Cecil Beharry takes on tougher Guyana safari

Sheldon Williams, Gleaner Writer

Safari enthusiast Cecil Beharry has secured sponsorship from ELARC Welding Products Limited ahead of his trek through the rough terrain of Guyana as part of the South Rupununi Savannah Safari. The safari will begin on November 27 and end on December 1, covering thousands of miles along the Brazil-Guyana border. Beharry will drive his 2001 Land Rover Defender Turbo Diesel 2.5 litre.

The 69-year-old Guyana-born, naturalised Jamaican said "ELARC sponsored me three times before, 2010 to 2012. In Easter this year (when Beharry went on another Safari) they were not able to sponsor me," he said.

Beharry was still allowed to use ELARC property in Easter. "I was able to use their facility to load the automobile from the yard because they have the kind of conditions where you could drive into the container from a ramp," he said.

Beharry said his Land Rover is always dependable. From 2011 through to this year he said, "It was the only automobile in those safaris to have done the safaris three times in a row without any mechanical problems whatsoever. I mean most of the vehicles were Toyotas or so, but only about three were Land Rovers".

This trip will take Beharry into new territory. "This safari is going extreme south of Guyana, like at the end of Guyana, and it will pass through all Amerindian villages," he said. "The first 350 miles are part of the original safari trail, but beyond that - like another 200 miles - it's all new territory. But it's territory that has traffic. Because those are cattle ranches and there are Amerindian reservations that already have trails surrounded by mountains," he said.

Beharry said
although there is no prize at stake, safaris are fulfilling. "It's not a
race. You go with a convoy. The main target is to be able to complete
the safari because of the obstacles along the way. So you have got to
have your automobile in real safari-ready conditions with a winch and
you have got to have off-road equipment like the chain and ropes and so
on," he said.

Beharry will be traveling with a crew of three - a
cook, a mechanic and "one other friend from Guyana". Some 25 to 30
automobiles are expected to participate in the safari and each vehicle
is expected to have a crew of at least four persons. The prime minister
of Guyana, Sam Hinds, is expected to be on the
trip.

The South Rupununi Savannah Safari Facebook page
lists the trip highlights as viewing the world's largest cattle ranch,
the Dadanawa Ranch, Bottle Mountain, Kanuku Mountains, Shea Village and
the Shea Rock, ancient petroglyphs and over 40 species of birds. The
safari is organised by Guyana's Ministry of Tourism, Industry and
Commerce, and the Guyana Tourism Authority, in partnership with
Rainforest Tours and the Ministry of Local
Government.