01-06-2015
This week Fred asked me (Dick) to join him, Peto (Fred’s half-brother) and Benito (friend of Fred) on a trip to discover the area around the Fredberg and help finishing the new hut in the basecamp.
They picked me up quite early in the morning around 8AM. A nephew of his was driving, he would bring us to the basecamp, where we would repair Fred’s car that was left behind there. Arriving at the basecamp a few hours later we suddenly noticed the huge amount of rubbish in the forest near the camp. It appeared the water level of the river became so high that it washed away all the stuff in our camp. So we started collecting all the stuff before fixing the car. Starting on the car, we saw that the water level was so high that it even stuff inside of the car. This means that it was about three meters higher than I’ve seen it here in the camp. The next thing we noticed pretty soon where the abnormal amount of mosquitos in the area. Right behind the basecamp is a small swamp, mostly it’s pretty dry but due the flooding of the river it now got enough water for the mosquito’s to lay their eggs and annoy us all day long.
It took them quite a while to fix the car. Afterwards We started working on the new hut in the camp for a while but soon had to pack our stuff to start walking towards the Fredberg.
With a fully stuffed car, and me even holding some big buckets partially outside the window of the car we left to the trail that leads to the mountain. With heave backpacks filled with food for the upcoming days we started walking the trail to the mountain. After a few minutes we already had to take our head torches out because it became dark pretty fast. We spotted a fer-de-lance snake or “labaria” next to the path after a while, luckily no one stepped on it.
About a week ago during a tour I was guiding to the Fredberg I attached a trapcam to a tree in the middle of a path between two creeks. After already one night we caught a peccary on photo. So I was really exited what it would show after a week! We saw some lizards a and a dove at first, but eventually we saw some peccaries walking towards the camera. And you’ll never believe what was on the next photo not even two minutes later! Yes, a jaguar! We actually caught a jaguar on the trapcam! A great head-on photo with some kind of determined face as if it indeed stalking these peccaries, see the photo below. Fred and I where really happy to find more and more proof of special animals in this area, this really is one of the best places to see animals so close to the city.
A few hours later, tired and soaked due to the heavy sweating, we arrive at the mountain camp. We start making dinner, bathing and hanging our hammocks. Halfway eating our dinner Peto suddenly got the machete and pinned another fer-de-lance to the ground about 30 centimeters from our cooking pot. They had to kill it, because we don’t want any casualties inside the camp. We wanted to go to sleep as soon as possible, because we planned to go downhill on the other side of the mountain, where, as far as we know, no one had ever been before.
This week Fred asked me (Dick) to join him, Peto (Fred’s half-brother) and Benito (friend of Fred) on a trip to discover the area around the Fredberg and help finishing the new hut in the basecamp.
They picked me up quite early in the morning around 8AM. A nephew of his was driving, he would bring us to the basecamp, where we would repair Fred’s car that was left behind there. Arriving at the basecamp a few hours later we suddenly noticed the huge amount of rubbish in the forest near the camp. It appeared the water level of the river became so high that it washed away all the stuff in our camp. So we started collecting all the stuff before fixing the car. Starting on the car, we saw that the water level was so high that it even stuff inside of the car. This means that it was about three meters higher than I’ve seen it here in the camp. The next thing we noticed pretty soon where the abnormal amount of mosquitos in the area. Right behind the basecamp is a small swamp, mostly it’s pretty dry but due the flooding of the river it now got enough water for the mosquito’s to lay their eggs and annoy us all day long.
It took them quite a while to fix the car. Afterwards We started working on the new hut in the camp for a while but soon had to pack our stuff to start walking towards the Fredberg.
With a fully stuffed car, and me even holding some big buckets partially outside the window of the car we left to the trail that leads to the mountain. With heave backpacks filled with food for the upcoming days we started walking the trail to the mountain. After a few minutes we already had to take our head torches out because it became dark pretty fast. We spotted a fer-de-lance snake or “labaria” next to the path after a while, luckily no one stepped on it.
