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Celebrating Destiny’s Arrival at Guyana’s National Park

October 2019

The lead-up to the arrival of the Liza Destiny to Guyanese waters was an exciting time for employees of Esso Exploration & Production Guyana Ltd. (EEPGL). To commemorate this event, both local and expatriate employees took part in an eight-week Liza Sail Away step challenge based on the journey of the Liza Destiny from Singapore to the Stabroek block. The 10646 nautical miles the vessel travelled was converted into 25,874,015 strides as teams set out to match this distance.

On August 31, the step challenge came to end. This was the day the Destiny’s godmother, Lady Sandra Granger, took her first steps on the vessel in its new home offshore Guyana. As a ‘welcome home’ to the first FPSO in Guyana (and a chance to accumulate extra steps!), EEPGL organized a day of family fun, good food and friendly competition. Activities included a 5 kilometer run/walk and the Step Challenge Awards Ceremony, all held in Georgetown’s National Park. Now a tranquil space for recreational sports, the park holds historic significance in Guyana

Formerly occupied by the Demerara Golf Club, it was named the Queen Elizabeth II National Park in 1965 in honor of the Queen’s imminent visit to Guyana in 1966. Just months later, it was the site on which one of the most significant events in Guyana’s history took place. On May 26, 1966 the Golden Arrowhead flag was hoisted, and the Union Jack was lowered. This event marked the birth of the independent nation of Guyana—and the removal of the queen’s title before the park’s name.

The National Park is used for many cultural, educational and recreational activities. Features include the Children’s Millennium Monument, designed by Michael Hahn as a symbol of development strength and growth of children of all races in Guyana. The park is also home to a variety of birds and flora, but one group of residents holds special appeal for visitors: the West Indian Manatee (also known as “sea cows”).

These slow moving, gentle residents of the ponds draw many people to the park. Visitors delight in the sight of the top of a head and the round nostrils of a wrinkled, whiskered snout peeping out of the water to feed. These aquatic mammals enjoy the long grasses that grow near the ponds and can be fed by careful visitors.

Maintained by The Guyana National Parks Commission, the National Park is a staple of the recreational diet of locals, a hub of activity for a cross section of the Guyanese community and visitors alike.