Dadanawa Ranch | |
|---|---|
Estate | |
  Dadanawa Ranch Location in Guyana | |
| Coordinates: 2°50′N59°31′W / 2.833°N 59.517°W | |
| Country |  Guyana |
| Region | Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo |
| Population (2012) [1] | |
| • Total | 391 |
Dadanawa Ranch is located on the Rupununi River in the Rupununi savannah in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana. It is the largest [2] and one of the most isolated cattle ranches in Guyana. [3]
Dadanawa Ranch is one of the most remote ranches in the world containing about 6,000 cattle. The ranch area is said to be 1,700 sq mi (4,400 km2; 1,100,000 acres). [4] It is located on the Rupununi River in the South Rupununi savannahs, in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana. The habitat of the area is diverse, "ranging from riparian forest/scrub along the Rupununi River to savanna with few scattered trees". [5]
The preferred means of travel to Dadanawa is by jeep. It takes about 3.5 hours to drive from Lethem to Dadanawa in the dry season, and as much as three days in the wet season. Tourists often stay at Dadanawa and use the ranch as a base for further journeys throughout the South Rupununi.
The name "Dadanawa" is a distortion of the local Wapishana Amerindian name of Dadinauwau, or "macaw spirit creek hill".
Dadanawa started out as a trading post by a man of the name DeRooie about 1865 and was sold with 300 head of cattle in the late 1880s to H.P.C. Melville, a gold prospector from Barbados who found himself lost and near-dead of malaria in the area several years before. The ranch was sold to investors and established as the Rupununi Development Company in 1919. [6]
Ranch cowboys are called "vaqueros", most of whom are Wapishana Amerindians who operate barefoot and are responsible for managing ranch livestock. The ranch supports over 40 people in the main compound including the direct and extended families of the manager and staff, some of which extend for three generations.
The ranch is now run by Duane de Freitas, his wife Sandie and son Justin along with his Irish partner, Erin Earl. They run an ecotourism business from the ranch and visitors from all over the world come to birdwatch or go on river trips in the savannahs and Amazon rainforest. Duane and Justin have set up the Rupununi Conservation Society to protect the highly endangered siskins and other bird and river turtle species.
Harry E Turner was an English ex-cavalry officer who said that he had ridden in the last British army cavalry charge in the Middle East during the First World War. He was the manager of Dadanawa up to 1965, and retired to England that year.
Lethem is a town in Guyana, located in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region. It is the regional capital of Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo.
The Rupununi is a region in the south-west of Guyana, bordering the Brazilian Amazon. The Rupununi river, also known by the local indigenous peoples as Raponani, flows through the Rupununi region. The name Rupununi originates from the word rapon in the Makushi language, in which it means the black-bellied whistling duck found along the river.
The Kanuku Mountains are a group of mountains in Guyana, located in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region. The name means 'forest' in the Wapishana language, a reference to the rich diversity of wildlife found there. The Eastern Kanuku Mountains and the Western Kanuku Mountains are separated by the Rupununi River. In 2011, the mountains were designated National Protected Area.
The Rupununi savannah is a savanna plain in Guyana, in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region. It is part of the Guianan savanna ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome.
The Wapishana or Wapichan are an indigenous group found in the Roraima area of northern Brazil and southern Guyana.
Apoteri is a village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana, near the confluence of the Rupununi River with the Essequibo, at an altitude of 53 metres. Apoteri started to develop as the centre of the balatá industry. The population is mainly Amerindian of the Macushi and Wapishana people.
Annai is an Amerindian village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana.
Aishalton is an Amerindian village that is situated in the Rupununi savannah of southern Guyana, in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of the country.
The Kwitaro River is a tributary of the Rupununi River in Guyana.
The North Rupununi District in located in south-west Guyana consisting of a mixture of forest, savannah and wetlands ecosystems and is considered one of the most diverse areas in South America. Located on the eastern margin of the larger savannah system which extends into Brazil and is separated by the Ireng and Takutu rivers that come together to form the Rio Branco. The Guyana Rupununi system is divided into the North and South Rupununi by the Kanuku Mountains.
Wowetta is an indigenous village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region in Guyana. The village is mainly inhabited by Macushi people.
Karinambo is a village in Guyana. Charles Barrington Brown stayed in the Amerindian village near the Takutu Savanna in the 1870s.
Fairview (Kurupukari) is an indigenous settlement on the Essequibo River, in the Upper Demerara-Berbice region of Guyana. It is the entry point to the Iwokrama Forest. Former president David A. Granger once referred to Iwokrama as the "green heart of Guyana."
Aranaputa is an Amerindian village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Guyana. It is located in the Pacaraima Mountains.
St. Ignatius is an Amerindian village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region of Guyana, near the regional capital Lethem and the border of Brazil. It was originally a mission founded by Jesuit priests to serve the Amerindians in the Rupununi savannah.
Karaudarnau is an indigenous village of Wapishana Amerindians in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana. It is located in the Rupununi savannah on the Rupununi River.
Sand Creek is a village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana. Sand Creek is inhabited by Wapishana Amerindians. It is located on the Rupununi River. The main language spoken in the village is Wapishana with English as secondary language.
Katoonarib is a village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana. Katoonarib is inhabited by Wapishana, Macushi and other Amerindians. It is located near the Rupununi River. The main language spoken in the village is Wapishana with English as secondary language.
Sawariwau is a village in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana. Sawariwau is inhabited by Wapishana Amerindians. It is located about 70 miles (110 km) south of Lethem in the Rupununi savannah. The main language spoken in the village is Wapishana.
Maruranau is an indigenous village of Wapishana Amerindians in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region of Guyana. It is located in the Rupununi savannah near the Kwitaro River on the edge of the Kanuku Mountains. A minority of Taruma also inhabit the village.
