| Start Point: | Port Elizabeth |
| Duration: | 4 hours |
| Difficulty (1-5): | 2 |
| Height of Ascent: | 600 ft |
This hike takes you to the most northerly headland on Bequia at a height of 600 feet. There are great views of St Vincent across the Bequia Channel. This is a gentle hike along roads for most of the way, with some rough paths towards the top – we did it in a pair of sturdy sandals.
Start off by taking the road next to the small Knights Supermarket which almost opposite the garage in Port Elizabeth. The road takes you up the hill towards Spring. You will come to a cross road at the top of the hill where you should walk straight on and down the other side of the hill. The road continues down to Spring, then past the Industry and Park beaches.
The Turtle Sanctuary is based at Park Bay and is where you will start to go off the beaten track. Follow the road around the Turtle Sanctuary and it will lead up into a quarry. As soon as you enter the quarry, you should walk up a rough road which goes up to your right.
This leads to a clearing with a house to your right and what seems to be a dead end. Take a rough, muddy path up the side of the house (see Photo). The route now changes from rough road to path as you walk up the hill - often under the cover of trees.
You will come up to a level path that leads to your right to a small clearing high above L’Anse Chemin. There are a couple of side paths which allow you to see down into the Bay far below, which is the original landing site of the first Europeans to settle on Bequia.
From the clearing, there are two paths – take the left hand one. (The right hand one came to a dead end in thick bush.) The path continues through various types of vegetation and is faint at times. You will eventually come out onto a few small rocks on Bequia Head, where you can poke your head above the bushes and see St Vincent.
You are not actually at the highest point and you could possible fight your way to the top, but we didn’t bother.
The route back is the same as you have just come. We stopped off in a great little beach restaurant in Industry Bay about ½ mile past the Turtle Sanctuary.
Note: We have been told that you can often find remains of old Carib pottery buried in the sand banks at Park Beach.