Andros Expedition, October 18-24th 2020

Girls trip… with Bryan, and Cole! COVID-19 restrictions and high winds proved challenging, but instead of dividing us, it pushed us closer and we grasped adventure with both hands. Mangrove snorkels, shark diving, blue holes, night time adventures, ghost stories, hair flicks, six species of shark, two species of ray and a group of true ocean explorers. I’m not sure we’ll ever find a group quite like this, again! Full blog details below.

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Day 1

Departure day! After a whirlwind few weeks of planning COVID tests, VISA applications and more, we were finally all together, waiting at the airport ready to board our flight to Andros.  On arrival to the small, semi-private airport Annie handed out Silent Hunter face masks, individual glass bottled hand sanitizers, questionnaires and pens to all guests. Soon after a quick meet and greet we were in the air gazing down at the blue hues of The Bahamas, with a magnitude of blue holes scattered across the remote landscape. A quick 80 minute flight later we landed in Andros, cleared customs, hopped in our taxis and made our way south to the lodge, our home for the next week.

On arrival to the lodge we were greeted by local dog Bentley, a warm welcome and a nice surprise to see him looking so well and happy – we’d made friends with him on our last trip, in July! Next up Annie and Bryan gave a safety briefing alongside some house rules before heading out for our first adventure!

First stop, and to kick of our Halloween special was a dark and creepy ocean blue hole. With high winds and murky water the atmosphere was intense, to say the least. Nonetheless all guests hopped in for a hit of adrenaline! Some guests dived down into the unknown, while others watched from the surface. With conditions challenging we satisfied our inner adventurers and jumped back on the boat to relocate to a calmer location.

At our next spot we decided to bait for a short while, just to see if there were any local sharks nearby. Unfortunately we didn’t see any and with the wind howling we made our way back to the lodge. 

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Day 2

A new day was upon us and, as with every morning, guests have the choice of a freshly-made breakfast eggs (scrambled, fried, or an omelet) to-order at no extra cost, cereals, toast, fresh fruit, yogurt, and more.

With light rain forecast, rain jackets were at the ready, and for those without a rain jacket, custom bag coats were created! – Guest Rosie upcycled her black dive bag (for wet clothes) and with the help of Annie, made a swanky waterproof Silent Hunter jacket! Winner!

With the winds high we voted for a day of baiting in the hopes of attracting a great hammerhead. Although October is early in the season we’ve previously seen hammerheads this time of year. With the winds pushing us around we couldn’t reach our usual spot, so opted for a close by location. Unable to position ourselves in our preferred site was hard to swallow, but we set up close by and projected positive vibes!

We started to bait and bond over music and shark tales before heading to the shoreline for a walk, and to cool down in the shallows. As we walked the beach we found shells, saw a small lemon shark and spotted what we believed was a turtle taking a breath! It was a special moment as we all stood side-by-side, except for Bryan who had mounted a fallen tree in the hopes of spotting the turtle from a higher view point! – There’s always one!

We made our way back to the boat to bait, and dig our heels in for the remainder of the day. The sharks of Andros didn’t disappoint; in total we had a blacktip, six lemon sharks, seven Caribbean reef and a large nurse shark! We never did see our hammerhead, but with over 15 sharks, of four species surrounding our boat all afternoon, it was truly an incredible day. Watching the sharks coexist, challenge and turn submissive was a learning activity for all.

With a storm closing in, light diminishing and a down pour of rain, we were forced to move on, back to the lodge once again, although no amount of rain could spoil our day of wonderful moments and memories. We drove home with huge smiles on our faces!

Once back at the lodge our routine shower, followed by a homemade dinner of Johny bread, a starter salad, a main meal and desert, ended with a game of HeadsUp! Well, actually a lot more as we surpassed over 200 games! We can’t explain just how much fun we had, or how competitive all participants were! A great end to a great day. Off to bed we went.

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Day 3

Today started with guest Marlayna leading some yoga at sunrise, followed by a hearty breakfast. Our plan for today was to head south to a remote part of Andros. First up was a mangrove snorkel.

Guests spotted sea cucumbers, an abundance of fishes and a large conch. Annie picked up the shell to show the guests the conch in a little more detail, while speaking on lip thickness (maturity) and how the conch uses its ‘foot’ to walk. Many find seeing a live conch fascinating as the animal inside isn’t typically what people expect to see. Their eyes peering from inside their shell rather fascinates people, or freaks them out!

After a peaceful snorkel we took a little time to search the flats before arriving at our next location; a shallow snorkel spot with an ocean blue hole. As we entered the water we were greeted by a southern stingray in the distance, and an abundance of fishes thriving on the shallow reef. Lion fish, lobster and tons of Nassau grouper were all immediately spotted.

Once over the blue hole we took it in turns to dive down into it. Some guests took shallow dives, while others ventured deeper to approximately 30ft. The deeper we dove the less there was to see, however down in the darkness was a creepy down current which is something to take very seriously. After our dives we circled the surrounding reef and found a friendly eagle ray that made a close pass by some guests, followed by over six stingrays! Most of the rays were hiding in the sand, however they regularly swam off and under guests, to simply turn straight back around and rest right under our fins! After our fun with the rays, a large barracuda stalked a few of us, while a nurse shark was seen resting under a ledge.

