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Ashley Holland
Ashley Holland was born in England but moved to South Africa at 3 months of age, where he grew up on remote farms in the Transvaal. It was here he developed his love of wild and remote places and learnt to speak Afrikaans. At the age of 10 Ash moved to Botswana on the edge of the Okavango Delta where his mother was running a lodge. After two years they re-migrated to England for a couple years of education before moving to Guyana, where Ashley's mother set up a bush camp on the Mazaruni River.
In 1994 Ashley traveled to the Rupununi and fell in love with the area and lifestyle and commenced working at Karanambu Ranch. Since then he has learned about the area, its people and the incredible flora and fauna. Ash is most at home out in the bush, especially on the rivers where he can observe wildlife, explore new and remote areas, and learn from the locals about bush lore. He considers he was born 100 years too late, and would have been best suited as an early explorer, or naturalist of some kind.
Ashley is now a well-respected guide who enjoys leading small groups into the remote and wild areas of the Rupununi. He is an excellent birding, wildlife and wilderness guide, naturalist and boat captain. Ashley was kind enough to spend some indoor time chatting with Guyana Birding News via email from Yupukari Village in the Central Rupununi. If you would like to contact Ashley about his guiding services or the trips he runs, he can be reached on Ashley_p_Holland@yahoo.com.
Where were you born?
Devon, England. (I don’t admit this to very many people and I won’t until England wins the cricket or soccer world cup. Preferably both).
How old were you when you moved to Guyana?
I was 14. I lived in South Africa and Botswana from the ages of three months to 13 years.
When did you first move to the Rupununi?
I lived in the Mazaruni for my first four years [in Guyana] before moving to the Rupununi when I was 18.
Was there a defining moment or aspect of the Rupununi that made you decide to stay, or did it occur slowly over time?
I think you either love the Rupununi or hate it; and if you love it, it becomes very hard to leave. For me, I loved the lifestyle, people, wildlife and the remoteness. It still had the pioneer lifestyle and feel to the place, although that is changing a bit now. The savannas reminded me of my childhood in southern Africa – all that was missing were the elephants, but we have giant anteaters instead.
Did you grow up with a deep love of nature or did that develop after moving to Guyana’s interior?
I think my closeness to nature and wild places is in my blood as well as what I grew up with. My mother was always in the bush working in safari camps in Africa. As a wildlife guide she very much loved wildlife and wilderness, so in some ways I think it was passed on to me. My earliest memories are of going into the game parks and remote areas looking for wildlife. I suppose this just enhanced my appreciation of the natural world.
How has living in the Rupununi affected your love of nature?
Living here very much intensified my interest in nature. There is so much to learn and see. Every time I go into the bush I keep learning and seeing lots of new things. We have such a mixture of habitats here – savannas, rainforests, wetlands – and I love learning about what each habitat contains and how everything interacts. One could live 20 lifetimes here and still not know it all; it’s just so diverse. I find that intriguing and a challenge and I never get bored trying to learn as much as I can. I never attended higher education (I left school when I was 14) but because I am always striving to learn more about the natural world around me, a good friend of mine once said, “You are enrolled in university, the university of the bush.”
I know you spent some time living and working at Karanambu Ranch with Diane McTurk, can you tell us a little bit about your time there?
My mother was a close friend of Diane’s, and one day Diane invited me to visit Karanambu for a holiday. I was supposed to stay for three months… or so I thought! I am still here; I just never left! I fell in love with the place. I started helping Diane at Karanambu and ended up spending ten years on the ranch with her. Even though I now live 12 miles away in Yupukari, I still feel like Karanambu is my home. I have so many memories of good times spent there. In many ways it was my apprenticeship. I worked for my keep (and most importantly a healthy dose of Karanambu’s famous rum punch!) and somewhere to tie my hammock if no bed was available, not money. My real payment was learning the ropes. I learned many, many things at Karanambu, from the aspects of tourism and hospitality from Diane to dismantling and rebuilding an engine or extracting a land rover stuck in a swamp with just a jack and a cutlass from the guys there. I am forever grateful to Diane and the staff there who taught me so much.
When did you start working as a nature/tour guide? Was it originally tourism or scientific/research based?
I first worked as a guide when I was ten years old. Honest. I helped out on a safari to the Chobe game reserve in Botswana for the little safari company that my mom worked for. I was pretty good with my African wildlife and they needed another guide and a keen pair of eyes so I got the job. In Guyana I worked for my mother in the Mazaruni as a guide, and again at Karanambu, both mostly on the tourism side. The research jobs came later when I started to run river trips. Researchers would approach me to take them to locations to do their research and it has grown from there. I think of my self as a general wildlife and wilderness guide, not strictly birding, so working with scientists is a great way to learn the “formal” scientific aspects and to augment and build on what I have learned from the Amerindians and from my own observations.
When did you first become a birdwatcher?
This only developed when I was much older. To be honest, originally I was more interested in the bigger mammals, snakes, fishing etc. Birds were tougher to learn, especially the calls, and in order to become good one has to invest time and energy into it. I was privileged to work with Davis Finch a few times, and that started me off in some ways. And of course as a guide I realized birding is a very important aspect of eco-tourism so I started making a bigger effort to learn birds. After a while birdwatching becomes addictive (I’m sure birders out there will agree) and it goes from there. Of course it’s a big field with a lot to learn so there is always room for improvement.
In your opinion, what makes the Rupununi such a special place for spotting birds, flora and fauna?