About a week ago during a tour I was guiding to the Fredberg I attached a trapcam to a tree in the middle of a path between two creeks. After already one night we caught a peccary on photo. So I was really exited what it would show after a week! We saw some lizards a and a dove at first, but eventually we saw some peccaries walking towards the camera. And you’ll never believe what was on the next photo not even two minutes later! Yes, a jaguar! We actually caught a jaguar on the trapcam! A great head-on photo with some kind of determined face as if it indeed stalking these peccaries, see the photo below. Fred and I where really happy to find more and more proof of special animals in this area, this really is one of the best places to see animals so close to the city.
A few hours later, tired and soaked due to the heavy sweating, we arrive at the mountain camp. We start making dinner, bathing and hanging our hammocks. Halfway eating our dinner Peto suddenly got the machete and pinned another fer-de-lance to the ground about 30 centimeters from our cooking pot. They had to kill it, because we don’t want any casualties inside the camp. We wanted to go to sleep as soon as possible, because we planned to go downhill on the other side of the mountain, where, as far as we know, no one had ever been before.
02-06-2015
On top of the Fredberg we could see some small granite hills at the foot of the mountain. We always talked about going there and taking a picture of the mountain itself. Well, today is the day. We planned to seek out those granite hills today, and tomorrow we will be looking for waterfalls near the mountain.
We left in the early morning towards the clough between the fredberg and the adjacent mountain as this seemed the safest way to climb down, since the other parts are all very steep. Not even 15 minutes walking we discovered a small water source coming out of the ground, we start following it. A few minutes later we saw a Red-footed tortoise hiding beneath some roots in the water. After taking some pictures we follow this water source further downhill. We find some incredible rock formations formed by the water in the past millions of years. Later we started finding small fish in the pools, then the pools became a stream of water, and then the stream started merging with other small streams and formed a creek. This creek still went into the direction of the granite plateaus we were looking for. After walking for a while, we discover a small hill which could have some granite on top, we check it out and indeed find a granite plateau, but unfortunately not the one we were looking for. We went back to follow the creek, but it was not long after that, that Fred called us to silence because he was hearing something. A said he can hear water falling. No one else could hear it. Well if there is one thing I’ve learned with being around Fred. If he hears, sees or smells something, he’s always right even if a hundred other people wouldn’t hear, see of smell anything. And yes, after walking for a few more minutes I start hearing it too. Suddenly we arrive at this noisy place. We found our first waterfall! Not with a free fall, but with many pools and slides!
It was not long after that, that we had to leave the creek because it wasn’t going in the right direction anymore. We climbed some hills but found nothing, we check our GPS’s and both think we should head in another direction, and so we continue. We heard some spider monkeys in the trees, which turned out to be totally unafraid of us. They came closer and closer until they were right above us. Which is actually pretty dangerous because they often drop big branches to scare predators away. I finally managed to get some nice pictures of these monkeys. After a while we tried another hill and yes this one had a granite topping! Sadly it didn’t have any view at the mountain we thought at first. Until Fred came back running around the corner: YES WE GOT IT, LOOK AT THIS VIEW! And yes it was an incredible view, It was awesome to see the steep hill where we would usually watch the sunset, now from down below!
We managed to fulfill our goal of these two days in only four hours! We lunched a bit and started following the creek again as it was only 12 o’clock! About an hour later we found another waterfall! Unfortunately this one was quite wide and would be only spectacular after quite some rain.
We went back to the granite plateau to find a way to the steep hill of the Fredberg as we wanted to climb up there. After a while Fred managed to create a path to the foot of the mountain. Standing there reminded me how steep it was. And that this was going to be pretty dangerous. We crawled up the mountain with hands and feet, and sat down halfway. MAN this was steep, however incredible to do!
Arriving in the mountain camp again I started bathing, all soaped up Fred called me: Dick there’s a snake here! Still soaped up I ran there a saw this whip snake climbing up some leaves. After getting it down and putting it in some lower branches it directly went into defense position, meaning mouth wide open towards me, which delivered some great photo’s! That night we already went to bed at eight o’clock, as everyone was pretty tired.
