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Arrowpoint Nature Resort is one of Guyana’s tourism treasures. Nestled quietly on the left bank of the Kamuni Creek, it fits snugly and humbly into its jungle setting.

One of the finer examples of Guyana’s eco-tourism product, Arrowpoint coexists with its interior setting without ruffling the natural environment. Biking, bird-watching, and quiet, reflective strolls along its winding trails are just part of the “eco-adventure” product that it offers. Flowing past the Resort, the serene waters of the Kamuni Creek kiss a small, inviting expanse of white sandy beach.

Arrowpoint is one of several facilities and services comprising the Roraima Group of Companies. Roraima’s owner and Chief Executive Officer, veteran aircraft pilot Captain Gerry Gouveia, regards the resort as the jewel in the Roraima crown. It is easy to understand why. Its unpretentious facade makes it a natural extension of Santa Mission, the Amerindian reservation with which it shares its interior space.

Its décor and artifacts showcase the culture and lifestyle of the indigenous Indians. Significantly, it is to Santa Mission that Arrowwpoint looks whenever it seeks employees for the facility. Over time Roraima has undertaken various projects at Santa mission aimed at enhancing the community. In 1994 the Company adopted the village school. Seven years later, in 2001 Roraima, with the assistance of the state-managed Social Impact Amelioration Programme (SIMAP) established a community Library. Gouveia never seems to tire of talking about the role of the library in enhancing the literary skills of the community.

Established in 1993, Arrow Point takes its name from the profusion of arrow trees that grow in the area. As the name suggests the trees are used by the native Amerindians to fashion the arrows used for hunting. The Resort’s eight cabins and its main Lodge are all built from timber and other materials taken from surrounding area and constructed by local Amerindian craftsmen.

Small, conspicuous and comfortable, the cabins sit beside well manicured grasslands, their functional exterior concealing en suite bathrooms, and large comfortable beds that offer, simultaneously, the intimacy of a romantic setting and the comfort sought by the holidaying family.

The journey onto the resort allow you to experience the twists and turns of the exhilarating speedboat ride along the Kamuni Creek providing visitors with just the kind of “rush” that precede the adventure of Arrowpoint itself. The banks of the river are dotted with small Amerindian settlements and ever so often Arrowpoint’s larger, faster speedboats must reduce their speed in deference to the safety of the small paddleboats traversing the creek, sometimes with entire Amerindian families.

Ironically, it is Hopetown, a now deserted Chinese settlement that is the Kamuni Creek’s best-known historic landmark. Located just half a mile from the point where the Demerara River meets the Kamuni Creek, Hopetown was established by a Chinese Christian missionary, O Taye Kim during the mid-1860’s. Along with his 25 intrepid followers Kim established a settlement that thrived mostly on rice cultivation. As the story goes the Hopetown community grew to around 800 but eventuality collapsed amidst a scandal in which Kim was linked to fraudulent appropriation of the community’s funds.

The ride to Arrowpoint is usually punctuated by a stop at Santa Mission itself. If you are lucky you will be greeted by noisy groups of Amerindian boys, bobbing up and down in the creek like animated others or else, engaged in a game of cricket. For the visitor Santa Mission’s Craft Shop is a mandatory stop. It boasts a collection of the finest Amerindian craft to be found anywhere in Guyana. Logging is the economic mainstay of the community.

Visitors to Arrowpoint are customarily greeted by a small welcoming party bearing complimentary beverages. Next comes a mandatory briefing embodying safety and resort activities.

The Arrowpoint routine begins with the “Wabani Jungle Expedition” – a walk along the winding trails under the guidance of Amerindian guides. The Wabini is a sort of perch built in trees to allow the Amerindian hunter to observe his prey without his scent being detected. It is from this perch that the kill is made.

Kayaking can be a nightmare for the novice. The safety regime, however, is reassuring and it becomes an enjoyable experience once you get the “hang” of it. The adventure begins at Lucky Seed Landing a forested area where dense vegetation puts kayaking skills to a stern test. By the time you get to Alligator Alley you almost always get the hang of it and the rest of the journey across the open waters of the creek and back to the Resort is more or less “a piece of cake.”

Lunch at Arrowpoint compares favourably with the very best restaurants in Guyana. After Lunch guests may choose simply to relax – either in their cabins or on the beach. Otherwise, the Resort offers a range of other activities - surf biking, pedal boating, swimming – or if you are up to it Mountain biking along the jungle trails is one of the high lights for the more adventurous, the trail system is well planned and mapped using the GPS and was designed for varying degrees of difficulty. The trails extend for approximately 50 miles over bridges and hills that allow the riders not only the pleasure of enjoying the thrill of mountain biking in the rainforest but along the way the discovery of little homesteads which will in itself prove very interesting. Bikes are available for rent at the resort.

The showcasing of the Amerindian culture by the cassava bread making demonstration captivates the guest with a 30 mins journey through the process of extracting the poison and then baking the bread, allows the guest to taste this wonderful snack made before your very eyes.

As night falls, the resort comes alive with the lighting of the flambose erected around the perimeters and the adventure continues with dinner around the bonfire. Venturing out on the “creatures of the night expedition’ is adventurous, where the visitor is furnished with head lamps and are then taken for a trek along the dark jungle trails with only the head lamps to reflect on the different colour eyes of the creatures of the night. This is gets even more exiting as you board the small boat for spotting of the eyes of the crocodiles, and the white lilies that open only at night. Afterwards, you can simply sit on the boardwalk that extends from the main Lodge to the water’s edge sipping your favourite drink and watching the darkness. At those moments the magic of Arrowpoint is at its most appealing.

For the bird watching enthusiast, the 350 species of birds which are well defined in the bird list will keep the bird watching enthusiast exited and busy. Its has been said this resort is a humming bird haven; it is the home for the crimson topaz.