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The shaven greens of Tobago's first golf course herald the outskirts of Mount Irvine , the next coastal village past Buccoo. The challenging course plays host to the Tobago Pro-Am tournament every January, and greens fees are US$30 for nine holes, US$48 for eighteen - there's also a weekly rate of US$264 (tel 868/639-8871). Around the next bend is Mount Irvine Bay Beach , a busy slip of fine yellow sand with just enough room for beach tennis and volleyball, surrounded by gazebos and the ubiquitous palms and sea grape trees. The facilities (daylight hours; TT$1) are adequate and there's a bar/restaurant on site doling out mountains of fried shark and bake. During summer months, the water is calm enough to make exploration of the ornate offshore reef a joy, but Mount Irvine becomes one of the island's best surfing beaches between December and March, when huge breakers crash against the sand all morning. Boards can be rented from Mt Irvine Watersports (tel 868/639-9379), right next to the beach complex. Past Mount Irvine is the sublime Stone Haven Bay, a good beach, though dominated by an all-inclusive hotel, expanding villa complexes and the inevitable beach vendors. Two friendly and less commercial options for accommodation are a few minutes' walk away, Indigo and Two Seasons . Nestled in the hills behind the beach along Orange Hill Road (take the right turn just past the Mount Irvine golf course then follow the signposts) is the Kimme Museum (open Sun only, 10am-2pm, appointments taken for other days; TT$10; tel 868/639-0257, ). Here you'll find the private gallery of eccentric German sculptor Luise Kimme, who settled in Tobago in 1979. Her eerily beguiling wood and bronze sculptures are dotted around the artist's quirky, mural-decorated fretworked home, and a tour makes for a pleasant break from beach-related activities. Back on the Shirvan Road, a few minutes' drive beyond a grating section of potholes marking the end of the small village of Black Rock, is another fine beach, Turtle Beach , a good kilometre of picturesque, coarse yellow sand. A two-storey uninspiring hotel dominates the sand - only its package tourist guests are allowed to use the purpose-built sun shelters - the constant presence of unadventurous guests has generated an ideal market for itinerant beach vendors. Though the beach is officially called Great Courland Bay , it acquired its colloquial title on account of the turtles that still lay eggs here in the dark of night. All of the hotels along this stretch organize a turtle watch during the laying and hatching seasons, but if you're not staying in the area, contact Nick Hardwicke at the small Seahorse Inn (tel 868/639-0686) for turtle-watching expeditions.
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