On top of the Fredberg we could see some small granite hills at the foot of the mountain. We always talked about going there and taking a picture of the mountain itself. Well, today is the day. We planned to seek out those granite hills today, and tomorrow we will be looking for waterfalls near the mountain.
We left in the early morning towards the clough between the fredberg and the adjacent mountain as this seemed the safest way to climb down, since the other parts are all very steep. Not even 15 minutes walking we discovered a small water source coming out of the ground, we start following it. A few minutes later we saw a Red-footed tortoise hiding beneath some roots in the water. After taking some pictures we follow this water source further downhill. We find some incredible rock formations formed by the water in the past millions of years. Later we started finding small fish in the pools, then the pools became a stream of water, and then the stream started merging with other small streams and formed a creek. This creek still went into the direction of the granite plateaus we were looking for. After walking for a while, we discover a small hill which could have some granite on top, we check it out and indeed find a granite plateau, but unfortunately not the one we were looking for. We went back to follow the creek, but it was not long after that, that Fred called us to silence because he was hearing something. A said he can hear water falling. No one else could hear it. Well if there is one thing I’ve learned with being around Fred. If he hears, sees or smells something, he’s always right even if a hundred other people wouldn’t hear, see of smell anything. And yes, after walking for a few more minutes I start hearing it too. Suddenly we arrive at this noisy place. We found our first waterfall! Not with a free fall, but with many pools and slides!
It was not long after that, that we had to leave the creek because it wasn’t going in the right direction anymore. We climbed some hills but found nothing, we check our GPS’s and both think we should head in another direction, and so we continue. We heard some spider monkeys in the trees, which turned out to be totally unafraid of us. They came closer and closer until they were right above us. Which is actually pretty dangerous because they often drop big branches to scare predators away. I finally managed to get some nice pictures of these monkeys. After a while we tried another hill and yes this one had a granite topping! Sadly it didn’t have any view at the mountain we thought at first. Until Fred came back running around the corner: YES WE GOT IT, LOOK AT THIS VIEW! And yes it was an incredible view, It was awesome to see the steep hill where we would usually watch the sunset, now from down below!
We managed to fulfill our goal of these two days in only four hours! We lunched a bit and started following the creek again as it was only 12 o’clock! About an hour later we found another waterfall! Unfortunately this one was quite wide and would be only spectacular after quite some rain.
We went back to the granite plateau to find a way to the steep hill of the Fredberg as we wanted to climb up there. After a while Fred managed to create a path to the foot of the mountain. Standing there reminded me how steep it was. And that this was going to be pretty dangerous. We crawled up the mountain with hands and feet, and sat down halfway. MAN this was steep, however incredible to do!
Arriving in the mountain camp again I started bathing, all soaped up Fred called me: Dick there’s a snake here! Still soaped up I ran there a saw this whip snake climbing up some leaves. After getting it down and putting it in some lower branches it directly went into defense position, meaning mouth wide open towards me, which delivered some great photo’s! That night we already went to bed at eight o’clock, as everyone was pretty tired.
03-06-2015
The third day we left the camp at 8.30 in the morning. Since we already accomplished our goal of finding the granite hills and the waterfalls we decided to go to another mountain we saw from the top of the Fredberg, which also had a small granite plateau. We walked the mountain ridge for a few hours and crossed the mountain in between. Arriving at the exact plateau we wanted to reach! And again an incredible view on the Fredberg from another side. We sat there for a while just enjoying the view. However Fred still wanted to measure the height of the mountain, as it should be the highest peak in the area. It was only a small climb however we found a gigantic Red-footed tortoise here with a big crack in its shell, it may have fallen of some rocks. A few minutes later, cutting through the dense vegetation we see another granite plateau. We start climbing it and yes a gigantic granite plateau with an incredible view! We never expected this as it is not visible from the side of the Fredberg! On the other side of this mountain, we could see a ring of small hills and imagined all the rainwater coming down in the middle and forming a creek to the lowest point. As it was only 11 o’clock we decided to find this creek and go downhill again. We’d like to imagine being the first humans on top of this mountain, however the rubber boomers between 1914 and 1923 have been in a huge part of Suriname and left their traces on the rubber trees. And yes, downhill we found a tree with cutmarks of a long time ago. Now we now we’ve probably been the first people here since 100 years!
