A career army man, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Charles is a pilot who has been flying around Guyana for almost four decades and has taken a special interest in documenting the country’s sights on camera.
Charles, 59, had retired from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), but returned to continue doing what he loves — flying. Blown away by Guyana’s unseen beauty, he decided in 2004 that he would no longer keep it to himself and has used a camera to capture and share incredible sights, though he posited that nothing compares to seeing these places for oneself. To date, he has taken more than 500,000 photographs showcasing various parts of Guyana.
Recently, a social media post by Charles of postcards featuring seven waterfalls was shared more than 100,000 times and garnered over 100 comments. The veteran pilot noted that he once came across research that said that there are 276 waterfalls and 15 major lakes in this country. Charles is still trying to ascertain whether this is accurate as there are so many waterfalls that remain unnamed.
According to Charles, he has seen the most waterfalls cascading from the Kamakusa Mountain in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); about 30 in total. The closest village to this mountain is said to be either Kamarang or Imbaimadai.
He also pointed out that Cuyuni-Mazaruni is the region known to have the most waterfalls.
Charles also shared that Mount Roraima, located in this region as well, has its share of waterfalls though they are difficult to see because of the thick clouds that surround it. He said that on one of his flights, he was lucky enough to see several falls gushing from the mountain and quickly took shots of them as he knew that within a matter of minutes they would disappear behind the clouds. “Those waterfalls [cascade] thousands of feet down. They are not one drop falls though,” said Charles.
He also spoke also of the Wokamung Mountain, which, according to a research paper titled ‘The bats of the Potaro Plateau, western Guyana’ by Rebecca L Shapley, is 1,470 meters or 4,822 feet high. Charles pointed out that flowing from this mountain are four stupendous waterfalls.
With so many falls yet to be documented, Charles has given some of them his own names. There is one he calls the Arowod Falls after the Arowod Mountain, which it pours from. The mountain is situated in the Kanuku Mountain Range, in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). There are many more without names, said the pilot, adding that every time he sets foot on the helicopter, he is on a mission for the GDF and so he cannot go looking for waterfalls as he might wish. He is happy to be able to snap photos of the ones he passes by. One of the most popular, the Orinduik Waterfalls, is on the Ireng River, which is said to have a number of others.
Just recently, he took President Irfaan Ali to visit the Kumaro Falls, 18 miles south of Malali Village, Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice). He raved about the experience as he recalled the president’s excitement.
Waterfalls aside, Charles also takes in the beauty of the jungle, the communities in the interior and their animals. There are some areas so pristine and unreachable that they can only be seen from a helicopter. Charles believes that the most pristine area in Guyana he has come across is a jungle situated in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). He added that he is certain that there are some rivers in this area that have never been traversed by boat, which he marvelled at.
The pilot also tours Guyana in other ways. On two occasions he took a boat from an indigenous village called Andira in the East Berbice-Corentyne region and travelled four to five days upriver. The area is so untouched by man that he recalled spotting tapirs swimming across the river about eight times. Many deer, he added, were spotted along the way, as well as anacondas stretched out on huge rocks in the rivers. “It’s beyond your wildest dreams,” he enthused. “There are sloths… you always see jaguars. The river is rich in fish life.”
To date, Charles has produced four videos of the various places he has visited around Guyana. He has also taken videos of animals, including a flamboyance of flamingos feeding by the waterside.
The ability to photograph these places is one that is both thrilling and humbling for the pilot, who noted that he has an opportunity many others do not and so he wants to share with everyone everywhere.
Charles hopes that someday there will be roads and airstrips leading to these areas so that Guyanese can look forward to seeing such incredible sights for themselves. He posited that with the many pristine places in Guyana, we should not worry too much about such infrastructure damaging nature. Charles added that what he is more worried about is the mining in these areas, particularly in the Puruni River, situated in the Cuyuni/Mazaruni region. A lot of that area has been adversely affected by mining.
“Another thing that will affect us in the long run is indiscriminate mining on the rivers because when these big draggas dig the gold out, most of the fish life is affected,” he said.
Speaking of tourism and Guyana, Charles posited that with Kaieteur Falls being the largest single drop waterfall in the world, it would be wise to have a study done for the construction of an airstrip and hotels in the vicinity to cater for international tourists.
When he retires again, Charles hopes that he and his air traffic controller wife would be allowed to settle in one of these picturesque areas with a waterfall and/or mountain in the background. He is already eyeing some places in the South Rupununi. One of his favourites is Masekanari village, part of the Konashen community-owned conservation area where the Gunns Airstrip is located. Having spent a week in the village working on his video titled ‘Sounds and Colours of the Rainforest’, Charles shared in a social media post about the delicious “pure” mango porridge he was served while there.
Charles’s photography and videography hobby is an expensive one. He said that altogether he has spent millions on the production of his videos along with the purchasing of his cameras, but the views are worth it.
His waterfalls postcards are available for purchase at the Natural Touch booth outside of the Guyana Post Office. ‘Sounds and Colours of the Rainforest’ can be viewed on his website aerialguyana.com
