BAHAMAS: ANDROS ISLAND

By Charles Stirling

I had a trip to the Bahamas with my partner Jenny in May 2007 which included 3 islands, Grand Bahama, Andros and New Providence/Nassau. I'm writing each island up separately as each offered a different life style and somewhat different diving opportunities. So check out the 3 reports as I get them done for a more complete view.

Andros is the largest of the 700 or so islands of this English speaking Commonwealth country but it has a small population, estimated 8,000 total, and relatively few tourists. It's also, surprisingly, not fully explored. This lack of exploration may be down to the complexities of shallow waterways dividing the land area making full exploration a boat plus land vehicle exercise. In North Andros we did manage to visit some of the towns and villages along with countryside along the eastern seaboard and of course went diving. The western side, which we only saw a glimpse of, is mainly shallow sand flats and mangroves, stunning but remote. A car is essential to do any exploring, we were lucky and had a tour with Benjamin Pratt the Manager of the Andros Tourist Office and keen conservation promoter, but car rental is possible in the larger towns costing USD70 to USD90 per day. The north has 65 miles of uninterrupted tarmac road. Hitching did seem possible, but it would be possible to be stranded with no passing cars. This Northern, the Middle and Southern sections of Andros are not connected by road, we only managed the Northern part; to get between these it's a flight in and out of Nassau. Thus one caution, take the plane (or ferry) to the right part of the island, you want Andros Town Airport, (or Fresh Creek), North Andros! Even Bahamians get this wrong.

Andros and Small Hope Bay Lodge

We flew in from Nassau as part of a rather hectic two week trip taking in 3 islands. Three islands was the difficult bit, our first stop was to be Grand Bahama and flights ended up via Miami. After nearly a week diving with UNEXSO on Grand Bahama, a separate report, it was a flight to Nassau with a wait in the airport then another flight of 15 minutes duration to Andros Town Airport. This is a suitably small airport not to have or need much in the way of visitor facilities but with taxis waiting for the arriving flight. Small Hope Bay Lodge is only a few miles down the road from the airport (or Fresh Creek) on a small isolated bay. On arriving our bags were dropped off by staff in the comfortable wooden cottage which would be home for 3 nights as we were offered drinks.

Laid back and relaxing always sounds inviting but I seldom seem to manage actually experiencing it, Small Hope Bay Lodge not only offered it but achieved it. Well OK, they achieved their part of the deal and then some, we still had the little stress point of a non-working laptop computer which isn't good if you've gone digital with photography but they helped by giving access to their office computers late into the night. So a big * for this location.

For divers Andros boasts the worlds 3rd longest barrier reef and probably the best known blue holes in the world. Some of the blue holes are classics of diving history both in terms of exploration expeditions and in filming with at least 178 on land, another 50 or more in the sea. Of course it has many of the other diving characteristics / opportunities of the Bahamas which would also appeal to nearly any diver.



Small Hope runs on an all inclusive yet informal basis and this included not only all the meals but the well stocked bar and the diving if taking the divers package. That first drink turned out not just to be a "welcome" drink but an introduction to how the bar was help yourself; then it was time for sitting on comfy chairs and sofas for a chat and stories in the large common room. One of the tales which came out was how a few past visitors ended up with rather major hangovers and missed dives, they were British. The diving is organised by chalking up on a board the dive(s) you want to do during your stay. The dive staff then constantly juggle these wants to satisfy most and produce an interesting schedule. To help with choosing dives they had books of all the sites, some of which would cost extra as they might include chartering a plane to a remote area or involve some other more specialist trip / equipment. The normal dive package includes 3 boat dives a day either on a daily or weekly rate, non-divers can have a, well, non-diving package. Their informal atmosphere included flexibility so any special requests seemed like they would be considered, they really were friendly and willing to consider people as individuals not just part of a horde.

