Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Finding Rolling Harbor, Abacos

We visited Rolling Harbor yesterday.   Part of the fun was finding it. 

Last time we were there, about two years ago, we hiked down using an old established logger road.  But now, someone has built a home there and the old road is blocked off.  We stopped and asked a local how to get there. 

Good news.  The Delphi Club and  others  worked together to develop a "Go Around" so that people can still park and walk down.  I photographed it so that others may have an easier time finding it.

How to get to Rolling Harbor

White Rock on Right Side of Road, Going South
Drive down the main road away from Bahama Palm Shores and head toward the Delphi Club and  Schooner Bay.  About 5 miles after Bahama Palm Shores, there is a big white rock on the right side of the road.  When you see the rock, turn left. This white rock is the marker for the Delphi Club and is also the marker for the trail to Rolling Harbor..
Follow the sign that says "Service Road" to the Delphi Club.  After a mile or so, see the  sign for the Delphi Club then stop the car and pull off to the left and park.   Look for a gap between two large trees on the left side of the road and discover the walking path to Rolling Harbor.

Service Road to the Delphi Club
 From there, hike down to the bay.  It is really worth the little trek that is required.   Along the way, there are some beautiful trees, lovely coppice and when we went, we saw a very friendly (and large) grasshopper.

Walking path to Rolling Harbor
The trail becomes thinner and thinner until it is just a footpath, then it hits the beach.




Pretty Copice
Friendly hello from a local grasshopper.

Toward the end of the hike, one sees the ocean ahead.
This is when the walk becomes so striking.  We step through some invasive Hawaiian Sea Grapes and  Casaurina Pines and suddenly we emerge to see a lovely, relatively small, harbor with the waves rolling in with great force.  In front of the Delphi Club, the invasive species have been removed and the view of the cliffs is very striking.  The scene is powerful and pretty.  The beach has the whitest, smoothest sand.

We walked from one end of the harbor to the other, delighting in the rolling waves, the beautiful site of the Delphi Club up above on the cliffs, and the magnificent coral rocks circling out and protecting the harbor from the big ocean waves, but not too much.

I am constantly taken aback by the beauty of the small harbors tucked in along the Abaco shores. Rolling Harbor is one trip that I think we will become a tradition for our family to visit.  It is a very special place, so nearby and reasonably accessible.  We need to encourage others to continue to use the footpath down so that it doesn't grow over and become inaccessible.   




Rolling Harbor curvature

Stepping off the path and onto the beach

Delphi Club up on cliffs in the center of photo
This is a perfect short hike and great place for a  walk-down beach picnic.  Let's remember to carry our bottles and papers out with us when we go. 

Another great way to visit Rolling Harbor is to call ahead to the Delphi Club and make a reservation for dinner at The Delphi Club Lodge.   Come a bit before dinner and take a walk down their lovely steps to the beach.  Then return to the Lodge and have a drink while sitting on their great porch.  Watch the sun set over Rolling Harbor.  Then step inside The Lodge for a really nice dinner, in a really great setting, with good friends. 

We are lucky to have the choice to visit Rolling Harbor through a private bone fishing club and to also be able to visit it using public access ways.  It is  important that there are options so that all of us might continue to visit and share such a beautiful place.

2 comments:

  1. G'day Mary

    I have nominated your post for a Liebster award! Details of this are on my blog at http://franmart.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/leibster-award.html

    Best wishes Martin

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Martin. I'll be back. I have to go see what I was awarded.

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