Travel Cameo-pink beaches Before Irma, Barbuda had three hotels and some smaller guest houses. Most of the Canadians who visited came on day trips from Antigua, drawn by Barbuda’s pink-sand beaches.The hurricane eroded most Barbuda beaches but, when we visited preIrma, tiny cameo-coloured shells were strewn like pink snow drifts across the sand. Located in front of the once-luxurious K Club, which closed in 2004, Princess Diana beach was one of the most beautiful. It was named after the Princess of Wales, who vacationed here with PrinceWilliam and Prince Harry when they were young. Movie star Robert De Niro and James Packer, his Australian billionaire partner, plan to open Paradise Found, a $250-million mega-resort on the 100-hectare K Club site, with an additional 120 hectares leased from the government. In addition to 40 luxury cottages with private pools, De Niro wants to build a yacht marina and a new airport in Barbuda. Although a referendum approved the project, 300 residents objected to the lease of additional land. The court will resolve the legal challenge. In the meantime, De Niro vowed to help rebuild the island and help create a 90% renewable energy program. Besides beaches, Barbuda’s other big attraction is Codrington Lagoon National Park, home to the second-largest frigate colony in the Caribbean, pre-Irma. (The largest is in Belize.) An October survey discovered that the birds are returning to their wind-modifiedmangrove habitat this winter after their annual migration and are courting and nesting. Frigates have two-metre wingspans that propel the fork-tailed birds to lofty heights. By riding air currents, they can remain airborne for months without landing during their marathon transoceanic migrations. Barbuda’s K Club and beach, as they looked when Princess Diana vacationed here. Robert De Niro plans to open a mega-resort on the now-abandoned K Club site. Drifts of cameo-coloured shells strewn on Barbuda beach 26 | www.snowbirds.org
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