Snorkeling Park, King’s Wharf (Dockyard), Bermuda
UPDATE July 2007
(NOT a ship’s Shore Excursion)
Ship: Norwegian Spirit (NCL)
Sailing Date: July 7th, 2007
Date of Snorkel: July 9th, 2007
Equipment Availability: we have our own which we take with us. There is no snorkeling equipment available at this site—you MUST take your own.
Water Access: Beach
Given our experience at this site in 2006, we decided to try it again, but this time going to the site much earlier in the morning to avoid (we hoped) the throngs of children that we encountered last year. Unfortunately, it was a day of constant drizzle in Bermuda, but we decided that the shallowness of this site would allow for good visibility and light for photography despite the lousy weather. We were not disappointed.
Once again, be warned that there is still no signage to help you find the Snorkeling Park. And, the Pirate’s Den pub, our landmark from last year, has now changed hands. We did not stop for lunch there this time; the new owners offer a variety of standard hamburgers and sandwiches with very few special entres. Just follow the road and sidewalk along the pier, past all of the Dockyard water-front buildings to the Moped Rental Facility, and turn right into the Snorkeling Park access road and entrance, easily spotted by the children’s spray fountain just outside the Park.
The Snorkeling Park has now expanded its site. They have blasted a small channel through the reef on the left side of the site as you face the water. The channel is well marked with a yellow tipped pole. This has opened a whole new area to view the
reef and the fish. On the advice of a very nice man who (we later discovered) works at the snack bar’s new bar facility (on the second floor above the food counter), we ventured out into this area to explore it and the reef beyond. Amazing! The channel itself is home to a large family of Blue Angelfish (roughly 20 animals) and a wide variety of fish are to be seen on either side of the gap—Parrot fish of all varieties (including a number of super-sized Gillenborgs), Butterfly fish of several varieties, Porgys, Damselfish, Grunts, Squirrel Fish, several large Hog Fish, etc…. The newly exposed reef area is well developed with a wide variety of corals—not just algae covered rocks.
From our vantage point at the newly opened bar on top of the snack bar (cash only, but well worth a visit), we noticed that they are now preparing a new beach area to the south of the previous one, from which they obviously hope to encourage people to enter the water for more snorkeling in the reef area without necessarily having to swim through the gap. This site will only improve further with time.
Snorkeling Grade: A+
