The Aerial Land Classification Map displayed here offers a detailed topographical and bathymetrical study of Plantation Belize Stage III Property. It is from this perspective that the broad diversity of the land reveals itself. The natural springs (light blues), broadleaf forest (dark brown) and sandy beachfront (light green and light brown), by themselves are not particularly unique, but rarely, if ever, can one find so much diversity on one piece of Caribbean land.

The land rises about 3 to 10 feet above sea level throughout the property. Because of our proximity to the equator, along the shoreline, the variance between high and low tide is only about 16 to 18 inches daily. The beach area contains fine white sand with a gradual drop-off to a 25-foot-deep channel running north and south about 300 to 500 feet offshore. The water is a crystalline turquoise color with visibility to about 150 feet. The sea in Belize is warm enough for swimming all year round, in fact the water temperature ranges from 81 °F between January and March, to 84 °F in the summer months. Such data points are important to know, when configuring the master development plan of the Property, but a full appreciation of the natural beauty of the Plantation Stage III land requires a different perspective. Words, intellectual discussion or logic do not adequately inform the brain; one must activate all the senses, one must become immersed in all of its sensual elements. 

Upon entering these unspoiled grounds, the visitor is greeted with a symphony of sights, sounds, smells, feelings and yes, tastes. The sight of the very rare and magnificent harpy eagle perching on an old tree stump or a wild ghost orchid hanging from its home on a mahogany tree sharpen the eyes’ focus. The natural perfume of many colorful flowers, the musk of the forest floor and the salt air along the beach awaken the sense of smell. The grounding force of a barefoot walk along the 2+ miles of unspoiled beach enable your sense of touch to connect to Mother Earth and absorb her healing energy. The calling of wild Parrots in the forest canopy and the lapping of the ocean waves along the shore attune your auditory equipment. 

At the north end of Plantation Belize Stage III, you will find the South Stann Creek River carving its path to the Sea and offering an entirely different ecosystem along its banks. Here, you will discover about 3,700 linear feet of riverfront land, prime for sustainable home site development. There are many species of colorful and aromatic flowers to brighten your day. And there are many species of indigenous palms sporting every shade of green that you can imagine and some that you can’t. (Forget 50 shades of gray and think 50 shades of green!) The magnificent Attalea Cohune, generally known as the Cohune Palm is indigenous to Central American Savannah and is very prolific throughout this section of Plantation Belize Stage III. This multi-functional palm tree is known for thriving in loamy fertile soil, which would suggest that those who purchase home sites in this area of the Property will be able to develop a rich organic garden for fresh produce year-round. 

Once the senses have been whetted, more experiences abound for the curious and awakened. In the center of the property is a natural spring providing fresh, healthy, structured water that emanates from an artesian drive flowing underground from the rainforest in the Mayan Mountains a few miles to the west. This freshwater spring will form the foundation for the planned botanical garden for Plantation Club residents and guests. At the south and west section of the Property is an expansive broadleaf forest, home to a dizzying array of flora and fauna. Here you will find numerous species of giant hardwood trees, the logs from which were a prime export in the early days of Belize commerce and today provide for colorful locally milled and crafted hardwood furniture, flooring and other woodwork. 

Then there are the animals and birds. On the forest floor you may spot the strange looking Bairds Tapir, a throwback from an earlier time in Earth’s evolution and today Belize’s “National Animal”. On the top of the forest canopy you may see the brightly colored Keel Billed Toucan, the country’s “National Bird”. Even the famed Jaguar, both spotted and black have been observed roaming through the Plantation Belize Forest. 

The seashore, of course is perhaps the biggest attraction and the most sensually immersive experience of all that the Plantation Belize land has to offer. On any given day, your morning walk along the beach could unveil surprisingly new experiences. Imagine live conch feeding along the water’s edge as far as the eye can see and, on another morning, large snails (Escargot?) taking their turn feeding along the same shoreline. Just offshore you may see a wedge of local Pelicans cruising just a foot or two above the water searching for school fish.  Or maybe if you’re feeling adventurous, you can dawn your snorkeling gear and see if you can coax a Spiny Lobster from its hole in one of the patch reefs sitting offshore. And perhaps here, your sense of taste will be awakened as well. 

