Nassau: Scooter trip to Ardastra Gardens

[raindropsalways]

We ventured to Ardastra Gardens from the ship on our own. The Ardastra Gardens, a small zoo, is less than two miles. We did not have any knowledge of the road conditions or the neighborhood before we started and decided to take the shortest route (Infant View Rd). We did not experience any problems, however we were advised that Infant View Road was not a safe neighborhood. Matter of fact, on the return trip, the police told us to head north from Infant View Road and Nassau St.

 

We found Ardastra Gardens very interesting and accessible. They have a lot of colorful birds, a few reptiles and a few animals. The Lory Parrot feeding had not yet been restored from the hurricane, so I fed the goats. The marching of the flamingos was cute. Various individuals were selected to have their picture taken with the flamingos.

 

For anyone that enjoys nature, I would recommend you make the trip. The terrain is fairly level ground. Chances are that you would have to ride in the street and I would suggest you take West Bay Street instead of the route we took. We both travel with a spare set of batteries, however we did not require the spare for the trip. Ruth uses a Phoenix 3 – Drive Medical and I use a Golden Technology GB-101. Load (including person, extra battery set and backpack) weight was 165 – 175 pounds on Ruth's scooter and 240 – 250 pounds on my scooter.

 

I noted some of the sites on the map below. We did not notice the Botanic Gardens and I am not positive of the exact location. Assuming that Fort Charlotte is not accessible, we did not go by it. On the other end of the map, we previously took a taxi to the Fort. I believe that they recently added a ramp to Fort Fincastle (needs to be verified). The Water Tower is still not open (October 2011), and naturally, we cannot go down the Queen's Staircase, but we did scoot back to the ship on our own and saw everything in between.

 

If you are interested in a trip to Atlantis, see my posting on this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1262694

 

Betty