Enjoy nature with a relaxing kayak tour through a mangrove forest
Whenever we’re in the Caribbean, we look for new and exciting ways to spend time in nature. We were happy to experience just that at Bonaire’s Lac Bay – The mangrove waterways are ideal for immersing ones-self in the beauty and serenity of the natural world.
Well, it was another beautiful sunny morning in Bonaire when we headed out for our mangrove kayaking adventure. We reached the Mangrove Information Centre about 15 minutes after driving through Bonaire’s capital, Kralendijk. The small welcome centre is located on the pot-hole filled ‘Kaminda Lac’ road that borders one of the mangrove forests of Lac Bay. Our guided excursion started inside, with our host standing in front of a colourful wall mural that depicts the local area’s Mangrove and Ocean ecosystems. There was about a dozen tourists present as he explained to us what we were going to potentially see while kayaking through the mangroves. He talked about the environmental value of the mangrove ecosystem, including a brief description of the various algae, sponges as well as the fish food chain that lives in the mangroves. It was interesting to learn that most of the mangroves of Bonaire’s Lac Bay is off limits to the general public. Only scientific research teams are allowed access to the protected areas of the mangrove forest. Once our informative orientation was complete, our guide led us across the street to what first appeared to be nothing more than a large puddle or small shallow pond on the side of the dirt road.
Well, even though the water was only a few inches deep, we boarded our kayaks and were off. It turned out this shallow pond was our gateway to a narrow channel that allowed us to enter the mangrove forest. With the sun magically filtering through the mangrove canopy overhead, we ventured from one tight passageway to another, momentarily exiting each mangrove thicket into a small open pool of water. It only took a few moments after entering this green water-world that I was easily able to leave behind the noise and confusion of our human-made environment and comfortably feel like one with nature! To my delight, we journeyed through a series of narrow waterways through dense clusters of mangroves separated by small openings in the water. In one area the mangrove foliage was so dense and low hanging there was little room to paddle – We gently used our hands on the mangrove branches dangling above and around us to move forward. So cool!
Whenever we reached a large enough body of water, we stopped and gathered as a group so our guide could point out and explain the different types of Mangroves that we were kayaking through. He also pointed out some of the birds we were seeing, including a small group of ducks, a couple of white egrets and some brown pelicans. While paddling across one of these larger pools, several fish jumped out of the water not far from our kayak, leaving me to wonder what exactly is in the water that makes them do this. Our guide also pointed out areas of ocean floor with patches of sea grass where turtles can occasionally be spotted.
I should point out that this was the most relaxing Caribbean kayaking tour I have ever taken. There is always a gentle current flowing through the mangroves, however paddling the kayak was easy going. It was calm and peaceful in the mangroves – An interesting and unique way to explore Bonaire’s ocean-based wilderness! That said, if we didn’t have a guide, I imagine it would be pretty easy for a visitor to these mangroves to become lost in the labyrinth of passageways and openings.
After a while (I have no idea how long, as time had become beautifully irrelevant), we came out of one of the small mangrove channels and spilled out into a much larger body of water which I quickly realized was Lac Bay itself. While crossing the bay was the toughest section to kayak, it was not very strenuous. Apparently a barrier reef stops most of the ocean waves from entering this deep into the cove. After what seemed like just a few short minutes of open water, we entered another maze of mangroves on the other side of the bay. We didn’t kayak far before we came to a bit of an opening in the mangrove forest with a noticeably sandy bottom. At this point we donned our snorkelling masks, exited our kayaks, and entered the water so we could get a glimpse of what was happening below the surface.
While our guide tied our kayaks together and to a strong mangrove branch so they didn’t drift away in the current, I quickly discovered jelly fish floating around just above the mangrove ocean floor (video below). Then he lead us into another narrow passageway, this time we swam and snorkelled a upstream, which was a bit of a challenge for me. This channel wasn’t too long however.
I saw bright coloured sponges and large clusters of mussels attached to the roots of the mangroves, as well as several groups of large fish hiding amongst the mangrove roots. I believe most of the fish were blue striped grunts and yellowfin ma-something… a fairly large fish with a yellow forked tail that our guide identified, however I didn’t recognize or remember the name. Anyways, he explained to us that they prey on the juvenile fish that follow this path on their way to the ocean.
Sure enough, once we reached the end of this channel and entered a larger pool of water we encountered hundreds if not thousands of little fish. Clearly, the mangroves in this area serve as a fish nursery of sorts, in this case the small fish were in the sardine/anchovy family. We watched as they were driven by the current straight down the channel we had just come from, where the larger fish were waiting for them. Et voila, dinner is served…
Snorkelling back to the kayaks with the current was easy and fun, although I was the last to leave the open water area, so by this time the channel’s water was pretty worked-up and cloudy. Once we re-entered our kayaks I believe we took a similar, if not the same, route back to the Mangrove Center. Wow! What a great couple of hours blissfully lost in one of Earth’s most valuable ecosystems. It was great to experience life in the mangrove forest, smoothly gliding just inches above the water with nothing around us but bright indigo sky, green mangroves and varying shades of blue water beneath us. It was great to hear and see birds as well as tons of life in the water. I really appreciated having a guide who is super-friendly and knowledgeable, and I was quite amused and impressed with his backwards paddling skills, which allowed him to provide us with interesting information while keeping us moving. Another great day in Bonaire for sure!
ACT Staff
For a list of Tour Operators who can provide a guided excursion of Bonaire’s mangroves, as well as other fun watersports, take a look at our Bonaire Water Sports page
If you’re looking for more ‘active’ things to do while vacationing on the island, click on our Bonaire Adventures blog post for some great ideas!
For an overview of great Tourist Attractions on the islands, including tour operators who will take good care of you, check out our Things to Do in Bonaire page, as well as our personal favourites on our Top 6 Attraction on Bonaire blog post.
For an overview of this amazing Dutch Caribbean Island, take a look at our Bonaire Vacations page.
