My Experience at Karanambu Lodge

My Experience at Karanambu Lodge

Written by Amy S Dane

I had the privilege of staying at Karanambu Lodge a year ago April as part of a two week trip to Suriname and Guyana with five others including three longtime travel buddies.  A nature trip was not my usual.  As an art historian, my travels usually focus on art and architecture.  This, however, looked like a fun and adventurous trip.     

Karanambu covers approximately 110 square miles of savannah, swamp, forest, and 30 miles of the Rupanuni River.  I felt honored and humbled to be a guest in the realm of the late Diane McTurk, a conservationist and expert on giant otters as well as so many famous literary giants and naturalists including Gerald Durrell.  The McTurk name and legacy continues today with Melanie, Ed, their family and dedicated staff, deeply committed to the environment and preservation of the wildlife that surrounds them.

Our foursome came from Rock View at Annai where we were regaled by the legendary Colin and his family but most especially by Piccolo, the resident monkey.  On he morning of April 10, 2023 we took a hike in the foothills of the Pakaraima Mountains on the Panorama trail before packing up to head to Karanambu.  I sprained my right ankle very badly and couldn’t put any weight on that foot. I was both afraid and in agony. The McTurk’s were alerted ahead of time.  I thought to myself, “Great, no one is going to want me there.  My friends will leave me to go off and have fun and the hosts won’t have time to deal with me.”  How very wrong I was.

From Rock View Lodge we drove about two hours to a boat that continued for another three hours.  On arrival at Karanambu, Ed McTurk scooped me up out of the boat and placed me gently on a seat in the truck to drive a short distance to the lodge.  Lunch was brought to my bedroom.  Melanie came in to check on me and brought me a soft boot to wear.  She made it her business to see that I was ok and to offer me help as needed. 

I breathed a sigh of relief.  It was clear to me that things had to be done in a certain way “to keep the clock ticking accurately” and she was the one to run them.  Her managerial (and nursing) skills weren’t lost on any of us.  She made clear what I could and couldn’t do and made sure I didn’t miss out on anything.  Her goal was that all of her guests would leave completely satisfied with their experience at Karanambu.

Our lodgingsof clay brick and thatched roofs integrated seamlessly into the landscape as if they grew out of the earth.  All structures and appointments at the lodge were in keeping with traditional Amerindian culture.  I particularly liked the dining room.  If Melanie would have let me, I’d have shipped that beautiful wood dining table straight to Massachusetts, along with some of the utilitarian antique implementsthat decorated the walls.  All the guests at the lodge gathered at the table for meals and shared their experiences of the day.  Although the food was terrific, it was the rum punch with dinner that was eagerly anticipated.

My friend Christine and I shared a very spacious, clean room.  One can have laundry done, but we didn’t.  We had electricity in the hours we needed it and could charge our gadgets without issue.  Our bathroom was most impressive given that it was even larger than the room with a long corridor that led to it and lots of room upon arrival.  We were delighted to find that nature isn’t confined to the out of doors.  We had a very large, very green praying mantis on the wall by our sink.  Even more impressive was that it matched my bright green soap dish.  We weren’t bothered by mosquitos or crawly things.

Early that evening my friends went out on the river to a place where they could walk in a forest or jungle.  Melanie arranged to send me out in my own boat with one of her guides. I noted some of the birds we saw and once home, asked Brian, the birder of our group (he would not be called a twitcher) to help me identify them in some photos. 

I will confess that I was less interested in birds, unless they were very colorful and could be seen fairly well with the naked eye, than I was with great big creatures.  Our guide and I spotted the black skimmer, lovely green parrots, the lesser razor-billed curassow, anhinga, egrets, green ibis, northern Cara Cara, buff neck ibis and the ringed kingfisher all in a couple of hours.  The highlight for me were the huge caimans.  My picture isn’t great, given the tree and pile of brush on his side but we could see the huge creature in its entirety and it was LONG!

The next morning at 6am we piled into our van and headed through the savannah to look for anteaters.  Driving along the limitless flat expanse it was hard to imagine that the river and jungle weren’t far away.  When we arrived at our location we were met by a vaquero who would help round up an anteater of two.  I was really excited because I’d never seen one.  We were able to photograph several.  They are quite large and can move at a rapid speed.

In less than 24 hours I had seen two big creatures, so I was happy.  The next highlight was something entirely different.  All of us were excited about going out on the river toward dusk to see the Victoria Amazonica, the world’s largest waterlily.  Not only are the lily pads enormous – they are incredibly strong.  Our boatman put his water bottle on one of them and passed around a picture showing a baby resting on one such lily pad (speaking of bottles, Chris remembers enjoying that rum punch on the boat, along with biscuits, as we basked in the beauty around us.)  At dusk the flower starts to open.  Once it does, it changes fairly quickly.

It begins as a sizeable, closed brown bud.  As it opens, the brown “shell” alternates with panels of white.  Flourishing further, the brown disappears, giving way to an exquisite pure white flower that is just breathtaking.Brian recalls that the canoe ride back to the lodge under a brilliant starry night sky was magical.

We were to have one more excursion at 6am the next morning before heading on to the village of Yupukari (if one doesn’t stay there, the McTurk’s can arrange a visit.  They can craft your stay to cover all of your interests).  We set out to look for giant otters.  Now, half of our group had seen some the day before, so the other half, myself included, were a bit disgruntled.  In two boats we stayed fairly close together so we’d see all or none together.  Up and down we went – nothing.  Our guides were determined to find some, and in time they did.  At first it was one. 

Then a second one showed up and in no time, wewatched a crew of them swimming around and enjoying each other.  They weren’t as close as we might have liked, but close enough to get some shots with a good telephoto.  I’d have loved to see one completely out of the water to see its size, as I couldwith the caiman on the beach, but judging from their huge heads, the name “giant” wasn’t for nothing.

From the internet I learned that the Giant River Otter, endemic to South America and often referred to as the “river wolf” is the longest member of the weasel family and the world’s largest otter.  It can grow as long as 6 feet (1.8 meters)! 

If you are looking for a pleasant stay, being attended to by expert staff, enjoying good food and company as you walk, hike or glide on the river seeking all kinds of wildlife, if you have a particular subject you want to explore or villagers to greet, Karanambu is the place for you.