The only mystery is that despite it being on the Caribbean coast, English speaking and with an easy-to-spot population of jaguars, caiman, anteaters, giant river otters, manatees and tapirs, along with over 800 species of birds ("and still counting"), Guyana hasn't established itself on the adventure travel map.
You'll have time to explore this coastal temperate rainforest by foot and kayak - look out for black bears, wolves, otters, eagles and the indigenous First Nation culture.
We followed her advice, walking down to the stream in search of terrapins and otters, or through clusters of cork oak trees, their branches hairy with lichen like the ancient trees of a fairytale forest.
Golden eagles are smaller but more aggressive predators than white-tailed eagles, which often steal prey from other predators – crows, gannets and even otters.
If you become one of the 2,500 visitors a year who make it to Guyana, the small northern country that is 80% rainforest, wildlife spotting (to see giant river otters, jaguars, black caiman, giant anteaters and incredible birds) is likely to top your list.
Duane senior showed me a video of some of his wildlife trips, on which he's filmed jaguars just feet away from his boat, giant otters playing in the river and even an anaconda, hanging from a tree and swallowing a boa constrictor, which itself was swallowing an iguana.
The island hosts four festivals (spring, folk, literary and food) and is dotted with standing stones, hilltop forts and ruined chapels, so you can spend your days exploring, and spotting wildflowers, rare birds, wild goats, grey seals and otters.
Animal action - residents include monkeys, sloths, otters, iguanas, toucans, parrots, hummingbirds, caiman, armadillos... we could go on - is near as damn it guaranteed.
Everywhere you go, holidaymakers train their binoculars on the twisting coastline, searching for sea eagles, golden eagles and otters.
