THE Correia Group of Companies hosted a complimentary familiarisation (FAM) tour for media operatives last Friday, flying them to the majestic Kaieteur Falls and the picturesque Baganara Island Resort for a day of relaxation.

The FAM tour was conducted through Evergreen Adventures and Trans Guyana Airways with tour guide Collin Williams. After flying over the verdant forest for just over an hour with Captain Christopher Brown, the Caravan flew over the Pakaraima Mountain range, with a glimpse of the Amaila Falls, then over the breathtaking Kaieteur Falls.
The aircraft landed at the Kaieteur National Park, which is located in Region Eight. After a quick snack at the Visitors’ Arrival Centre, located a few feet from the airstrip, it was time to venture off on the two-hour trail to the falls. During this trek, the media got the opportunity to view the falls from three vantage points offering them extensive views and a great opportunity for pictures and ‘selfies’.
Williams informed his very excited media group about some of the fascinating flora and fauna that live in the Kaieteur National Park. He also explained that “teur” is an Amerindian word, meaning falls, hence, the saying Kaieteur Falls is redundant; it’s either Kaie Falls or Kaieteur. The word ‘Kaieteur’ means ‘old-man-fall’.
As explained by the very learned guide, “This jewel of South America is about four times higher than the Niagara Falls and about twice the height of the Victoria Falls.”

After touring the Kaieteur, the media hiked back uphill to the Arrival Centre and after a few minutes of relaxation, it was time to fly to the Baganara Resort in the Essequibo River.

BAGANARA RESORT
Landing at the resort revived everyone, and a quick brief on the resort and sipping some ‘Lime Splash’ geared everyone for lunch. The reporters were served buffet style and courteous staff catered to their drinking needs of non-alcoholic beverages. After allowing sometime for digestion, media members opted to play pools, some went kayaking in the Essequibo River, while some chose to just relax on the island shore, enjoying the atmosphere.
According to Consultant of the Correia Group of companies, Frank Willison, the tour was a way of giving back to the media as he mixed and mingled with the reporters as they relaxed. He also indicated that media operatives are only brought to the resort when there are meetings or some important function to ‘work’, never to enjoy the regal beauty Guyana has to offer. “Every time we just calling the media to do stuff for us, but we never really give back to them and I always wanted to do something like this, so we did it,” Willison said.
The FAM tour concluded with an aerial tour of Georgetown on the return flight to the Ogle International Airport. (Rebecca Ganesh-Ally)