After our dive we climbed back on the boat for lunch before setting our sights on a very remote inland blue hole. This isolated hole was untouched and incredibly difficult to reach. Balancing across a stream of rocks we slowly made our way to our afternoon dive location. We jumped in to a nice refreshing temperature and began to explore; circling the parameter, freediving down to the bottom (around 30ft) and past, via a cave/tunnel like system. We all had fun practicing duck dives and simply enjoying the remotes of our location. As you fly over Andros you gaze down to secluded blue holes that seem so far out of reach, yet here we were, in the middle of one! We enjoyed our time here before making our way back to the boat, collecting a little trash on route.

As we traveled back to the lodge many of us were deep in reflection; what a wonderful day. We saw so much and experienced a taste of true exploration.

The day was far from over though! After our showers and dinner we were treated to some Halloween cake, some TikTok dance routines and some nighttime fun!

Annie presented some limited edition Silent Hunter clothing and decals, followed by the rules of a surprise game! Annie, Bryan and Cole had placed some glow-in-the-dark bugs around the lodge. The game was simple, whoever found the most bugs, picked the first prize and everyone got a prize regardless. Go! As the guests ran around outside into the darkness the weather decided to throw a serious curve ball. A thunderstorm. You couldn’t have planned it! Less than five minutes in and torrential rain and thunder was upon us! Guests zoomed around and showed their true competitive nature, it was on!

With winners announced, prizes handed out, and soaking wet clothes changed, Annie gave captain Cole a haircut (he couldn’t get one on Andros!) and we all slowly made our way to bed, what a day!

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Day 4

This morning we started the day with a real treat, a lecture from Bryan. Bryan focused his lecture on the movement ecology of the bonnethead shark (Sphyrna tiburo). We always aim to provide a few talks or lectures, however this lecture was particular special given it was on Bryan’s PhD defense.

On wrapping up Bryan’s lecture, it was obvious the wind was going to keep us close to shore. We headed out for a shallow water snorkel. Once in we found lots of treasure including shells, lobster, a sea cucumber, sand dollars, and even a scute- part of a turtle shell! - Please note you can NOT import/export any piece of a turtle, even if found, just like this. All turtle parts are protected by law and a scientific research permit is required to collect, receive, import or export parts. The star of the show however, was a rare sighting of a large stonefish! This little chap boasted incredible camouflage and all guests enjoyed a close view as we were swimming in less than 5ft of water.

Next up we moved on to an ocean blue hole, with a twist. Guests didn’t realize but Annie, Bryan and Cole had plotted a Halloween prank. As Cole distracted guests with a ‘what was that’ decoy, Annie passed Bryan a prop, a fake snake/sea creature skeleton. Bryan swiftly swam it over to the blue hole as Annie asked him to ‘check the current and visibility’ and boom, our prank was in place, resting under a ledge!

As guests hopped in they were greeted by a resting male stingray but it wasn’t long before our snake was thrown into the limelight. We enjoyed tricking people with our ‘what’s THAT’ acting, but thrived on the photoshoot with Marvin (the snake) after! On leaving the blue hole we spotted endless amounts of fishes, and also a colorful nudibranch.

Once back on the boat we started to bait to see if we could attract a tiger shark. We’d previously seen them in this location so wanted to give baiting a try. With navy helicopters flying overhead, rap music blaring and everyone dancing it felt more like a hip hop music video than a serious expedition, so, we went with it and enjoyed the madness! After a few hours of baiting we were treated to a few small reef sharks and a larger nurse, but no tiger was seen. Spirits were high nonetheless and we slowly made our way back to the lodge while searching for sharks on route home. A shower, dinner, apple pie and a ‘quick’ game of HeadsUps later, it was time for bed.

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Day 5

This morning we woke to finish Bryans lecture and to buckle our seatbelts in for an exciting, exploratory day.

First up was a new location we found on the map. A blue hole surrounded by shallow water. We knew it couldn’t be reached by boat so we packed light and started a long walk through sand flats, a beach, shallow corals, rocks, and mangroves. We anticipated a four hour walk, round trip. The walk started well with two ‘young of the year’ lemon sharks spotted, followed by a peaceful walk over the sand flats. Then, as we approached the mangroves we were surrounded by a ginormous school of pilchards, there were thousands and the moment was breathtaking! We snorkeled the mangroves and they were jam packed with life, but we had to keep moving as the tide was rising, thus getting deeper.

As we continued on, Annie got distracted by a lobster she found hiding under a ledge. Soon enough everyone was focused on the lobster, then we found more and more; it was extremely special to see so much life in such shallow water. As Annie and the guests got sidetracked with the lobster, a giant spider crab, an eel, sea cucumbers and more, Bryan reevaluated our location. We were approaching the high tide and our blue hole could not be found! We knew we were close but with a big afternoon ahead of us, we made the decision to enjoy the sea life before heading back to the boat.