The accommodation is in beach front cottages with a total of 21 rooms available. These are generally duplex units and stretch along the bay front under palm trees with hammocks scattered among the trees. Comfortable but no pretence of being luxury. This isn't meant as a derogatory comment, but complimentary, as the whole resort, the staff the location, the atmosphere is one of a home away from home where you can join in when you want and be independent when you want. No it isn't a sterile 5 star facility. They do, evidently, cater for weddings and such events but still with an informal atmosphere, we didn't sample this nor their child friendly nanny facilities.

I've mentioned that drinks were included in the inclusive package, the range was wide with of course a few types of beers and wines but also maybe 30-40 spirits, soft drinks, fruit juices and for me the all important unlimited coffee always in the pot. Breakfasts had a good choice, lunch was varied with choices and evenings normally had a few choices of meats, fish, salads, vegetables finished off with some delicious sweets. In the evening some of this was BBQ'ed and eating was generally outside in a patio due to fine weather. In other words food was good, it would be easy to put on weight here.

The Diving

Small Hope must be one of the Classic dive centres not just of the Bahamas but in world terms. It's been run by the Birch family since inception in 1960 when Blue Hole exploration and deep diving was in its infancy. Now Jeff Birch runs it with a mix of local dive and lodge staff along with more dive staff who join the team from around the world. They have dive sites ranging from the shallow local sandy beach used for training, to scenic coral sites in a variety of depths, wall dives that can be at the tops of real vertical walls going to 3000 m, a few wrecks, caves for any length you want and both oceanic and fresh water blue holes.

My impression was that dives really fell into one of two main groups, those for standard recreational diving visitors and the more serious technical diver. A bit of a middle ground seemed possible on special request as dives could be arranged that introduce the use of twin sets or mixed gasses, or, by prior arrangement rebreathers, but for my short visit, I was only able to do more standard dives and I guess this will be the case for most. These more common ones still had the full complement of choices.

The typical day was out on the boat about 9:30 for a deeper dive, maybe on the top of a wall, followed by a shallow coral scenic one in the morning. Back to base and lunch then off for a 3rd dive which might be medium depth with enough time after for some relaxation before more eating.

One of the popular afternoon dives is the shark feed. This is done some distance from most of the other sites. The divers are arranged in a semicircle on a large sandy patch at a depth of 16 m and when everyone was settled a chum ball of frozen fish was lowered, strung between a permanent ring on the seabed and a surface float. Caribbean reef sharks and a good accompaniment of fish turned up to take chunks out of the food ball as it thawed over about 20 minutes. The activity was swift, the sharks close, flashing by to the right, nipping past on the left darting overhead, passes in all directions keeping the divers alert, it was a fun experience a dive not to miss. After the food was consumed the shark visitors slowly wandered off back to the adjacent reefs leaving divers to look for lost sharks teeth in the sand. Small Hope set their feed dive up in this fashion so the sharks see it as a tiny bit of extra food without associating it with being fed by divers who just happen to be in the area. It works, going out among the local corals the sharks ignored me, keeping a respectful distance, to my annoyance. Yes, you can see sharks, generally off at a bit of a distance, on regular dives in the Bahamas but not always. A shark feed dive is well worth it, I would say a must.

The blue holes are classic dives, but not all blue holes are created equal. We did one of the exceptional marine ones known as the Great Blue Hole or as King Kong's Cavern. Many blue hole dives done at the recreational level will be relatively simple but nice holes in the ground while this is both large and more interesting as it has a lot of structures to swim in or through due to a collapsed wall on one side under an overhang. Again I would rate it as a must do.

Wrecks

Wrecks aren't as plentiful here as some other Bahamian islands, but the Marion, a construction barge with crane, went down accidentally trying to lift too heavy a load in 1988 and was a good dive with the wreck in good condition. It is located in a safe sandy area at 21 m with enough to explore even without being in the world league of great wrecks, a simple fun dive.

Coral

Coral is going to be on nearly every dive here. Some of the scenic sites had good coral for as far as one could explore, many were mixed coral patches with sand again with generally good coral health, gullies, small coral gardens, there was a lot of diversity in types of site. The wall dives we did tended to have smaller patches of coral on sandy steeply sloping sections maybe with gullies before dropping off into the blue. The real vertical sections of walls tended to start relatively deep, 40+ m, so we ended up more on the slopes. I think there are others that really are vertical if using twin set tanks but not as spectacular as Cat Island in shallower dives.

