Arriving by seaplane
Walkers Cay, located about 40 miles north of Grand Bahama Island, is most regularly accessed by seaplane from Fort Lauderdale (45 min service by Pan Am Airbridge). There is also an airstrip that takes up most of the small island. Therefore an alternative means of getting to the island is to charter a small plane (beware, however, the strip is short and it may be a problem when wet - see information at bottom of page about aviation accidents at Walkers). The resort includes a good sized marina making the island a popular destination for boaties visiting from Florida (about 100 miles to the west) or from Grand Bahama. This boat traffic represents a significant source of visitation to the resort and island with the marina representing a busy place of activity and an important source of business for the resort.
Reservations and travel agents: We booked our 5 night vacation for a party of six through Neal Watson's Undersea Adventures. Although our reservations and flights were handled efficiently we do not recommend this service for two reasons: 1. the service has a stringent refund policy; 2. we were misinformed about the nature of available accommodations. In the former case one of our party could not dive due to pregnancy (this became apparent within a few days of making our reservations and was not covered by travel insurance). Undersea Adventures were unwilling to switch the affected individuals reservation to the considerably cheaper non-diver package despite our request for this change within one week of making our reservations. Individuals or groups planning a vacation to Walkers Cay should therefore consider making their reservations directly with the resort (phone: 1-800-WALKERS or (954) 359-1400 or fax (954) 359-1414) which has a more liberal refund policy and can provide accurate information about accommodations etc.
Apart from the two pools (one salt water the other fresh?), bar and small beach at the other end of the island (a 10 minute walk) there is not much to do at Walkers unless you are a fisherman or a diver. We were there for the diving and those of us who were able to participate in this pursuit did not leave Walkers dissatisfied or disappointed. Two dives in the morning, one in the afternoon and on one evening a twilight dive kept the divers amongst us occupied and happy.
The staff, divemasters and all hands were helpful, friendly and showed good humor. Novice and experienced divers (this covered the range in our group) alike participated in the same dives; although this may cause problems to some operations, at Walkers the range of experience was catered for extremely well. Resort and open water certification courses are available. The operation at Walkers looks like a good place to complete the dive portion of a certification course after basic training back home.
Most of the better diving we experienced at Walkers was in depths of less than 40 feet. Although we had a few dives down to 80 -100' these were generally unexceptional (bar the twilight dive) and did not include drop offs. One of the more interesting aspects to diving at Walkers were the numerous places with underwater swim throughs, caverns and tunnels that punctuated the reef system. Some of these seemed to go on for hundreds of yards with just the occasional glimpse of the surface through small cracks in the reef above.
Of course one of the principal reasons for divers to visit Walkers is to participate in their world famous close up encounters with sharks. This image of a blacktip was taken with a 20 mm lens which provides some idea of just how close one can get without actually coming into contact with the prey (unlike diving with hammerheads at Cocos and Galapagos where its a problem to get within 5 feet of your subject).
What makes the shark diving at Walkers such a memorable experience is their innovative use of the "chumsicle" - a rubbish bin size slab of frozen fish waste hung on hooks. Unlike shark feeds by other outfits, where the fish is fed to the sharks piece by piece, the use of the chumsicle makes for more action but less danger.
During our stay at Walkers we were fortunate to participate in three shark dives. The third was on our last day when we restricted ourselves to snorkel diving. Thus, if you are a snorkel diver don't count yourself out of the shark dive experience. For two of the divers in our group the shark dive represented their second dive. The experience has left them hooked for more.
The sharks (mainly black tip, caribbean reef, bull and nurse sharks) basically attach themselves to the frozen blob and suck to their hearts content. Thus, while maintaining continuous action, the containment of the attractive morcel means that there is less of a problem of multiple stray pieces finding their way into the laps of nearby hapless divers.
The shark dives proved to be great photo opportunities. For those who wish photographic evidence of their adventure video tapes of the shark feed dives are available. Be warned, however, to check your copy before you leave Walkers. After shelling out the required amount, one member of our group returned home only to find his tape blank. Apart from the considerable loss of face in front of his friends (who were present in anticipation of his formidable courage amongst the legendary man eaters) this person still has yet to receive a replacement tape or refund.
E mail: Graeme Eisenhofer at graeme@his.com
This page has been accessed 53144 times since August 30, 1997.