It was not long before we found the creek and indeed saw it merging with some other small creeks. It formed lots of caves and small waterfalls, we encountered many while climbing down this creek for a few hours. Then we suddenly realize we’re walking towards the caves we already know of. I viewed an old track on my GPS to see if it indeed was close, and yes! Only a few kilometers left until the caves. We made a nice round trip towards the Fredberg again. We bathed, ate and went back off the mountain again to go the basecamp for our last night. That night Fred and I went to look for snakes and frogs on the bauxite road, however we were very very tired so we turned back fairly quick empty handed to go to sleep.
The third day we left the camp at 8.30 in the morning. Since we already accomplished our goal of finding the granite hills and the waterfalls we decided to go to another mountain we saw from the top of the Fredberg, which also had a small granite plateau. We walked the mountain ridge for a few hours and crossed the mountain in between. Arriving at the exact plateau we wanted to reach! And again an incredible view on the Fredberg from another side. We sat there for a while just enjoying the view. However Fred still wanted to measure the height of the mountain, as it should be the highest peak in the area. It was only a small climb however we found a gigantic Red-footed tortoise here with a big crack in its shell, it may have fallen of some rocks. A few minutes later, cutting through the dense vegetation we see another granite plateau. We start climbing it and yes a gigantic granite plateau with an incredible view! We never expected this as it is not visible from the side of the Fredberg! On the other side of this mountain, we could see a ring of small hills and imagined all the rainwater coming down in the middle and forming a creek to the lowest point. As it was only 11 o’clock we decided to find this creek and go downhill again. We’d like to imagine being the first humans on top of this mountain, however the rubber boomers between 1914 and 1923 have been in a huge part of Suriname and left their traces on the rubber trees. And yes, downhill we found a tree with cutmarks of a long time ago. Now we now we’ve probably been the first people here since 100 years!
It was not long before we found the creek and indeed saw it merging with some other small creeks. It formed lots of caves and small waterfalls, we encountered many while climbing down this creek for a few hours. Then we suddenly realize we’re walking towards the caves we already know of. I viewed an old track on my GPS to see if it indeed was close, and yes! Only a few kilometers left until the caves. We made a nice round trip towards the Fredberg again. We bathed, ate and went back off the mountain again to go the basecamp for our last night. That night Fred and I went to look for snakes and frogs on the bauxite road, however we were very very tired so we turned back fairly quick empty handed to go to sleep.
04-06-2015
Today is our last day here. We finished the new hut, despite the unbelievable amount of mosquito bites! I already have about 30 on my left hand… and about 60 on my right shoulder… my whole body is covered in bites. I’m probably going to have itches for a few days. Not long before we wanted to leave the camp we heard something cream on the other side of the river. At first I taught a peccary was caught by jaguar or so. Fred’s first taught where that of a harpy eagle that caught something. We ran upstream to look if we could find something. And yes there were neotropical otters in the river! No animal was caught, however this was the first of this species we saw in this area! Fred even has a short video and some photos! Not much later we left for Paramaribo. These day’s where very fruitful and many plans have been made for exciting follow-ups! Can’t wait!
Today is our last day here. We finished the new hut, despite the unbelievable amount of mosquito bites! I already have about 30 on my left hand… and about 60 on my right shoulder… my whole body is covered in bites. I’m probably going to have itches for a few days. Not long before we wanted to leave the camp we heard something cream on the other side of the river. At first I taught a peccary was caught by jaguar or so. Fred’s first taught where that of a harpy eagle that caught something. We ran upstream to look if we could find something. And yes there were neotropical otters in the river! No animal was caught, however this was the first of this species we saw in this area! Fred even has a short video and some photos! Not much later we left for Paramaribo. These day’s where very fruitful and many plans have been made for exciting follow-ups! Can’t wait!