The ocean had other plans though. As we walked the tide reached dead high and a few of our smaller guests had water past chest height. Do we return, back the way we came? Or walk out, potentially deeper? It was truly the unknown. Come on, we are adventurers, of course we kept walking out! Then, as the water started to reach our chins, Annie asked the question, ‘Could you swim to our boat’, with a few immediate ‘no’s’ Bryan hit the radio. Thankfully Captain Cole skillfully navigated to our rescue! As he swung the boat around us, we formed a dive rescue circle whilst screeching Cole Cole Cole -think of the seagulls in Finding Nemo. What an adventure! 

Once back on the boat we headed to a local beach for lunch, before starting a baiting session in the hopes of attracting some lemon sharks into the shallows. One, two, three… nine! We had at least nine lemon sharks present, two of which exceeded two meters (6ft). Guests enjoyed viewing the sharks underwater, however with the sharks confidence sky high we were soon pushed back into shallower water.

With the guests standing or kneeling on the beach the sharks showed their comfortability in just a few inches of water. It was hard to leave the sharks, but with time vanishing and a nighttime activity planned we slowly made our way back to the lodge.

On arrival to the lodge we cleaned ourselves up and enjoyed a small rest. After our delicious lobster dinner Annie gave a talk on freediving photography and shared stories on a selection of her favorite moments.

As darkness approached we climbed back on the boat for our nighttime activity; a spooky Halloween baiting session! We set up and started to share frightening ghost and alien stories, it wasn’t long before we scared each other with some rather intense memoirs! We needed a distraction, so, Annie offered guests a trick or treat from the famous snack bag. Treat was a cold piece of chocolate under the stars, trick was silly, it was Annie screaming in your face! Surprisingly some guests chose trick and still jumped even when expecting a fright!

We approached midnight and with incredibly low visibility meaning any sharks present could not be seen, we decided to draw a line under our baiting efforts. Even with challenging conditions, we had a fun, and appreciated the unusual, spooky evening.

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Day 6

As with all our trips we plan activities based on guest feedback and preferences. The votes were in and today we planned another visit to the lemon sharks, followed by another attempt of attracting a hammerhead into the shallows. The wind was once again uncooperative, however we will always do everything in our power to remain on the water and deliver as best we can for our guests.

First up, the lemons! We arrived and were greeted by a small neonatal lemon shark, and a large southern stingray. What a welcome! We hopped in and before we knew it were surrounded by sharks, over 20 lemons and an adult nurse.

The sharks were everywhere we looked. A white sandy beach, crystal clear aqua water and sharks galore, what more could we ask for? We spent hours with the sharks, under the water and walking the flats, none of us wanted the morning to end, it was truly magical as the sharks stuck around long after we’d stopped baiting allowing us to enjoy freely walking around as we desired.

After an incredible morning we stopped for a little fun which included a photoshoot with hair flicks! No one seemed that keen, however once we got going everyone was on board and we had a wonderful time simply being silly and living in the moment.

Next up was our boat baiting session. Almost immediately we attracted two large reef sharks; things were looking great! The sharks were bold, confident and feeding without hesitation. After baiting for 30 minutes we decided to get in and spend some time with the sharks underwater. The visibility however was simply too poor and unsafe to continue, so back on the boat we climbed to continue our efforts. Unfortunately no hammerheads were attracted to our scent trail, and so we slowly made our way back to the lodge for our final night.

Our last night of the ‘Girls Trip’ saw us apply green face masks, dance barefoot and enjoy some local gentleman playing music with a hand saw and cheese grater -you read that correctly! After a few celebratory drinks, it was off to bed for our final night in Andros.

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Day 7

With last day sad vibes upon us and howling winds we all agreed to a lecture and casual packing session before our departure. Well, that was before an unexpectant weather window presented itself! Go time! We quickly grabbed our equipment, jumped on the boat and braced ourselves as we ventured out to our silky shark dive site, in far from ideal conditions!

We spotted two sharks on pulling up and with our flight due to depart in just a few hours we all made our way into the water asap. No bait was used, the silkies were simply present on arrival which made the dive even more special. There were rainbow runners and six sharks in total, four of which remained close to our divers showing off their bold pelagic personalities! With conditions challenging it was a proud moment to see our guests in the water with these fearless sharks.

But, all good things must come to an end. We hopped back on the boat and made our way back to the lodge for a final time. We quickly jumped in the shower, packed the last of our belongings and took our taxi’s back to the airport. As always, the flight leaving Andros was bitter sweet; we’re always sad to leave but are grateful for the friends and memories we make each time.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful guests for joining us, the incredible Andros Island Bonefish Club for their hospitality, the hardworking and ever professional Cole from PFO Charters for his top class boating and captaining skills, and everyone that made this trip as awesome as it was: an entirely unforgettable October 2020.

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If you’d like to join us on an expedition, we still have space on our 2021 expeditions, so contact us and be part of something truly special.