T & T Part 10: Cuffie River Nature Retreat

Retreat is a good word to describe the lodging at Cuffie River on the island of Tobago.  While it was quite different from Asa Wright Nature Centre, where we stayed on Trinidad, we enjoyed it very much, too.  (Click here to read about "Asa Wright - The Place and the People")

Looking toward the Nature Retreat from the bridge over Cuffie River.

The secluded location and grounds were beautiful.  We were the only guests our first night there, so it was really peaceful!

This bench was the perfect place to sit and bird-watch.

From there, I could view a row of hummingbird feeders.  There were Ruby-topaz Hummingbirds, like the one in the photo below, as well as White-necked Jacobins and Rufous-breasted Hummingbirds.  (See my post about hummingbirds here).

There were some other birds as well - like the Red-crowned Woodpecker who also liked the nectar.

A Brown-crested flycatcher landed nearby.

I enjoyed the beautiful flowers on the Yellow Allamanda bushes along the driveway.

Just like at Asa Wright, there were birds everywhere at Cuffie River.

You didn't have to go far to see them!

We took a morning hike our first full day there, with Desmond, our guide for the day.  We didn't have to drive anywhere... we just walked up the road until we came to the trail.

It's a pretty good road, but doesn't have much traffic on it, so we were able to enjoy the sights along the way, like the Passionvine blooming over our heads.

Then we reached the trail, which was also quite a nice walk.

A highlight of the hike was seeing some Blue-backed Manakins, which I only got some blurry photos of-- and a Urania leilus, (a day-flying moth) which luckily I managed to get in focus!

That afternoon we had free time and decided to hang out at the lodge.  We could have arranged a snorkeling trip, but I'm glad we decided to relax at the pool instead.

You can see one Swift coming in, and another has just 'dipped' - see the round ripples in the water?

By the way, we were still seeing birds while swimming.  Short-tailed Swifts kept us company by flitting close to us to drink from the pool all the while.

Motmots were there, too, on the dirt bank behind the pool and even on the railing.

We dined that evening by ourselves in the lovely open air dining room.

I thought the facilities and the decor was very pleasant, as was the staff. 

The birds seemed to feel right at home, too.

Smooth-billed Ani in the entryway

We were not the only ones who dined well.  This Chachalaca is feasting on some watermelon, just under our rear balcony.

The next day we were ready to go again... so off we went with our guide for the day, Gladwyn James.

It was a beautiful day to take a ride along the coast of Tobago.

There were gorgeous views of the Caribbean Sea from the high points and we made some stops along the beaches, too.

After a hike in the Gilpin Trace, we had lunch at a restaurant, then headed to Blue Waters Resort where we got on a glass-bottom boat for our birding trip to Little Tobago Island.

We got slightly damp from a rainstorm and simply from climbing the steep trail in the humidity, but it was worth it to see Red-footed and Brown Boobies, Red-billed Tropicbirds, and Magnificent Frigatebirds.

After a long day of sight-seeing and birding, it was nice to go back to Cuffie and relax again!

That evening there was another couple staying at the lodge from the UK and we enjoyed sitting with and chatting with them at dinner.  They have stayed at Cuffie many times before.  I can see why they return... it's a wonderful place!