Gourzong reopens Trelawny attraction

JIS:

With thousands of tourists and locals visiting the parish of Trelawny weekly, particularly the town of Falmouth, to conduct business or to have fun, there have been calls for more attractions to be opened in the parish.

Millions of dollars have been invested into infrastructure in the area, particularly access roads and the cruise ship pier in Falmouth where thousands of tourists visit regularly, and attractions are necessary to lure the visitors away from the ships.

One Trelawny businessman, Johny Gourzong, has answered the call and has reopened the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village, located along the main road, west of downtown Falmouth. The facility, which is owned by the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), has been leased to River Raft Limited, owned by Gourzong, who operates the 'Rafting on the Martha Brae' attraction.

Rich and deep history

Established in 1971, the Jamaica Swamp Safari Village is a wildlife sanctuary, which sits on approximately 50 acres of the Salt Marsh wetlands, in Trelawny. It also has a rich and deep history, with several scenes for movies being filmed there.

Gourzong explains that the facility was reopened in December 2011, after much refurbishing and upgrading.

"What is on offer inside is viewing and mingling with animals, birds and fauna from Jamaica, as well as some rare and unique animals from across the region," he said.

"It is going to be a nice journey into wild Jamaica and the wild Americas," he added.

The first part of the journey involves a walk through the aviary, featuring birds of Jamaica, inclusive of some very rare ones, many of which are endemic to Jamaica.

"This aviary is approximately 120 feet by 100 feet by about 35 feet high, so it is quite large. It is so large that the birds almost get lost inside here," Gourzong said.

He described the aviary as a "birdwatcher's paradise," with many different birds flying about.

Also on show are animals and reptiles from Jamaica and the Americas, including the Jamaican coney, the agouti, tayra, grey fox, raccoon, capuchin monkey, iguanas and snakes, among others.

However, the main attraction are the crocodiles in the wetlands, which visitors will see being fed and handled, and they will even get an opportunity to handle the young ones.

Gourzong said the attraction is open to visitors every day, including public holidays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.