Hard-adventure tourism…
The recent tragedy at the Kaieteur Falls and the difficulty encountered in recovering the remains of the young woman involved has prompted us to revive the following article so as to give one a sense of what the search party was up against in their bid to get to where the body was lodged and extricate it, without further incidence.

The expedition team at the bottom of the Kaieteur gorge

DOING SOMETHING very unusual in observance of Tourism Awareness Month is what President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association (THAG), Mr. Gerry Gouveia had in mind.

So, two Fridays ago, he led a 12-member team on a five-day expedition to the bottom of the Kaieteur gorge, a place where it is believed very few coastlanders or even hinterland people had ever gone before. Former President, Mrs. Janet Jagan and a team had made an overland trip to the gigantic waterfalls in 1947, and also went to the bottom of the gorge.

Goveia, dubbing the expedition a tremendous success, said getting to the bottom of the gorge should be seen as breaking new ground for hard-adventure tourism in Guyana.

The expedition, organized by Roraima Airways in collaboration with Rainforest Tours (RFT), also aimed at pioneering the route for others to follow.

Some team members went to Mahdia by aircraft, while others travelled by bus from Georgetown for the expedition that officially began on Saturday morning from the Tukeit Waterfalls.

Arriving on Friday morning at Pamela’s Landing, after some 45 minutes travelling by bus from Mahdia, the team was ferried about 35 miles up the Potaro river, crossing the Amatuk and the Waratuk waterfalls. They camped by the Tukeit waterfalls that night and the expedition officially began from that point early the next day.

From The Bottom, Now On Top: Team members are, from left:Captain Gerry Gouveia; Ms. Joan Sardhina; Mr. Frank Singh; Mr. Paul Singh; Mr. Troy Lachmann; Mr. Mohendra Somer; Mr. Marcel Hazel; Mr. Jaime Hall and Mr. Shawn Devonish

Getting to the bottom of the Kaieteur Gorge was not easy: It took people who were brave and courageous.

But at the end of it all, bathing in sprays from the thunderous gigantic waterfall is an experience that the team members would cherish forever.

Director of Tourism and Commercial Services, Roraima Airways, Ms. Joan Sardhinha, the lone female on the team; RFT Managing Director, Mr. Frank Singh and two of his field support staff; Air Services Limited pilot, Mr. Paul Singh; Aviation Technician, Mr. Troy Lachmann; Jeweller, Mr. Marcel Hazel; Technician, Mr. Mahendra Somar; Guyana Television Broadcasting Company (GTV) Camera Editor, Mr. Shawn Devonish; and this Chronicle Reporter who survived to tell the tale were the hardcore adventurers.

It was hard to draw comparisons between Sarindha’s performance and the men: she did every bit of what we had done, and in some instances, was more courageous than many of us.

German national here on vacation, Mr. Deflef Steinwig, good-naturedly tagged himself a “soft egg.”

He decided not to go to the bottom of the gorge after being advised by the RFT Managing Director that getting there would be much tougher than trekking to the top of the Kaieteur.

However, we were happy to learn that after he arrived there, Steinwig was enthusiastic about seeing us make our way into the gorge, and spent considerable time waiting to capture the event on film.

Captain Gerry Gouveia aided by rope, crosses the Potaro in the Kaieteur gorge.

Oh My God!
Steinwig, who joined the team from Amatuk Falls, in the Potaro River, appeared to like adventure very well and said that he had intended to stick with us throughout the expedition. He was fascinated during the journey along the winding Potaro, while crossing the Falls and through the dense rainforest.

On Saturday morning, as the team was about to take off from Tukeit for the expedition, Steinwig seemed anxious after being briefed about what to expect, but not knowing how he would cope.

When Mr. Gouveia provided Steinwig with a satellite phone to call his wife back home in Germany, he was more than motivated after speaking to her briefly.

“Hallo Dorothea wir sind in herzen Guyana’s und starten nun nach Tukeit Waterfalls… (Hello Dorothea, we are in the heart of Guyana and now trying to climb the Tukeit Waterfalls)”

After the telephone conversation with his wife, Steinwig said to us: “I’m ready for anything now.” But that courage did not endure. Frequently gasping for a breath to take him up the mountain, he repeatedly muttered: “Oh My God!” Coincidentally, that was the name of the mountain we were climbing.

He later conceded, telling us that in Germany, people like him are usually described as ‘soft eggs’ for backing off from such a challenge.

Mission Impossible

As the expedition began to gain momentum, team members were excited about seeing ourselves on film, adopting the roles of actors on a mission ahead that seemed extremely difficult, challenging, and to some extent, impossible.

