Tour: Billie Swamp Safari

---

(Florida Bible Christian School)

Our tour worked out better this week~~I can’t say it was more fun, but it worked according to plan! We went to Billie Swamp Safari~~a 2200 acre natural wildlife preserve. We took a swamp buggy ride through it, and we were able to view many different kinds of animals, many of which I didn’t get the name of, because our driver had a very enthusiastic southern accent. With this being the dry season, we didn’t see as much as we would have if it was June through November (also called hurricane season.) It was interesting, though, and we learned a lot. They had alligators and turtles also, but that was in a zoo setting.

Saturday Bob and I went to the everglades; we didn’t know exactly what we were looking for, but we knew we wanted to see wildlife out in the unprotected, unscripted wild. We also wanted to do some checking on airboat rides. What we found was way more than we’d hoped for! We found an airboat tour that was recommended to us, and as it was only $10 for a 30 minute ride, we decided to go ahead and do it today, and then if we come back as a group we’ll do it again….and it was awesome! The boat itself held about 25 people, I suppose, and it was the smoothest ride I’ve ever been on…I can’t compare it to an airplane, because you have bumps flying through the air. It certainly wasn’t like a boat ride….It was smooth, whether we were going through the saw grass, or whether we were in the open water. And it would also go sideways, as Bob found out when he egged on the captain! It was remarkable.

The Everglades are 125 miles long, and 45 miles wide, and whereas other states have their mountains and rivers to hold the fresh water, Florida doesn’t have those, and relies almost entirely on the rainwater collected in the Everglades to support plant and animal (people included) in the southern part of the state. (From Orlando down.) The rainwater comes during the rainy season, also called the hurricane season~~June through September. If it’s a dry season, water is scarce the following year. If they get an exceptional amount of rain, the everglades only get about 3’deep! And the water cycle takes place from the everglades, the same as it does over our mountain lakes and rivers. Also they are home to countless types of fish and reptiles and birds and plants. It brought tears to my eyes to go into the everglades and see the activity going on…the nests, and the bird catching the baby alligator, and trees and plants that are thriving. Truly amazing. I don’t understand how anyone could look at that whole ecological system and think this all happened from an accidental explosion. We went to an island made like the Indians (Miccosukki Tribe) would have lived in, consisting of huts (chickes) built above a high spot in the water…I mean higher land, lower water, not dry land! We saw alligators and birds there, but again, it felt like they were in a zoo…I mean we were on a boardwalk, looking at them…how could that feel like wildlife?

But later, as we were walking down a road that led to a state park, we saw alligators everywhere~~there must have been a dozen total. The first one we spotted surprised us, because we had to look carefully through the swamp grass to spot him, but after that we saw them sunning themselves all along the water. It was fascinating! And the birds and other creatures (not sure what they were!) were everywhere. What a beautiful area this is! We also saw four alligators swimming (not in a group) through the water, and we could just see their faces and sometimes the tops of their backs~~just like we’ve seen on tv!

---

Photos

This chicke (pronounced cheeky)
was used by the Indians for sleeping~~see the nice bed?! These huts are everywhere around here, in the parks, in yards, in school playgrounds, in zoos...they're everywhere.

This is the cooking chicke for this
Indian family. It is built with smoke vents on both ends. (if the smoke escapes through a vent straight up, it is visible to others...enemies included. I'm not sure if you can see it, but the logs in the fire are pointing north, south, east & west, and the smaller fire is built at the center. The logs are fed into the fire until they're gone, and they smolder for days, or longer. It's hardwood down here.

See how high we're sitting?
The driver is sitting on the righthand side...she said there are no brakes on the bus, but I don't know if she was serious. We drove through the water like nobody's business!

This ostrich came up to the buggy
and apparently was looking for a relative! She then pecked on the side of the bus!

As we started away, she ran behind us!
Their feathers are really thick, and look very soft. I was going to touch them, but she thought I was offering her a taste of my hand, so I changed my mind!

If these things are safe (and they never are)
it would be while they're laying in the sun. The park ranger told us (right after she told Bob not to get any closer) that in most cases this gator wouldn't move, because all he wants to do is relax, but when he moves, he'll move fast. Instead, we moved!

This breed of gator was deep black,
very shiny, and dry looking. Really very pretty. Notice the size of that tail.
We saw one gator (from the island stop) that only had three legs, because it challenged an older gator, and lost! The older one ripped off the leg in the death roll they do. Ok, you have my attention.

I'm not sure if it the alligators being
told not to touch, or other way around, but no matter what, I'm not touching anybody! Bob thinks the sign is saying that alligators don't touch, they just grab and swallow! (great message from the guy 3' from the gator in the other picture.)

Can you see the fish in his mouth?
We watched him dart from the branch where he was sitting so still, into the water, and back (with the fish) in just an instant. It was just down and back. He didn't hurry to eat the fish, though, he kind of walked around the bushes like he was showing it off to the other birds! I was surprised no one tried to take it from him.

This was a huge thrill, and the only
reason we don't own an airboat is because I convinced Bob that we can't pull two things behind the bus, and that we do too need a Jeep! (no, I didn't get to drive!)

This picture could have been taken
in one of a million places in Florida! The water lilies are thick, and they're just beginning to bloom with a large yellow or orange flower. I've seen many buds, but not many are fully open. Trust me, when I see them, you'll get pictures!

I'm afraid this doesn't show how
gorgeous the landscape is in the everglades. It's incredible. The water is brown, but clear enough to see the bottom~~I know that doesn't make sense, but it's a fact!

Comments

[Sara!]

What awesome pictures! I can't believe you were on an airboat and didn't barf all over! Its the ostrich in the everglades or the bison in Yellowstone or the goats at the petting zoo - they're all on to us!

[Danielson]

Hi, Sara!
Most of the animals we saw at the Swamp Safari were the animals you'd see at any zoo. Like I said, it probably would have been more exciting if it had been during swamp time.

[Megan]

Rodney is very jealous of your boat! I don't think he noticed there were other pictures on the page. :) And I would have stayed a little further away from that gator. I can't believe how long the tail is!

[Danielson]

Hi, Meg!
Rod could tow that boat behind the Trooper! We would never see the two men again!

[Patti]

Alligators
How Cool!! Of course I had to forward this to Tim. He still misses being on the recovery team to get the misplaced alligators caught and put back in the place they belong. Your pictures make me remember so many special moments we had in North and South Carolina, mostly Charleston. They had a great place there called Reptile Gardens. We didn't have an air boat, it was just a boat with oars that we took on a self guided tour. Love you guys!!

[Danielson]

Hi, Patti!
Come see us, and we'll do it all again!