Matthew Robert Patrick, better known by his online handle MatPat, recently caused quite a stir on social media after using clues from the 2003 film Peter Pan to "locate" Neverland, the fictional island where no one has to ever grow up. According to MatPat's popular YouTube channel The Film Theorists, four clues in the movie led him to identify Neverland as the Turneffe Atoll, a real location in Belize.
The Turneffe Atoll is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Belize Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef system in the western hemisphere, and a popular tourist destination because of its beautiful beaches, clear waters, and scuba diving and snorkeling opportunities.
According to The Film Theorists' YouTube channel, the movie's Neverland features a large saltwater crocodile on an island surrounded by atolls, only three of which are found in the Caribbean. What clinched Turneffe Atoll as the"Neverland" is the fact that Captain Hook, a character in the movie, is based on Blackbeard, a real pirate who formerly used Turneffe Atoll as a base to launch attacks on Spanish ships.
Capitalizing on all the excitement, the Belize Tourism Board is giving away a five-day vacation to Belize to two people named Wendy and Peter (the two principal characters in the movie) who email BelizeNeverland@gmail.com before May 14, 2018.
"Neverland" or the Turneffe Atoll is not the only amazingly beautiful destination you can visit in Belize. Caves Branch Lodge, located in the heart of the Belizean jungle, offers exciting adventures such as cave plunges (using an inner tube to float down underground rivers), jungle treks, and waterfall rock climbing. Peter and Wendy found magical adventures on their journey to Neverland but at Caves Branch, we proudly boast our own style of unique and incredible adventures (sans Captain Hook of course) that include customizable journeys that combine jungle and sea vacations, so that visitors can enjoy the best of both worlds in tropical Belize.