Little Tobago is an uninhabited island off Speyside on the northeast coast of Tobago. It is also known as Bird of Paradise Island as there was once a thriving colony of these beautiful birds, specially brought over from New Guinea. Sadly, the birds disappeared after the devastation of Hurricane Flora in 1963.
With some overseas visitors in tow, I booked a tour to Little Tobago as I had never been there before. The drive took about an hour to an hour and a half to the Blue Waters Inn in Speyside. That very steep, narrow road down to the hotel is a bit scary, but the view of the bay and the small islands certainly compensates.
We boarded a glass-bottom boat and set off on the delightful 15 minute crossing to the island. On the way we passed tiny Goat Island which boasts a white house, where the James Bond author, Ian Fleming, reputedly once lived. Soon we were moored at the concrete jetty on Little Tobago.
I do recommend that you wear hiking shoes or trainers on the island. There is a decent path and our guide was barefoot, but I managed to slip on the dried leaves while wearing rubber sandals. We climbed to the top of the hill and took in the breath-taking views from the lookout. We saw Magnificent Frigatebirds chasing Red-Billed Tropicbirds to steal their food. Apparently, the long tail feather of the tropicbird can be lost if caught by the frigatebird, so enabling the victim to get away. We also observed many other birds, including the Atlantic Booby. I wish I had a long-range camera to capture all this wildlife.
Afterwards, we motored to the nearby Angel Reef for some snorkeling. My visitors were impressed by the fish and coral, but I thought it was disappointing. The coral looked washed out and the pretty fish were sparce. The famed “largest brain coral in the Western Hemisphere” was nowhere to be seen, supposedly eaten by the Angelfish.
The water was quite choppy on the way back, and one of my visitors took a while to recover from queasiness. The rest of us enjoyed a delicious lunch at the picturesque Blue Waters Inn. After changing into dry clothes, we headed home having enjoyed a truly satisfying day out. I highly recommend this tour.
