Thursday, September 29, 2011

Welcome to HPBAL

Guests receive a welcome drink on arrival at Hugh Parkey's Adventure Lodge.

Photo by Aldo Perez. Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventures Group.

Tools of the Trade

The right tools for the work at hand are required to provide effective service. At Hugh Parkey's Belize Dive Connection we rely on Scubapro dive Equipment to get the job done along with certified technicians to keep everything up to running. Scubapro rental and retail dive gear are available at our retail center on location at Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventure Lodge on Spanish Look Out Caye.

Photo by Aldo Perez. Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventures Group.

Hot Chocolate

Nothing like hot chocolate to keep you warm after a night dive. Anytime of year, regardless of the weather guests at Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventure Lodge have always enjoyed a cup or two of hot chocolate after their night dive.

Photo by Aldo Perez. Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventures Group.

SCUBA Instructor with student

Patience is a virtue when teaching SCUBA to first-timers. Communication between student and instructor is necessary to understand strengths and weaknesses and make the best out of every situation. This will lead to a memorable experience and the students desire to continue practicing the sport.

Photo by Aldo Perez. Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventures Group.

Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron is one of the many birds you will encounter at Spanish Look Out Caye, home of Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventure Lodge. Wildlife is common at our island with pristing mangrove forests and wetlands.

Photo by Aldo Perez. Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventures.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Dive Site: Chasbo's Corner


Named by Hugh Parkey after his son, Chuck Parkey, also known as Chasbo. This dive site on the Northwest side of the atoll is located at a point on the reef and is a fine example of wall diving on the Northwest side. Top of the wall is 45 feet and drops down to a ledge at 180 feet. Top of the wall consists of mostly scattered corals with defined sand patches in between covered in a forest of gorgonians. This point on the reef creates a slight current when the tide is changing bringing in plankton streams that nourish the corals. The wall consists mostly of plate coral and covered in soft corals with huge specimens of deep water sea fans and various other gorgonians as well as a variety of sponges. The current also attracts plankton feeders like huge schools of creole wrasse and smaller schools of scad and herring. They get so excited in the feeding frenzy that they attract predators of all sizes. Schools of black grouper, tiger grouper, dog snapper, cubera snapper, king fish, and cero stalk the water column. Solitary barracuda can be seen hovering close to the coral and sponges stalking prey. Schools of black durgon and yellow tail snapper are also in abundance here. Chasbo’s Corner is unique because we are occasionally treated with a pleasant surprise of unusual and strange sightings. Hammerhead, silky sharks, reef sharks, sailfish, pods of dolphin, pods of false orcas and even manatee have all been seen here before. This site is also excellent for a variety macro life. Various types of pipefish, slender file fish, decorator crabs, blennies, gobies, shrimp, cowries, and colonies of yellow head jawfish as well as the elusive sea horse are all present throughout this site. This unique site has been featured in international dive magazines before and is sometimes called the “Mini Elbow” by some dive operators.

Photo by Tony Rath

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

May Madness


It's time for May Madness once again and as usual you benefit by having absolutely no limit on arrival dates throughout May 1 - 15. That is right, you can arrive on any day at Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventure Lodge and we'll get you started. Take advantage of last minute airline deals to Belize in May and choose your package. The 8 Day/7 Night Dive Package includes 3 Days Barrier Reef Diving and 3 Days Turneffe Diving for only USD$1399.00. The 5 Day/4 Night Dive Package includes 2 days Barrier Reef Diving and 1 Day Turneffe Diving for only USD$799.00. Non-divers can choose the 8 Day/7 Night Island Adventure Package which includes 3 full-days Barrier reef snorkeling, 1 day Barrier Reef Snorkel/Wildlife Encounter Combo, and 1 day Altun Ha Mayan Site/Belize Zoo combo for only USD$1099.00. We also have a 5 Day/4 Night Island Adventure Package that includes 2 full days Barrier reef Snorkeling, 1 day Wildlife Encounter/Mangrove Kayak Combo, and 1 Day Altun Ha/Belize Zoo Combo for only USD$599.00. All packages include transfers, meals, purified drinking water, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages and Park Fees. Dive Packages also include tanks and weights while Adventure Packages include snorkel equipment as required. Prices do not include tax.