I had no idea the Hermitage Dam was so large. On a previous visit there, I thought I had seen it all. But until you go around the bushes to the southern end, you really do not appreciate the huge expanse of this dam, or regretfully, the fact that it is overburdened with silt and almost empty at this time. Thanks to Dwayne for the eye opener. He is a 4th form student at Tarrant High who along with a friend of his who attends Kingston College, take the long trek on foot to Stony Hill every day before they can get transportation to take them to school. In the evenings, they repeat the process.
Dwayne wants to be an engineer and hopes to join the army to start the process. He definitely has the eye of an engineer for as he gave us the tour, he explained that the huge mountains of dirt that the NWC refuse to take advantage of the drought to remove, are going to erode the capacity of the dam to hold the maximum amount of water when the rains come again.
We had arrived at the dam early as Charles had arrived at my home promptly at 5.30 (the appointed departure time from the headquarters in Hope Pastures) and we had headed out slowly, for a pleasant ride while enjoying the cool morning air. We arrived at the dam at 8.16 am and met Dwayne who had accompanied his sisters across the bridge on their way to church, before he turned back.
He told of us of the vast quantities of fish that breeds in the dam and the pleasure and income the local people get from fishing in the dam. His brother is one of the enterprising fishermen who sets his net in the dam and uses a raft as transportation.
The other riders eventually arrived at about 9.30 am and happily Fatman had driven to Stony hill and bought the breakfast. And what a welcome and delicious breakfast it was for we were starving as we had depended on our "cane man" having fruits for us to buy on the way but was only able to get a few ripe bananas.
After breakfast, we headed off to Bowden Hill Primary school where we were to meet our guide Mr. Mayne to take us to the waterfall nearby. In the meantime, Charles set off with Dwayne to go to the falls via the river with its slippery rocks.
Mr. Mayne's son acted as our guide to the falls while his father set off to chop down the bushes on the better trail which had become overgrown. This proved to be a 20 minute hike through green, lush country, reminding me a bit of some our treks through the Cockpit Country. Sections of this trail were a bit challenging as we had to climb over huge, slippery rocks in the river. But it was an overall pleasant journey. The extremely high waterfall which is fed by the Motion river which flows all the way from out of Portland is in a lush almost Garden of Eden like setting.
At first touch, the water felt extremely cold but when one jumps in, it becomes pleasantly refreshing once the body becomes acclimatised. Right under the falls is a ledge on which up to three persons can sit comfortably while getting a massage from the cascading waters.
We spent a very pleasant morning there, frolicking in the fresh water, horsing around and taking pictures. The hike back was easier as Mr. Mayne had cleared a much easier route for us to walk back. I can guarantee that this waterfall will become one of our favourite spots for future treks.
We all rode back together except Celia, Charles and Grace who took the easy way out. Penny also went in the support vehicle part of the way as Zuri was not at all enthralled with the numerous potholes that she had to abide in the carrier on the back of Stefan's bike.
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