Hartley Neita, Contributor

There is a current international poll search for a new 'Seven Wonders of the World', to replace the original seven - with the exception of the Pyramids of Egypt which is the only original 'Wonder' which still exists.

Among the new seven so far suggested are the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal in India and the Statue of Liberty in New York. The Berlin Wall could have been one had it not been dismantled a generation or so ago.

This search led me to ponder on what we could identify as the Seven Wonders in Jamaica. Not that ours could be as grand and as majestic as those elsewhere in the world, but at least ours would be 'must-sees' by our visitors as well as Jamaicans.

Let me share my ideas with you.

Our Wonders;

In eastern Jamaica, there are Newcastle and Cinchona Gardens in the hills of St. Andrew. The view from both is spectacularly beautiful. I recall that some years ago, discussions were held with the Chief of Staff of the Jamaica Defence Force to allow the Jamaica Attractions Development Company - a subsidiary of the Jamaica Tourist Board - to host a Sunday morning brunch in the square of the Newcastle compound. He agreed in principle, pending a detailed presentation. Unfortunately, there was a change in Government and a change in the leadership of the Tourist Board and the new leaders would not entertain it. The project was stillborn.

Then there is the Rio Cobre gorge in St. Catherine. Many of you have driven on this road just before dawn when the mist floats atop the river and clings to the trees and hillsides. It is then that thousands of birds fly over the river, going to the hills above Bog Walk and Linstead in almost military formations of groups of six and more, at a steady 28 miles per hour.

There is Fern Gully. It is losing some of its glory, but is still a cool and dark avenue of majestic ferns. Dunn's River Falls is another spectacle, one of the few - if not the only - falls which drop its water directly into the sea. Milk River and Bath Mineral Springs are on my wonder list. Both, too, have the added attraction of a legend which is the same in both cases. We would have to choose one as the 'wonder'

Lover's Leap

Lover's Leap in St. Elizabeth is another legend. After years of talking and planning, it is now a tourist attraction. The legend as you know is that two slaves - a young man and a young woman, leapt to their death from the top of the precipice, rather than allow themselves to be captured and taken back to a life of slavery. But I bet you did not know that the lotus, a plant of love, grows on the side of this precipice.

Another of our wonders is the Rose Hall Great House. It is also associated with a legend, perhaps the best known legend of ours, internationally. I would have loved to see Joan Collins playing the role of the White Witch of Rose Hall in a movie by that name. Another on my list is Emancipation Park.

Other wonders which almost make my list are Hope Gardens, no longer what it was 50 years ago, Bamboo Avenue, struggling to recover from a fire of a few years ago, and Giddy House at Port Royal, our own Leaning Tower of Pisa. Unfortunately, it is too small.