Navigating a slippery slope on the way to the foot of Kaieteur Falls

But that was not to be. Devondish, attempting to film the team crossing the Johnson Bridge linking Tukeit and the OH MY GOD! mountains, slipped off a rock, and his camera tumbled into a pool of water.That was a major disappointment for Devondish and the team.

“I think that was a great loss to me. I don’t think if I had a second opportunity to film an expedition like this, I would film the way I would have done it the first time. It would not have the same impact. I had visualised my shots, knowing that a documentary could be produced from it,” Devonish lamented.

After trekking about one-third of the distance up OH MY GOD!, Steinwig departed for the Kaieteur Guest House, and we began descending on the southern side of the mountain in search of the Potaro riverbank that would lead to the gorge.

Getting down the mountain was no easy task; the terrain was rough, and we soon discovered that our feet had become less important.

In many instances, we used our bottoms — to slide where feet failed to take us — and our hands — clutching vines and the tree roots, which we depended on a lot — to guide our movements and retain control.

There were no established trekking trails. We made our way down to the riverbank, paved with huge boulders, by hopping alongside a ravine that eventually led to the Potaro River.

We arrived there around noon, after trekking for more than five hours, and pitched our tents opposite the ‘OLD-MAN’S-BEARD’ waterfalls. There we set up our base camp and spent the second night.

As the new day dawned, we got out of our tents and looked further upriver between the gorge, anticipating the rough journey ahead. Trekking along the riverbank at some points was impossible; we had to divert many times to the very steep mountain- face.

The terrain was harsh, but what kept us going was the beauty of nature. The sights were spectacular. We could only imagine how much more breathtaking they would become as we headed further.

Someone on the team asked in awe: “Are we exploring a new route to Heaven? Or are we in the midst of a site where a major catastrophe once occurred, leaving a thundering stream in its wake that would never wash away the fragments?”

Wha wrong wid me?
Wha wrong wid me? Is wha I doing here? Me head good?
These were remarks made by Somar as we all sat on a huge rock on the right bank of the river, just about 500 feet away from the drop of the gigantic Kaieteur.

We reached there after a rugged six-hour journey through caves, over rocks, slinging from one elevation to another on rope, and sometimes crossing water waist-high.

Getting closer to the Falls from that huge rock was well nigh impossible. The only way was to swim across that part of the jet-black Potaro, which was more than 300 feet wide. And that was the reason why Somar was questioning his sanity. He and Devonish were the only persons on the team who could not swim.

At this point, leadership had to be exercised. All efforts and resources were consolidated Hard-adventure Tourism then began to border on Survival Tourism. One of the RFT field staff swam across the river to test the current. It was not very strong, he discovered.

Everyone tied together their hammock ropes, which the field- staff carried across the river and tied to another rock.

We all swam across the river, using the rope as a support mechanism. Somar and Devonish were given life jackets. They held on to the ropes and pulled themselves across the river. They were also guided by other team members, who swam alongside them.

Our travel packs, food ration, along with other camping gear were ferried across the river on ‘Rubber Ducky’, an inflatable lifebuoy Paul Singh had brought with him.

Earlier, team members had teased Singh about his ‘Rubber Ducky’, which we all thought was more suited to a day of fun at a resort.

But we had to be thankful for its meaningful use in the end.

Walking on the edge of life

We laid our belongings on the sloping, rocky riverbank and went scouting for a route to the foot of the Falls. It was like walking on the edge of life.

We sprang like cheetahs from boulder-to-boulder; sometimes we crawled like insects up the rocks. That was done to avoid slipping into the crevasses beneath.

At about 4:00pm, we found ourselves on a huge rock at the bottom of the gorge. We were about 100 feet away, and were showered with the spray from the waterfalls. We could not go any further. That was very risky, because the gorge was very misty, and the sunlight had all but disappeared. Night stepped in, and there was no suitable ground to put together a camp along the rocky sloping river’s edge.

We spread the tent above the rocks, and everyone fitted themselves between the rocks and rested for the night.

On Monday morning, after taking pictures of the scenic beauty of the Kaieteur Falls and its surroundings, we departed at about 11:00h and made our way back to base-camp, opposite ‘Old-Man’s-Beard’. We rested there for the night, and the following day climbed the summit of ‘Oh My God! which led to the top of Kaieteur.

Enduring all of that for the sake of adventure, and doing something very unusual in observance of Tourism Month? Gouveia is more than grateful for the support of the team he led on the expedition.

The team was further recognised at a presentation at the National Cultural Centre on Wednesday, when members were issued certificates. (Reprinted from the December 2, 2001 edition of the Sunday Chronicle)