Bays.
16. Tour down the island (by car), stopping at Stafford Creek, the ForFar International Student Field Studies Station, the Stafford Creek Fishing Lodge (across the street and up stream from ForFar), Stanierd Creek, Small Hope Bay Lodge, and Fresh Creek. Visit the Androsia Batik fabric factory and store in Fresh Creek - the batik process is interesting. Eat lunch or dinner at Point of View (wonderful food!) or Hanks in Fresh Creek. If you want to use a credit card for your meal, eat at the Point of View or the Lighthouse Marina on the south side of Fresh Creek. You can rent cars from Bill Pratt 329-2081 or Patrick Robinson 329-2515.
17. Go out to Pleasant Harbor, or down Stafford or Fresh Creek and wait for the dolphin to swim by. I’ve seen them on their daily feeding at Pleasant Harbor out by Money Cay, and know they also swim up both Stafford Creek and Fresh Creek daily. Sorry, I don’t know their schedule.
18. Try fishing for Tarpon off the bridge across Stafford Creek (25 miles south) by the ForFar Field Station. I've been told its best to wait for slack tide. Please practice catch and release.
19. Hire Phillip (329-2661) to take you out ocean fishing.
20. Hire Standford Johnson (329-2107) to take you to see the flamingo on the backside of the island. It will take a full day and cost somewhere around $300 (fuel is $2.80/gallon) but few people have seen them and even fewer outside Standford know how to find them!
21. Hire Birgie Jones (329-2310) to cook a meal. Try her conch fritters and cracked conch as well as grouper fingers, peas (beans) and rice. If you like spicy stuff, ask her make conch salad. Its raw conch diced with tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, onions, spices, and marinated in lime or sour orange juice.
22. Save ALL your chicken bones and food scraps for the dogs! They're our buddies. P.S. Don’t let them in the house. And yes, some nights they bark endlessly.
23. Wade out to the old pier (or walk to the one downtown) at night and lay on your back watching the stars at night. Or just lay on the lounge chairs at the house and watch them.
24. Sweep the house and clean counters. If any food is around the ants will quickly enter the house! Sand in the house quickly enters your bed and makes for uncomfortable sleeping as well as greatly increasing the wear and tear on furniture, linens and even floors! Again, we suggest using the outdoor shower to keep sand outside. Keeping the hose with nozzle or a tub of water and a towel outside the front door for cleaning sandy feet before entering the house helps much. The battle with the sand is a constant one and you'll find yourself sweeping the house several times a day which is why its on this 'to do' list.
25. Buy some artwork from neighbors Phillip or Betsy (329-261) (live just down the street). Other local artists: Eddie Missick (ask how to contact), Arthur Russel carves the mohogany boats you see (ask for him). There are some other wood carvers around who do great work - Henry Wallace from Red Bays was featured at a Smithsonian exhibit a couple of years ago. Try asking Sue and Barry Nolin (see phone list) about carvers.
26. If you have no children with you...walk to the left up the beach (north) and get naked in the ocean...or on the beach. I'll make no further suggestions about what to do once you're naked. If its after dark keep in mind the (harmless?) nurse sharks cruise the shoreline after dusk looking for crabs to eat.
The end.