CELEBRATING 25 YEARS AT GLOVER'S REEF!
Glover’s Reef – Then and Now
We began exploring Glover’s Atoll and sharing this experience with you in 1989, three years before this unique atoll was declared a marine park in 1993. Three years after that, in 1996, the Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve was given UNESCO World Heritage Status, as part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System.
Our first trip had eight guests. We loaded them into a 25' Mexican Skiff in Dangriga. Packed with provisions, we headed out past the reef to Southwest Caye, a small remote island on Glover’s Reef owned by the Usher family. We started with very simple facilities. The early trips used pop-up tents and folding kayaks. From our new base, we paddled, fished and explored the sheltered waters of Glover’s Reef. The profusion of marine life was unlike any other place we’d experienced in Belize. Our first years were a huge success, and the word slowly got out about this biological gem, isolated in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.
Much has happened out at Glover’s Reef since that first trip. Two decades and three hurricanes later, we now work with three generations of the Usher Family - and they’ve become an integral part of our company, culture, and really good friends. Our trips have evolved, too. ‘Camping’ has become 'Base Camping'. Guests now stay in safari-style tent cabanas with wooden floors, comfortable beds, amazing ocean views and a small deck with Belizean beach chairs. We’ve built and renovated an open air 2 story lodge pavilion, the perfect gathering place for planning the day’s activities, relaxing over a drink, identifying marine life from the library, and recounting the day’s activities with fellow travelers.
Our Adventure Basecamp Water Sports Center has a full fleet of single and double expedition quality ocean kayaks and various other fun play boats. This season we’ve added Stand Up Paddleboarding to your choice of daily activity options. A motor boat is moored in camp for longer paddles and deep reef wall snorkels. Some years back we invited guest yoga instructors, and now by popular demand, most of our departures include early morning yoga-by-the sea. ‘Fly fishing guru’ Kelly Steigman has joined us on select departures for the last two seasons. Kelley first joined us as a client, and approached us to come back and provide instruction to any guests wanting to try their hand at landing a Tarpon or Bonefish. Kelly will be returning for a few months in 2015 - stay tuned.
GLOVER'S REEF MARINE RESERVE
Glover’s Reef lies at the heart of the largest coral reef system in the Western Hemisphere and is a critical nursery and feeding ground for sea turtles, sharks, rays, and fish for Belize, and the rest of the Caribbean. In 1993 the Wildlife Conversation Society (WCS) partnered with the government of Belize to protect the area and establish Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve. The WCS also established the Glover’s Reef Research Station, a cutting-edge facility which supports the conservation and management of coral reefs and marine protected areas.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Travel Channel listed Glover’s Reef as one of the Belize’s Most Romantic Islands! Click here for details.