The signs say DO NOT ENTER. But here’s how you can get inside some of the most inaccessible and thrilling spots on Earth.
By Chuck Thompson
Rebuilding History
Supai, Arizona
When a flash flood tore through Havasu Canyon (a.k.a. Cataract Canyon, a tributary of the Grand Canyon) last August, it not only forced the evacuation of the remote 400-person village of Supai; it destroyed the Havasupai tribe’s only real source of income: tourism. The centuries-old village is unusually isolated — it’s the only town that still receives U.S. mail by pack mule — and the flood took out its sole access trail, cutting its lifeline to the outside world. Other tribes jumped in to help with the recovery (California’s Serrano Mission Indians alone pledged $1 million), but with debris choking the river and its four scenic turquoise falls (one, Navajo Falls, is simply gone), the tribe was forced to close off the entire area to tourists.
Now Arizona Outback Adventures has stepped in to help out. “We’ve been working with the tribal tourist office and council to put together a volunteer trip,” says company guide Brian Jump, who has led more than 250 trips to Supai. “The goal is to get the trail safe enough for hikers to get back down there.” Participants will backpack 10 miles down to the campground, where they’ll stay in a base camp with meals provided by Arizona Outback while they focus on clearing debris and building new trails. “It’s a fairly demanding trip,” Jump admits.
In exchange for your sweat, you get the satisfaction of helping out in one of the most beautiful spots
in the Southwest — and you’ll get a first look at a couple of sights the world has never seen. “Navajo Falls no longer exists, but there are two brand-new waterfalls created by the flood,” says Jump. “One of them is 75 feet tall.”
How to Get There: The first public trip is Jan. 22–25, with a second planned for February; 866-455-1601, aoa-adventures.com.
courtesy Arizona Outback Adventures
The World’s Largest Ship Graveyard
Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands
For decades you had to have a death wish, or at least a mild mutation wish, to visit Bikini Atoll, a tiny outpost of coral reefs in the northern Marshall Islands that also happens to have the best collection of diveable shipwrecks on the planet. Following World War II, the U.S. government relocated 162 islanders, and dragged 242 ships and 156 aircraft to Bikini to use in atomic and hydrogen bomb experiments. Three area islands were subsequently “vaporized” in the tests.
“As soon as the war ended, we located the one spot on Earth that hadn’t been touched by the war and blew it to hell,” quipped comedian Bob Hope back when he was still sorta funny.
After a 1996 report declared that Bikini Atoll’s “nuclear fleet” no longer contained any radiological risk to the environment or visitors, it quickly became a magnet for divers drawn by the chance to explore one-of-a-kind historical treasures like the 880-foot USS Saratoga (the world’s only diveable full-size aircraft carrier).
Then, last summer, Bikini’s Local Government Council suddenly suspended all trips, citing unreliable air service and rising fuel prices. Today the only way to access the submerged fleet is with a self-contained vessel that meets stringent requirements — in the presence of a government–appointed diver and two local representatives, all at visitors’ expense.
How to Get There: To make arrangements contact Bikini Trust liaison Jack Niedenthal at bikini@ntamar.net.
A Beach Party for Turtles
Nancite Beach, Costa Rica
In past years more than 75,000 Olive Ridley turtles came ashore in waves at Nancite Beach in Costa Rica’s Santa Rosa National Park to lay nests of eggs, with as many as 10,000 reptiles at a time clogging the beach during the peak of their regenerative frenzy. Although their numbers have dropped, Nancite Beach is still one of the world’s most important turtle nesting grounds. But because there’s no end to the things unscrupulous humans will make out of the endangered sea creatures — combs, wallets, shoes, soup — it’s strictly off-limits to the public but not completely inaccessible: An oil pan–eating six-mile dirt road, followed by a strenuous one-hour hike across steep, rocky terrain, will lead you down to the deserted white sand beach. A crude government station, the only sign of any human influence, is maintained on the shore, and up to 25 permits a day are issued for visitors ostensibly there for wildlife research. Even in nonbreeding months, those lucky few can also hope to see capuchin, howler, and spider monkeys at one of the most unspoiled stretches of coastline in the entire world.
