Dominica: kayaking the Waitukubuli Sea Trail

As part of my new TRAK kayak purchase, I also signed up for one of their kayaking trips. I’d decided after Norway that my next kayaking adventure would be somewhere tropical! It would also be great experience with the TRAK kayak before I get mine in the spring. Dominica is home to the Waitukubuli Sea Trail, and we’d be guided by Wes and Kerry who pioneered this trail about a year and a half ago. The Waitukubuli Sea Trail is considered the Caribbean’s first dedicated sea kayaking route – stretching nearly 40 miles along the west coast.

Here’s a short video of this incredible kayaking trip:

Day 1

Skipping all the travel (Vancouver to Newark, Newark to San Juan, overnight in San Juan, San Juan to Dominica), I arrived in Dominica! It was way more mountainous than I expected and super lush. My first full day here was a bit of a “free day” until our tour kick off dinner that evening. I met up with two women on the tour (Monique and Annie) and we walked to Scotts Head. After a swim to cool off, Monique and I got out for a short paddle. It was super windy that day so we only did a few loops near the water sports shop but it was great to get out.

Later in the afternoon I went snorkelling with Kailey and Jacob – the water was so warm! Dominica has the highest concentration of dormant volcanoes in the world, which means there are a number of natural spas and hot pools created from the sulfur springs which seep up from below. This includes into the ocean, with bubbles coming up from the sea floor. If you dig your feet in the sand it is HOT! This was such a surprise! For once I didn’t do any research before a trip. Often as the “trip planner” for most of my adventures, I end up seeing photos of a point of interest, meaning there are few surprises for me when I actually get there. Since this was a guided trip I purposely didn’t look up any parts of the sea kayaking trail or Dominica in general so that each day of exploring is a new surprise.

We had our tour kick off dinner at the Soufriere Guesthouse where we’re all staying our first few nights. There are nine of us on the tour and it’s a really lovely group of people. We went through the trip plan for the week – we’ll be traveling the entire west side of Dominica by kayak from the south in Scotts Head to the north in Capuchin. Helllllzssz yassss

Day 2 – 5km

We started our day at a natural hot spring a short walk from the Soufriere Guesthouse. We did a sulfur mud scrub which made my skin feel amazing! Grayson, who ran the place, described how he built the pools himself, which are all fed by natural hot springs water and surrounded by beautiful flowers and mountain views. The people here are really friendly.

After our spa morning we were down at the water, assembling our TRAK kayaks before heading out on a shorter paddle from Soufriere to Scotts Head. We did a little hike to the top of the Scott’s Head peninsula, with one of our guides, Kerry, showing us how to crack fresh almonds from the tree.

We had lunch before getting back out on the water. Some of the group opted to paddle out to where the rough Atlantic ocean meets the Carribean sea which was really cool. We didn’t go out too far as it gets incredibly rough but was fun to poke the nose of our kayaks out to check things out. While we were out there we saw a greenback turtle chillin in the waves.

When we got back to shore, after kayaking back in some strong winds, a group of us wanted to practice self rescues. I successfully completed a few “cowboy rescues” – first time on the TRAK kayak with no issues. It was so nice to practice that in warm water and was a lot of fun!

And because that wasn’t a busy enough of a day, most of the group decided to go out snorkeling out to the “abyss” where the reef wall just drops incredibly steeply. It was actually scary at first to swim into it, just the scale of the drop was so surreal, but it was beautiful. The water was so clear, so blue, and the reef was really healthy. Underwater GoPro footage to come when I get home!

We finished our day with a beach bbq, a stunning sunset, and some live music. Life is good.

Day 3 – 8km

We said goodbye to Soufriere and headed north to Roseau. We stopped at Champagne beach for a long snorkel led by Kerry. It was such a great experience as Kerry knew all the spots to take us to having been the Chief Marine Warden for the marine reserve. He even showed us the specific coral he’d saved by applying a special compound to protect the coral. It’s been really special having Kerry guide us with his obvious passion for Dominica and protecting the reef. The snorkeling here was even better than the abyss, insane clarity and such variety of fish! I saw two beautiful eels weaving through the coral.

After snorkeling and a good beach lunch, we were off again to continue our journey into Roseau. When we arrived at our hotel we unpacked the kayaks and headed to another natural hot springs. Wes and Kerry had arranged for a bus to take us there. We arrived in the rain and in the dark, relaxing in hot springs with the frogs and crickets and sounds of the forest and the rain was so nice.

The group parted ways for dinner with most opting for jerk chicken. But I really wanted seafood so Annie, Monique and I dined on the water at our hotel. I had a delicious conch salad done in a creole sauce, and Annie and Monique had the Mahi Mahi (which they let me try and it was also unreal). We swapped stories, backcountry camping recipes, and had a really lovely evening. It’s been fun being in a group of really passionate kayakers and picking the brains of other TRAK owners on their experience with the kayak.

