THE ABACOS
Occasionally referred to as the “Isles of the old time Loyalists’, the Abacos are an elbow shaped cluster of islands and cays stretching 130 miles in a southeasterly direction from Walker’s Cay in the north to the tip of Great Abaco in the south. Located 200 miles east of Miami and 75 miles north of Nassau, the Abacos consist of main islands, Gat and Little Abaco, and dozens of cays which are bordered by the shallow waters of the Little Bahama Bank to the west an the Atlantic to the east.
The islands, with hundreds o sheltered bays and protected waters, are extremely popular with yachtsmen and divers. Superb modern facilities exist in the Abacos alongside a distinctive old world charm. Among the smaller islands of the group is Man of War Cay, with its traditional shipbuilding industry, and Treasure Cay, which has a championship golf course and an up marked hotel and marina complex.
The largest island in the Abaco chain, Great Abaco, is fringed by approximately 25 cays which form part of the inner barrier reef system protecting the islands from the worst of the Atlantic storms. There are two further secondary barrier reefs further east from the cays which provide additional protection for the much more exposed cays themselves. The Abacos’ only underwater park is the Pelican Cay National Park located around the Pelican Cays, southeast of Marsh Harbour, the commercial centre. The park protects an extensive area of shallow reefs and mangroves harbouring a large array of marine life, and is an understandably popular spot with divers and snorkellers.
In Abaco National Park In the south of Great Abaco, have been set aside to protect the Bahama Parrot which is unique as it nests only in holes in the limestone rock. All of the northern parts of the island are covered in dense pine forest while the entire western seaboard is a massive wetland area of small creeks, mangrove forest and small islands known as The Marls which provides an important nursery for many of the reefs’ fish and invertebrate populations. The area is a natural habitat for ducks, egrets and herons, and can be explored by kayak.
The main town on nearby Green Turtle Cay is New Plymouth, located at the southern end of this island and occupying most of the headland. Founded in the 18th century, the town retains a great deal of colonial charm with its brightly colored houses with peaked roofs, old verandas and quiet lanes. A narrow finger of scrubby land juts out between Settlement Creek and Black Sound, offering safe, sheltered anchorage in bad weather. Once a busy port, New Plymouth now has just 400 residents and it takes no more than ten minutes to walk down its main street, Parliament Street. Access to the island is by water taxi from the Treasure Cay airport, a few minutes’ ride across a 3 mile stretch of water.
