Bonaire Diving - Bart and Bob’s Dive Report
by Bart Snelder
Bonaire is world famous for its beautiful marine park. The Bonaire Marine Park celebrated its 30th birthday just last year. It’s been an example for marine park systems around the world and its blueprint has been copied by many others.
But did you know that Bonaire has an older park? The Washington-Slagbaai National Park in the north of the island is our land park that encompasses almost a fifth of the island. It’s huge! And there’s diving here.
The park took shape when Boy Herrera, owner of one of the two largest plantations on Bonaire (it was named America, then became Washington), stipulated in his will, that all the land would be given to the island and people of Bonaire, on the condition that it would never be developed. It became a park in 1969 and the first sanctuary of the Netherlands Antilles. Money was raised to add the Slagbaai plantation to Washington in 1979.
Although Slagbaai was also a plantation, it derives its name from the slaughter (‘slag’ in old Dutch) house situated in the largest bay (‘baai’). The bay is exceptionally calm and thus provided safe and sheltered anchorage. It was easy for passing ships to do the necessary repairs after the perilous trip across the Atlantic and to take on fresh food and meat which was slaughtered on demand.
Throughout their existence the plantations were barely viable economically. The arid climate made it virtually impossible to raise crops other than aloe, dye wood and goats, and lost their significance even more after the sailing era. The result is an enormous untouched, uncultivated land area, dry, barren, rough. Its desolation is exactly what makes it so beautiful!
Why go to the park you ask? Go because of its long list of species; its flamingos in every bay and salt flat; its hilly landscape, covered with immense cacti; its varied shore line, with small bays and small hidden beaches. When you drive around on the unpaved roads, (there are long and short routes) the sea is never far away. On the east and north you’ll find thunderous, trade-wind driven waves crashing on the roughest of iron shores. On the west side are bays as calm as an open sea can get.
For us divers, there are some beautiful shore dives to be made here. Some are advanced, such as Boca Bartol, with occasionally strong currents and at the bottom of the drop off (at 140’) large coral formations sticking out of the sand like islands. Others are quite easy, such as at beautiful Slagbaai itself. And because it is not as easy to get here as is most of the shore diving on Bonaire, you’ll probably have the dive site to yourself
Here’s a secret tip from Bart and Bob. The waves of tropical storm Lenny turned up the bottom in the shallows of Slagbaai. It laid bare old cannon, anchors, and artefacts. You can find them, even snorkeling. Or just sift through the sand on the beach. Maybe you will find cannonballs or large copper ship’s nails, centuries old, like we did … HEY BART, we’re not supposed to tell!
photo credit: Debrot collection at STINAPA site www.washingtonparkbonaire.org
(Editors Note – Wannadive Bonaire, owned by Bart Snelder and Roeland “Bob” Labots are experienced, dedicated PADI dive instructors and Bonaire veterans. Wannadive has oceanfront locations at Eden Beach Resort, in town on the harborfront next to City Café and at the new Windsock Beach Club — as well as a facility at their own small hotel, the Wannadive Hut. Their team’s casual way of providing world class service assures customers will have as much fun on their Bonaire dive vacation as Bart and Bob have working here.)
Contact us at www.BonairePros.com for a Wannadive vacation package.
Article written by Bart Snelder