One of the scenic dives well worth doing was the night dive. All the kit was organised on the boat while still at the dock and in light. All the lights went off so we would become dark adapted, we headed out to sea then over the barrier reef in inky blackness. With bright flashes of bioluminescence under the boat when near the reef it was looking exciting. Once on site a bucket of torches was put on the bottom of the mooring for orientation and we went in torches off till near the bottom. This location had a central patch of sand surrounded on all sides by coral reef reaching up about 4 to 5 m. The edges of coral, the little gullies were our first destination. The water was alive in parts with krill which were attracted to our beams of light and when this was next to a coral head the coral polyps would fire off their nematocysts catching the krill. The krill literally explode in the process.

Parrot fish were found napping, angelfish just quiet, brittle stars were roaming, shrimp savaging, and with torches off the displays of bioluminescence were stunning. This was Jenny's first night dive, other trips had said night dives were done but they never materialized, here it happened and she was enthralled. Very worth doing.

Small Hope isn't BSAC trained, they do tend to have diving as a led group but for some of the dives this would be appropriate till the site was known. They did allow some reasonable freedom for buddy pairs. The diving was handled in a safe fashion.



Our time

We had 5 days on Andros, but couldn't afford all of this at Small Hope Bay Lodge so decamped for two nights at the lower priced Andros Lighthouse Yacht Club & Marina in the main town of Fresh Creek. This also gave us time and a location for the land visiting. Some of the others diving from Small Hope were also doing this, also for cost savings. It does cut down on the possible socialising (or child care if you wanted that) at Small Hope but didn't cut it out completely. Worth considering, particularly if not interested in the drinks and social side of Small Hope Lodge.

Fresh Creek is the the big town locally and it's not big! Located about 2.5 miles from the Andros Town Airport and midway from the airport to Small Hope Bay. It is spread out so walking it will take a while but there is at least one popular bar, a few restaurants, the ferry comes in here and the batik factory which supplies fabrics and clothing for many islands is here. A taxi to the airport is USD10; USD15 from Small Hope. Nicholls Town is the North Andros administrative centre, Morgan's Bluff the most northerly town, San Andros a second airport and near Uncle Charlie's Blue Hole which Jacques Cousteau explored.

According to the literature besides the diving Andros offers excellent fishing, bird watching, eco-tours, ruins to explore, great beaches, inland blue holes, and simply relaxation in the sun, most of which we were only able to glimpse not fully explore. It is not a haven for great wild night life or intensive shopping expeditions. If you want a real get away, relaxation and some good diving I think it is a great location to consider.

Seasons: All year, but high is American winter and slightly more expensive, we went the beginning of low season, early May. June to November is the hurricane season, but if they occur its most likely between July and October, if they aren't it can be very calm. It can rain at any time, but usually clears quickly.

Virgin Atlantic to Miami then American Airlines to the Bahamas was the least expensive flight option when we went. British Airways does fly directly to Nassau but were more expensive.

Getting to Andros, remember you want Andros Town Airport (or Fresh Creek):
One-hour direct flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fifteen minute flight from Nassau
Two and a half hour ferry from Nassau, but only 3 times a week

OK, I can eat in less than the best restaurants and did find a shack type food bar where a hot dog was USD1. Americans often seem to complain the Bahamas are expensive, from the British perspective it was all a bit less than home and Andros is a little less than the more populous Bahamaian islands.

Bahamas Tourist Office The UK Bahamas Tourist Office gives good general information.

Small Hope Bay
All inclusive prices for accommodation, daily USD229 high, USD209 low
daily dive package as part of this would add USD80.
Weekly all inclusive dive package USD2,083 high, USD1,943

Andros Lighthouse Yacht Club & Marina
Room rates (not per person) from USD115 per night. Has a bar and restaurant.

Photographs by Charles Stirling

Return to BAHAMAS