Day 4 – 24km

We had a nice breakfast by the ocean before gearing up for our longest trek of the sea trail. Wes told us 10 miles (16km) but turns out that’s if you drew a straight line. We had to hug the coast to keep the wind at bay, making it a longer journey. We were paddling from Roseau to Coulibistrie – the cliffs we could see in the horizon was our destination and I thought someone was pulling my leg, it didn’t seem possible to do in a day. So I hoped it was a joke and took it one stroke at a time. No stops for snorkeling, just paddling with a few stops to swim and cool down. We were lucky that it rained on and off most of the morning. It is incredibly hot here so the rain was such a welcome relief.

For lunch we went to Boyd’s Bakes, one of the best bake shops in Dominica. A bake is a salty bread that they stuff, often with smoked fish. We’d been enjoying bakes at breakfast every day so I was curious what this place was all about. Omg it was too good!!! I ate five! They were incredible and I got a photo with Mr Boyd himself.

I was full of bread and moving a bit slow but we eventually made it to our hotel in Coulibistrie. We ended up paddling 24km which is the longest I’ve ever paddled (previous record was 17km). People were sore but everyone was so stoked. We had dinner at our hotel and most of us ordered the lobster (after all, the restaurant was called “Lobster Palace”) – we were NOT disappointed. It was the biggest lobster I’d ever seen let alone eaten and I ate all of it. We celebrated Kailey’s birthday and then called it a night. Another day of paddling awaits.

Day 5 – 17 km

We had a huge breakfast before departing for Cabrits National Park. The plan was to paddle to secret beach for lunch and a snorkel before the final crossing to Cabrits where we’d be staying at Fort Shirley. The weather had other plans for us. The morning started out great, everyone was excited and in good spirits. But shortly after the winds and waves picked up – for 1.5 hours we battled 20 knots with gusts of 25 knots, and 1 to 2 foot waves. The wind was unrelenting, it barely felt like we were moving. We had to bail out of exhaustion at the next closest beach and rested for a while. That was the most difficult experience I’d ever had on the water. I didn’t feel scared or uncomfortable at any point, it was just extremely challenging.

It was too rough to reach our destination so Wes came up with a plan b – we paddled to a nearby hotel to leave our kayaks and got a ride to Cabrits. The fort we’re staying in is spectacular. It’s really neat to stay in the old barracks and it’s a rare treat as only special groups can book here, you can’t just book a night as the general public. After dinner we took in the almost full moon, took some silly “sears” photos, and listened to Kerry’s stories of experiencing hurricane Mariah.

Distance: 17km

Day 6 – 0km

It was too rough to paddle today so Wes and Kerry arranged for a historian to give us a tour of Fort Shirley in the morning, and in the afternoon a bus would take us to the Syndicate waterfall. I think we all welcomed the rest day after two really challenging back-to-back days.

Our historian, Dr. Lennox Honychurch, was amazing! He is pretty much single handly responsible for the fort’s restoration. Fort Shirley is considered by some as Dominica’s most important historic site and was the scene of the famous revolt of the 8th West India Regiment in 1802 when African slave soldiers took over the garrison for three days in protest over conditions there and the fear of being sent to work in the canefields. Their action resulted in all slave soldiers in the British Empire being made free in 1807. Lennox was a great story teller and it was a really enjoyable way to spend some windy hours.

After the historical tour we had a quick lunch and were off to Syndicate Falls. Kish, our guide, was hilarious and so knowledgable! It was absolutely pouring during our hike, we were soaked! But we still had a great time.

Day 7 – 13 km

Today is the last leg of the Waitukubuli sea trail! I have been having so much fun I really, really did not want this trip to end. After another solid breakfast we bussed back to our kayaks to pick up where we left off. We were kayaking from Portsmouth to Capuchin, and then backtracking a bit to a pull out point where a truck would be picking us and our kayaks up.

We woke up to another gusty morning. I wasn’t sure if we’d actually be able to complete the sea trail, but we got lucky and had great paddling conditions until the very last leg where we met the Guadalupe channel. The views continued to be spectacular and the wild waves at the end were an exciting finish! I would normally have been really nervous in those conditions but with two great guides and super warm water, there wasn’t too much to worry about.

We celebrated our final dinner together. It is tough saying bye to such an incredible, like minded group of people. And especially to our guides, Wes and Kerry. We had so many laughs on this trip and shared some incredible milestones. Dominica is a beautiful, welcoming, and special place.

Distance: 13 km

Total Distance: 67 km/41 miles

I’m off back to reality – Dominica to San Juan, San Juan to Toronto, Toronto to Vancouver.