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Photos of Ian Craddock courtesy of www.bushmasters.co.uk (clockwise from top left): Savannah Riding; Demonstrating Matchless Fire Starting; Roping Cattle; Abseiling Jordan Falls |
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Ian Craddock, Bushmasters
English-born Ian Craddock, owner and lead guide of the Guyana-based adventure travel company Bushmasters, first came to Guyana in 2002. At the time he had been living in Belize for 18 months organizing jungle expeditions for a British company that specialized in rainforest conservation. Working for the same company in Guyana, Ian oversaw projects at Iwokrama – the building of the Iwokrama ranger stations and the Turtle Mountain Centre – and at Surama village – the benabs at their Eco-Lodge.
Ian’s first stop in Guyana was Iwokrama, and as he says, “I was very impressed with the massive jungle and rivers. Everything was just so much bigger and better than what I was used to in Belize.” He never left, saying he was drawn to “the jungle, the local people, the lifestyle, and the ability to live an adventure without first world rules making it impossible to do so.”
An ex-British Army officer who served in the Infantry and Special Forces for ten years, Ian brings an impressive background to his work. He completed a variety of specialist courses from Combat Survival Instructor to Military Mountaineering and Climbing instructor and has taken part in exercises and operations in a host of countries around the world. In the Indian Himalayas Ian co-led a joint Anglo-Indian team on the first successful ascent of Mt. Tingchen Khan.
With a lot of help from a dedicated team, Ian built Bushmasters from scratch. He recently took some time to answer questions about life in Guyana and the ethos behind Bushmasters.
ON GUIDING
When did you start working as a nature/tour guide?
I first started guiding in 2000 with the expedition company in Belize.
What sort of tours did you originally lead people on?
My first trips were two- to five-month expeditions that started with ten days of jungle training. Bushmasters started with the two-week survival course and the jungle ventures, but has moved onto the 4x4 off road adventures, the vaquero (cowboy) trip and the horseback trail rides.
Where did you learn your survival skills?
The UK Special Forces survival instructor’s course was my initial starting point. After that, I learned through practice in the various environments that I’ve worked in – jungle, desert, high mountains, etc. The vast majority of my jungle skills, though, came from the local hunters here in Guyana who use the jungle as their very own Wal-Mart! Especially the guides from Iwokrama and Surama village like Dexter Torres, Harold and Milner Captain, and Lionel James.
ON BUSHMASTERS
How long has Bushmasters been around?
Our first trip was a jungle survival course in October 2005.
How did you come up with the concept of Bushmasters?
The idea behind Bushmasters was many years in the planning, most of those spent in the jungles of Central or South America. The rainforest environment is so amazing and yet so few people really get the chance to see the jungle close up outside the normal tourist traps. Very few people also get the opportunity to take part in challenging and exciting trips to places that few, if any, westerners have ever been before.
How does Bushmasters practice sustainable tourism?
The jungle needs a value. It needs to be sustainable. There are sustainable logging practices, animal extraction, fishing projects and so on around the world. But Bushmasters is interested in one aspect, the benefits from sound ecotourism. Without the jungle there will be no tourism of this kind, so we have to keep it intact, and help the local people develop it in the manner they want to. Too many areas [outside of Guyana] have far too many tourists, where local ways of life have been destroyed, and an amazing array of social ills imported and often the wildlife scared into hiding or worse.
Does Bushmasters work with local communities?
We are very keen to protect the environment where we work while at the same time assisting the local communities. Tourism like Bushmasters is a way to allow the local people to gain an additional income from their lands without destroying them. We use local guides and the resources of the local communities, from their eco-lodges, to boats, to the mosquito nets that are made by women from the Amerindian villages.
What is Bushmasters doing to improve Guyana’s guides?
Bushmasters aims to provide a rewarding future for young Guyanese people in the guiding industry by running training courses for these young people every year and also to finance young guides on our trips. On a trip you may see the two senior guides, but also an additional younger guide who is being mentored by the others and funded by Bushmasters to take part in these trips and learn all the weird, strange things that us foreigners bring to the party.
Who is a typical Bushmasters client?
Bushmasters was formed to give a more exciting, extreme, and remote experience. Be warned, it is not intended for people who want to waltz into the jungle with a host of porters carrying all their gear, lighting all their fires, cooking all their food. Our trips are completely different, deliberately so. They are designed for people who want fun, adventure and are willing to push themselves. The idea behind Bushmasters is to bring back the true adventurous spirit for those who are game for the challenge.
What types of trips does Bushmasters offer?
Bushmasters holidays include 4x4 off road adventure; Vaquero (Cowboy); Horseback Trail Ride; Jungle Survival; Safari; Venture; and Plan Your Own. Descriptions of all our trips can be found on our website.
What is Bushmasters’ most popular trip?
And your favorite?
Right now anything to do with the horses: the Vaquero or Trail Ride. The savannah of the Rupununi and its ranches and sights are amazing and being on horseback is the most fun and best way to see everything close up. I can’t explain clearly enough just how awesome it is being on a horse, camping out in the savannah, rounding up the herd, lassoing the calves, walking next to giant anteaters.
Any future plans for development within Bushmasters?
In 2010 we’ll be running two Venture trips in Belize and also looking to start Bushmasters Arabia, in the desert of southern Jordan. The horseback and vaquero trips kick in properly and we’re looking to build a horse-themed, very smart, eco-lodge near Lethem with stunning views to the Kanuku Mountains.
ON GUYANA
Where is your favorite part of Guyana?
The Rupununi Savannahs.
Is there a part of Guyana you haven’t been able to explore yet, but would love to?
The deep South, the New River Triangle, and the tepuis of the North and West.
What makes Guyana an ideal place for the types of trips that you offer?
Guyana’s remote and excellent jungle. Guyana still has that edge of exploration and real adventurer about it as so little has been explored.
Do you prefer rainy or dry season?
Dry season personally, but you can get further in and explore more on the smaller rivers during the rains.
Since you have been in Guyana what changes have you noticed within the tourism industry?
There are tourists now. I saw hardly any real tourists in the first few years I was here.
Where do you see tourism heading in Guyana?
Hopefully growing, though the infrastructure in place to support it is limited and expensive, especially transport, lodges and staff. I think the horseback adventures have massive potential.
To learn more about Bushmasters, visit www.bushmasters.co.uk, or send Ian an email at amazon@bushmasters.co.uk.
