Peeking through the sawgrass at me in Florida is a link to our prehistoric past. These ancient reptiles surly are little dinosaur remnants, and are both fascinating and eerie as hell! Come on a gator safari with me...
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| Our Sweet Swamp Ride |
We were on our own to explore Florida today, from our home base of Jupiter.
Our friend and hostess Jenni suggested perhaps we visit a theme park in Orlando. Oh, heck to the no! We want to experience the REAL Florida, not a Disney version. I thought: it's a gorgeous day; we should take a fan boat tour and go see some alligators in the Everglades swamp. When I think of Florida, I think of alligators, and I wanted to see them in the wild. I knew the Florida Everglades National Park was on the South tip of Florida past Miami. It would be a really long day if we drove all the way down to Miami, and took a tour and then drove all the way back up to Jupiter.
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| Gators, you will see! |
After doing some research on the internet, I discovered that the Florida Everglades extend to the north quite a bit, all the way up to the Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton areas. The Everglades Wildlife Management Area has several locations that offer fan boat tours of the wetlands. I found a spot that is in the Everglades Recreational Area, about a 45-minute drive from Jupiter, and offers fan boat tours and had a reptile conservation area: Sawgrass Recreation Park. We put the address into our GPS Sangeeta, and we were off!
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| Gator Safari |
Then heading south on Highway 27 to Sawgrass Recreational Park, we reached our destination. I was bewildered; I imagined the Everglade swamps to be filled with mangrove trees, and towering trees covered in Spanish Moss- but there was NOTHING. No mangroves, no trees, nothing but water and grass. Was this the correct place to see alligators? We parked our car in the gravel parking lot and found the ticket office, and purchased our fan boat tickets.
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| Fan Boat Ride |
The airboat adventure admissions are $22.95 (2020 prices) for adults and $12.95 for children up to 12 years old. This includes entry to the reptile and wildlife exhibits. There is a discount when purchasing tickets online.
Sawgrass is very common in the Florida Everglades; it is often referred to as a "River of Grass." It grows in very infertile soil and offers a habitat for many species of animals, including American Alligators, that use the grass to build their nests. We got a front-row seat in the fan boat so we could spot those gators. Our captain expertly guided our boat through the various waterways looking for gators and other local wildlife. The airboat glided smoothly on top of the water, and we saw several types of birds, including Osprey. Our captain was very knowledgeable about flora and fauna of this part of the Everglades and gave our tour group demonstrations on how the indigenous peoples of this area use the sawgrass.
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| American Alligator In The Wild |
Near the end of our boat tour, our captain spotted an alligator swimming in the sawgrass, barely peeking out of the water. The alligator was about 5 feet long from nose to tail and didn't seem that bothered by us at first. Our boat gently drifted over towards where the gator paused so we could get a good look at this magnificent reptile. The alligator decided we were getting a wee bit close, so it gracefully slipped through the water using it's large and powerful tail to propel itself forward. I was actually a bit startled at how fast this alligator could move, and I bet I would not stand a chance if I was its next meal.
Speaking of the next meal, after our one hour tour was over, we decided to have some lunch at the Gator Grill. The Gator Grill was a great food truck in the picnic area of the park. They had a great menu selection of Angus beef burgers, pulled pork tacos and of course-gator bites or what I was calling them: gator tots like our beloved Canadian McCain's 'Tater Tots. I figured I had to try them since you don't come across alligator meat very often, and they were actually delicious. The alligator meat comes frozen from an alligator farm in Louisiana, not locally from the wild, as I had thought. My son Liam is a vegetarian, and he ordered the veggie chilli, and he felt it was terrific.
The picnic area is inhabited by two peacocks (Ed and Max) and several ducks who apparently LOVE vegetarian chilli, or at least it seemed that way by the way the group of ducks looked at Liam with their mournful eyes. These ducks could give our two dogs at home a lesson in begging, they were THAT good!
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| Baby alligator cuteness |
After lunch, we went to check out the exhibits in the park. There are many rescued exotic pets her including snakes, iguanas and monitor lizards. I was even lucky enough to hold a baby alligator with the supervision and guidance of the staff. I was very grateful for the elastic band closure around this little guy's snout-his sharp little teeth could take of a pinky finger, I bet! I must say, at this size, they are so cute; but stare into the eyes of this little one, and you can see prehistoric memories. Fascinating!
We then went on to see the wildlife exhibit. The highlight here was Mia, a Florida Panther. Florida Panthers look almost precisely like Cougars in Canada, but smaller. The Florida Panthers and pumas and pretty much cousins, and the panthers are on the Critically Endangered species list. In 1970 there were only about 20 Florida Panthers in the wild; today, there are an estimated 230 wild Panthers in Florida. Here is a fun fact that I discovered: Florida Panthers can not roar; they can make all sorts of other little noises but have the inability to let out a roar. We learned a lot about the conservation efforts for the Florida Panther. I am glad that Florida is taking great efforts to protect these beautiful big cats and their environment. |
| Look At The Size Of This Alligator! |
When we went back to our car in the gravel parking lot, we found a giant alligator pictured here, sunning himself behind our rental vehicle! So my questions were answered. Yup, there are gators in the ditches. They are big; this one must have been 7-8 feet long. I completely froze. I don't think I took a breath for close to a minute. I saw how fast and powerful these reptiles were in the water; I didn't want to stick around and see how they did on land!
Heading back to our temporary home in Jupiter, I had a new respect for nature in Florida. The waterways in the countryside of Florida are wild and even dangerous, and I will never go camping in a tent, go for a quick dip in a river or turn my back to a ditch on the side of the road! The dinosaurs live on...
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