It is removed from the vehicular sounds of Lethem but close enough to enjoy the Savannahs and sights of the Kanuku Mountains. It is also known for being a stop on the Rupununi birding circuit where several types of birds can be spotted. Manari Creek flows a few steps from the Ranch itself and offers up a refreshing swim or boat ride. So whatever, your preference Manari Ranch welcomes you.
Margaret Orella (nee Melville) was the daughter of Rupununi Ranching pioneer HPC (Harry Prideaux Colin) Melville. Her father Harry Melville, a Scottish man born in Jamaica, had come to Guyana and settled in the Rupununi in 1890, with a small herd of cattle he bought from a Dutchman named De Rooj. There he developed a flourishing ranch at Dadanawa and had two Wapishana wives, Mary and Janet and between them 10 children. Margaret was born to Janet in Deep South at the source of the Rupununi River on 27th November 1902.
When Roman Catholic Bishop Galton and Fr. Cary-Elwes made their first visit to the area in 1909 all the Melville children were baptized.
In 1926 Margaret Melville married Theodore Orella, a man from Spain and they settled at Manari seven miles from Lethem and they too developed a flourishing cattle ranch.
Her husband died in 1947 and the responsibility for running the ranch fell to her alone. A gentle, but strong and determined character, she went on managing the ranch. When her cattle herd was hard hit by foot and mouth disease in 1961, Margaret found alternative solutions to keeping the ranch going by making its spacious rooms available for the accommodation of guests, and so the Manari Guest House was born.
Margaret Orella died at her Manari Ranch on August 6 after a long illness. She was hospitalized in St. Joseph’s Mercy hospital and requested to be taken from her bed back to Manari where she had lived for 50 years, refusing to leave the earth so far away from her beloved home.
Today her legacy lives on through her descendants. Manari Ranch, now run by Lissa Orella still provides excellent accommodation and a base near Lethem from which the picturesque Rupununi savannah could be explored.
Rupununi Music and Arts Festival
After three years of being hosted at Rock View and following discussions with colleagues in Government, sponsors, local residents and the Festival Team, the 4th Annual Rupununi Music and Art Festival will be held at Manari Ranch, near Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo) this time around. The three-day event is scheduled for February 16-18. According to the Team, Artistes from Guyana will be joined by performers from Brazil and Suriname; the lineup will include Gavin Mendonca , a young Guyanese Musician, Feed the Flames (FTF) , a Heavy Metal band based in Georgetown, Ruqayyah who is a Musician, singer-songwriter of both Guyanese and Surinamese heritage, Nachgana Academy of Dance group and performances from Jazz and Poetry One Stool (Japos), a social entrepreneurship / movement among many others.
The Rupununi Music & Arts Festival is an outdoor camping music event taking place in the lush grasslands of the Amazon in Guyana, South America. It lasts three days and allows space to unwind and enjoy traditional, folk and contemporary music in a stress-free environment. It offers the space to chill; it’s a ‘wicked’ weekend of music and dance, celebrating the beauty of human existence. The Festival team is encouraging patrons to “come with an open mind and spirit to have a wonderful time” and share a positive attitude bringing to life our belief in Guyana’s motto. (photos courtesy Visit Rupununi) (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)
