Georgia Pt 2

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Well south it was and we decided to remain in Georgia, a few miles short of the Florida state line. A quick ‘google’ of the area gave us a few options and we decided to take a trip out to Cumberland Island. The original Cumberland is great, let’s see about this one. We caught the ferry out to the Island in the mist with a boat load of high school kids, our plan to find a bit of P&Q wasn’t starting well. The day was planned as a bit of exercise as well as some beach time so we set off through the forest and immediately walked into some wild horses. Like the New Forest, they have the right of way, but were more interested in the oodles of green stuff rather than 2 pasty brits. We trekked for a couple of hours through miles of Live Oaks, draped with Spanish Moss, a covering that is neither Spanish nor moss but is related to the pineapple apparently and found everywhere in the region, blown on the wind and draped over every branch and bough. The canopy filters the light and traps the sounds or sometime the silence if that makes sense. We came out of the forest at Stafford Beach, out on miles of lovely, empty beach. Perfect. Chris had paddles in the waters off Cape Cod and Long Island but it was far too cold to consider a serious dip, but here, it looked inviting, and yes.... warm sea water. Great for a swimming or simply messing in the surf. Lisa went off in search of shells as you are allowed to take them off the island, and found some nice specimens.

Cumberland Island is a treasure, twice the size of Manhattan with a population of 11. Occupied at various times by Indians, Spanish forces, British military, Confederate troops, plantation owners and most recently a few members of the Carnegie family used it as a winter retreat - must be tough. Its beach stretches for over 25 miles, meaning that even on a clear day you can’t see one end from the other because of the earth’s curvature. Nature still reigns on this island, the imprint of human life is quite minimal. After a few hours soaking up the sun we commenced our homeward hike and pretty soon walked straight across an Armadillo snuffling around in the leaves for its tea with absolutely no interest in us, neither of us had seen one before, great creatures, like battle ready gerbils and one of the cutest things - brilliant. When we got back to the dock we found we’d actually trekked about 10 miles, no wonder the old joints were creaking.

The next day we decided that we’d let someone else transport us and headed into the Okefenokee swamp, a place name like that just had to be visited. We toyed with the idea of getting a couple of canoes but decided a guided boat trip was probably smarter. Our guide, Bubba, was proud of his heritage as a 7th generation ‘Swamp man’ and even prouder of his wife’s as an 8th generation. Chris nearly said “does that mean you married your daughter” but caught himself just in time. A couple of minutes into the trip and yep, up popped a real life, snappin’ snarlin’ gator about 8 feet long according to our extremely knowledgeable guide. Not one of those stuffed South Carolina ones but a real one just waiting for its next meal. Lisa declined Chris’s advice to just dip her hand in and see how warm the water was. Onwards up the river and there was another, and another, and another. Our guides statement that for every one you see there are 10 you don’t made the decision not to go off paddling on our own even more sensible. Georgia, swamp, ‘Gators, just need to find an old moonshine still and the day would be complete.

The swamp covers an area the size of Rhode Island and as it’s a National Wildlife Refuge run by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, nobody lives there. It has no inlets, its water source is rain and it is the source for the Savannah and St Mary’s rivers. We stopped in an open area called a ‘prairie’ and listened to the complete silence which surrounded us, and when we say complete we mean absolutely no sound whatsoever - fabulous. We were introduced to the smallest carnivorous plant in the world and some ancient Indian ‘love paint’. Obviously we didn’t need to try that (Chris said!!!). Sometimes there seems to be no wildlife around then you look really closely at a lily and realise it’s home to a tiny frog. The water was almost black because of the natural tannins and it looked like glass, offering a beautiful reflection of the scene above. Sometimes it was difficult to distinguish where the foliage stopped and the reflection began. Like a lot of things this trip, 90 minutes, was far too short but it did allow a quick peek into surroundings we’d never experience in the UK and well worth a visit.

Off into Florida, and we had decided on one last night, ‘roughing it’. We pulled in at a campsite in the Ocala National Forest. And it appeared we were the only ones there, it was so quiet, so peaceful, so hot and so full of bloomin’ mossies. Why do we do this when there was a really nice looking hotel about 10 minutes away? Because you can’t step out of your front door and wander down to the crystal clear blue waters at Juniper springs where slowly dissolving limestone bubbles like volcanic springs. Walking back to the RV a huge owl buzzes you then settles in the high branches to see who’s disturbing his peace, and this after playing hide & seek with a squirrel. Beats free HBO any day. We went for a walk in the morning, covering a few miles of the Florida National Scenic trail through the largest sand pine forest in the world. We came out of the forest to a burnt wilderness that stretched for miles, a vivid example of how easily fire can destroy all in its path.

It’s with a mixture of sadness and relief that we set off on our final leg down into Orlando, before dropping off our home for the last 2 weeks. Writing this now, a few days after handing the beast back we’ve realised it’s probably not for us. Glad we tried it, might be great with a family, plenty of cupboards to lock the little beggars (oops sorry children) in, but the downsides, on balance, outweigh the upsides. Couldn’t see us navigating it around the Sutton Poyntz duckpond anyway.

Well Orlando and a bit of a holiday needed. Sounds funny in what is, after all, the mother of all holidays, but we’re shattered and a few days sat by a pool, soaking up the sunshine (93 degs today) is just what the doctor ordered. Those mad fools that have stuck with us so far can have a break from our ramblings as well because for the next few weeks we are going to be investigating the Florida property market and just kickin’ back, because let’s face it at 93 it is far too hot to do too much, so updates might be fairly sporadic.

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Photos

Spanish Moss
Not Spanish and not Moss !!

Armadillo
Lisa's new pet

Gators
Yep this one was real.....

Okefenokee
One of the canals that cut through the swamp.

Okefenokee
Water so black it's tough to see where the real world ends and its reflection starts

Swamp Thing 2
Lisa asked Chris to hold the pose while Bubba quickly accelerated but he wasn't ready to be gator grub just yet.

R&R
Is she missing county hall right at this moment?

Cumberland Island
Great Trees

Cumberland Island
Arty moment coming out

Gator
Another 6ft of him was underwater....