As committed custodians of this land, Jim Parker and his development team will seek every opportunity to preserve its pristine attributes through responsible and sustainable development as discussed in the Plantation Club Business Plan (a copy of the Business Plan is available on request from qualified buyers and investors). While certainly motivated by a respect for Mother Earth, such responsible development just simply makes sense for the economic viability of the development and for the long-term viability of its future residents. At Plantation Belize, we are fully aware, that “The land is our most important product”.

Another significant advantage of the location of the Property as a resort destination, is its very low measurable risk of damage by hurricanes and other tropical storms. This is because the country of Belize is generally outside of the path of normal hurricane tracking patterns. However, abnormal weather conditions such as rare variants of the track of the Jet Stream, can cause an occasional hurricane to cross into Belize territory. Even so, as will be illustrated below, it is remarkable that there has never been a hurricane recorded to land in the vicinity of the Plantation Belize Property according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) historical data.

NOAA provides historical weather data to countries, real estate interests and businesses (www.coast.noaa.gov) for the purpose of planning for threatening weather conditions. One division of NOAA, the Coastal Services Center compiles global historical storm tracks ranging from tropical depressions up to category 5 hurricanes. In the graphic above provided by NOAA, we see Caribbean Basin storm tracks, inclusive of 344 hurricanes rated category 1 through 5 recorded from the year 1851 through the hurricane season of 2019. These storm tracks typically emanate from the northwest coast of Africa and generally head straight for the southeast coast of the United States, effectively traversing most every major Caribbean island and mainland jurisdiction that depends on travel and tourism for its economy along the way. Such hurricanes can have a devasting impact to any land mass in their path and in the case of the Caribbean, every island and many mainland areas are targets. The economic cost of just one hurricane hitting a heavily populated area can run into the $Billions and account for untold loss of life. And such devastation happens year in and year out. What may have been thought to be a “little piece of Paradise” can quickly become hell on Earth. Not so at the Plantation Property. 

In the second graphic, using the NOAA mapping tools, we zoom in on the Placencia Peninsula to discover that perhaps Paradise really can exist. In this close-up version of the same hurricane tracking data from 1851 through 2019, we see that the Northern part of the Placencia Peninsula has never, as far as we can tell, experienced a severe hurricane. In fact, the few tracks that are shown, which tracked to the north and south of the area of the Property were rated as less dangerous tropical storms (green lines), tropical depressions (blue lines), Cat 1 hurricanes (yellow lines) or Cat 2 hurricanes (orange lines). And yet, even these were outside of about a 15-mile radius around Plantation Belize Property.

Why is this so? According to coastal engineers previously engaged by the Developer, the Belize Barrier Reef provides the answer to this otherwise perplexing question. There are two factors involved here. First, according to the engineers, if you look closely at the second map, you can see the Reef sitting about 20 to 40 miles offshore of the Placencia Peninsula forming a wedge shape with the point of the wedge facing east, the direction from whence hurricanes arrive. It is believed by the marine engineers that hurricanes are deflected by the Reef causing them to veer north or south, away from the direction of the Property.

The second factor is that hurricanes require deep water to generate the energy necessary to build damaging winds and water surges. The engineers further note that the water between the Reef and the mainland at the location of Plantation Belize Property is relatively shallow ranging from about 25 to 150 feet in depth. For hurricanes to develop a significant wind speed and water surge, they require deep water, such as that found east of the Reef, which plummets to depths of over 6,000 feet. Without the deep water, a hurricane water surge, which may be significant east of the Reef runs out of fuel (deep water) as it slams into the Reef and loses its energy. If it continues toward the mainland from the Reef, history shows us that it either veers north or south of Plantation Belize Property and is unlikely to regain its former damaging energy.

While we cannot guarantee a hurricane will never hit Plantation Belize Property, the odds are certainly in our favor that such an event is unlikely to occur, especially when compared to all the other popular Caribbean islands and mainland destinations. We believe this is another significant advantage to owning Plantation Belize Property.