Much of Guyana is almost untouched with a very low population so at the moment it’s still very unspoiled. That for one is a big attraction. There are places one can go here for weeks without seeing another person. Also the Rupununi has many diverse habitats relatively close to each other – within a single day one can experience rainforest, rivers, savannas and wetlands. Then we have the Giants of El Dorado: giant otters, giant anteaters, giant snakes (anacondas and the bushmaster, the largest pit viper in the world), giant rodents (capybara), giant eagles (Harpy), and giant fish (arapaima, the largest scaled freshwater fish). The list goes on and on, and it’s all here if you know where to look.
What are some of your favorite birds and animals to spot in the field?
I don’t think I have too many favorites. I love it all, but if I had to choose one, even though I have seen many, I am afraid I would have to say the jaguar. I still get a very special feeling when I drift around a corner in the river in the morning and find a jaguar sunbathing on a log over the water. There is just something magical about seeing them like this. It epitomizes the forest for me.
Do you prefer the rainy or dry season? Why?
Easy question. Dry season! Less rain, less biting bugs and more and better fishing! It’s usually misery camping out in the rainy season, so that’s when I generally stay at a home, reading and loafing around the house getting bored.
Are there any birds that you haven’t spotted yet, but would like to?
Yes many, but one in particular. For some reason I just have not had any luck spotting the Rufous-winged Ground Cuckoo. It’s frustrating because I spend so much of my time in the forest but it’s never cropped up. It looks like such a cool bird – reminds me of the roadrunner – so would love to see one.
What about mammals or other animals?
As I spend so much time out in the bush I have been fortunate to see just about all of the bigger more prominent stuff unless one counts all the bats and the smaller rodents, which are very diverse species-wise. One mammal I have not seen that I would love to is the pygmy or silky anteater, which is very uncommon and is up in trees so tough to find. Having worked with a herpetologist studying snakes and caiman for two years I have also been lucky to have found and seen a lot of nice reptiles and amphibians, but there is lots out there still for me to see for sure. Oh yeah a black jaguar would be awesome!
Can you give us some information about the river trips that you guide? Where do you typically go and what do you love most about being on the river?
I started running river trips about ten years ago. I originally worked as a part-time guide for another outfitter that ran river trips, but I saved up some money and bought a boat and engine for myself, basically so I could get away into remote areas, for fishing and exploring on my own or with friends. I got to know the area well and next thing I knew people were asking if I could take them to different locations, at first mainly for sport fishermen, then for more wildlife orientated clients and researchers. I have expanded slowly over the years and at present I run trips to several locations within the Rupununi, with the Rewa River and the Kanuku Mountains being the main areas of attraction. However I will basically take anyone wherever they want to go depending on what they want to do or see. I just love being out there. No cell phones, computers or people (except the ones you’re with). It becomes very peaceful and relaxing. You forget about the outside world and what’s happening, and one-day just merges into another; the level of the river becomes more important than what’s happening on CNN.
You run a lot of trips to the upper reaches of the Rewa River; what is so special about this area?
Yes the upper Rewa is my favorite place. It’s a stunning river, very remote and known for its natural beauty and for the fact that it is totally unspoiled. It has waterfalls, rapids, rock carvings, and great fishing and birding, and over the last few years the river has started to get a reputation for its very healthy wildlife populations. It’s one of those areas where you have a realistic chance of seeing some of the bigger species like tapir, anacondas, jaguar, etc. The BBC saw some of the amateur wildlife footage I had shot up there over the years and were so impressed that over the last few years I have run three filming expeditions to film wildlife in the area.
You have also identified a new bird species for Guyana; can you briefly elaborate on this?
The recently reclassified Santa Marta Nightjar (Caprimulgus heterurus). I was lying in bed one night when my girlfriend heard a strange call and woke me up. Upon hearing it I was immediately struck at how unusual it was. I had never heard anything like it (it’s an amazing call!) so I rushed out and recorded it. It was pitch dark so I walked up to it with a torch and saw it was a species of nightjar although I still could not ID it. A couple of weeks prior to this I had run a bird survey trip to the upper Rewa with Chris Milensky of the Smithsonian Institution, so I sent him the recording to ID for me, and it turned out to be something new for Guyana. The interesting thing about it is that it’s a pretty big range extension, so much so that they are writing a little paper about it.
Do you have any scientific research going on currently or trips of interest planned?
I have a Dutch sport fishing company doing a 16-day trip with me in March. They are very interested in Guyana as a possible future fishing destination and are very interested in fishing for catfish, in particular the giant Lau Lau, which can weigh more than 400 pounds. In April I have an English client coming that has been going on river trips with me for nearly ten years. We’ll spend four or five weeks fishing and camping on the Essequibo River.
Research-wise, in January 2009 I have a possible trip to the Rewa for a group of researchers interested in studying giant otters. They hope to come and spend at least two months on the river looking for den sites, collecting samples and making observations, so I’m looking forward to that one in particular.
What is your vision for the future of bird watching and/or tourism in Guyana?
I think Guyana has a big potential for eco-tourism. The habitat is still here, the wildlife is here and Guyana is English speaking. Combined, these aspects can be a big attraction to the US and European markets. I think tourism in Guyana needs just a bit more promoting and infrastructure development. Few people know about Guyana, however that is slowly changing, and it’s starting to become better recognized as an eco destination. Ironically due to it being “off the beaten track” this has been an attraction for some clients wanting to get away from the more popular and well known eco-tourism destinations, though of course the more successful we become the less this becomes an appealing factor.
I hope tourism develops but I think we need to be careful that we promote the correct type of tourism in Guyana, which in my view is specialist low impact-eco tourism on a medium scale. It would be a shame to see Guyana flooded with too many tourists, roads and infrastructure everywhere. Of course I love wilderness so I may have a biased view. I think it’s a delicate balance between encouraging enough tourism to make a positive impact on the economy, creating protected areas and wilderness, and not letting it all grow too large or go in an undesired direction. It’s something I hope we get right.