How to Get There: For permit information contact Santa Rosa National Park, 011-506-2666-5051, mlarias@acguanacaste.ac.cr.
Giant Deer and Monster Alligators
Savannah River Site, South Carolina
Why do the biggest trophy bucks in South Carolina come out of Aiken County? The state’s Department
of Natural Resources points to some of the finest deer habitat in the world — and the fact that it’s off-limits to hunters.To some, however, the barbed wire-topped fence surrounding the 310-square-mile Savannah River Site (SRS) nuclear facility may offer clues. Like NATO and Yakov Smirnoff, SRS is a scary reminder of the Cold War. Built in the 1950s to produce components for nuclear weapons, SRS now mainly operates as a nuclear waste processing facility. The domain of heavyweight defense contractors (Northrop Grumman, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Wackenhut), it remains a tightly guarded federal site.
“The catfish were once big, but that’s because when the reactors were running, the water in the lakes was warm,” says SRS spokeswoman Fran Poda. “And no, there are no three-headed cows.” Since 9/11, security has become tighter, but limited tours are offered (check srs.gov). Or you can drive through on SC Route 125. Just don’t pull over to explore. “When people wander into the facility, accidentally or not, let’s just say the situation doesn’t last very long,” Poda says.
How to Get There: You can bike or fish on select Saturdays at Crackerneck Wildlife Management Area, 803-725-3663, dnr.sc.gov.
courtesy Center for Great Apes
Wild Apes in America
Wauchula, Florida
Remember those rambunctious chimpanzees from the “trunk monkey” car ads? Or the Careerbuilder.com chimps, one of whom photocopied its ass in a celebrated Super Bowl commercial? Chances are you’ve forgotten about these and other great simian thespians. Which is why the Center for Great Apes near Wauchula, Florida, had to be built.
“Apes are used by the entertainment industry only as infants and juveniles,” says director Patti Ragan, who founded the center in 1997. “By the time they reach adolescence they’re too strong to manage, so they get outsourced. But few accredited zoos will take animals from the entertainment industry because their social skills have been so stunted.”
Dropped in the middle of orange groves between highways 17 and 27 near small Wauchula, the center occupies 120 acres of well-hidden forest to provide what Ragan calls a “retirement home” for apes. Only 25 acres are used as habitat; the rest serve as a buffer from the outside world. The 42 resident chimps and orangutans — including all those mentioned above — live in large geodesic enclosures, connected by three-quarters of a mile of elevated passageways through tropical growth.
As the only celebrity chimp and orangutan sanctuary in the U.S., the inconspicuous center might help meet expenses by following the amusement park–crazy blueprint of central Florida economics. Instead it relies on private donations. “We’re not here to be an attraction,” says Ragan. “We want to give these animals some peace and a life of dignity.”
The highly restricted facility opens its doors just once a year, in the spring, and only to member donors.
How to Get There: To become a member with a $40 donation, contact the Center for Great Apes; 863-767-8903, centerforgreatapes.org.
Hunting Island Boar
Niihau Island, Hawaii
A tropical paradise untouched by time, untainted by development, unmolested by drunken whalers and wailing drunkards still exists on the “forbidden island” of Niihau, a rugged, arid chunk of volcanic rock 17 miles west of Kauai. Privately owned by the same family since 1864, when Scottish widow Eliza Sinclair purchased it from King Kamehameha for $10,000 in gold, Niihau is often left off tourist maps completely. Why all the secrecy? A comprehensive state of Hawaii conservation plan stated in 2005 that “Niihau may have some of the best coastal habitats in the state.” More important, Niihau is in many ways the last bastion of pure Hawaiian culture, a 72-square-mile island with no resorts or public services, where the 150 locals still hunt with ropes and knives, fish with spears and nets, and speak the native Hawaiian language. The controlling family has kept the lid screwed on tight at this unique preserve, but it does allow limited beach trips with Niihau Helicopters and hunting tours to help control sheep and boar populations. You can’t spend the night, but you can fly over remote coastline, step on a pristine beach, and shoot a wild boar where few outsiders ever tread.
How to Get There: $365 per person for a half-day trip, $1,750 for an all-day hunting excursion from Niihau Helicopters; 877-441-3500.
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