Cumberland Island National Park


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North America » United States » Georgia
July 20th 2006
Published: July 27th 2006
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Jay and Kona on the beach at Cumberland Island.
The weather in the Bahamas started getting worse with bad thunder and lightening storms 1-2 times a day. We decided it was time to leave the islands and return to America, to go north for the upcoming hurricane season. So we crossed back to Florida and have started our trek up the East Coast.

After checking into Fort Pierce and experiencing the culture shock of being back in a place with a lot of people and a lot of cars, our first big stop was Cumberland Island National Park which is located at the border of Florida and Georgia. It is a favorite stop for many cruisers who enjoy its natural beauty, picturesque setting, and abundant wildlife. Cumberland Island is the largest of Georgia’s Barrier Islands and has many ecosystems. You can kayak through the marshlands and up the many rivers and creeks hearing the calls or groans of the alligators, trek through the forest full of large moss covered trees sitting majestic for centuries while light shimmers through the leaves, or enjoy a large stretching beach with sand dunes and the largest population of nesting loggerhead turtles in Georgia. Certainly there is plenty to see!

The island has
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The grass blowing in the ocean breeze on the dunes.
an interesting history which is represented by many artifacts and photos in the museum. It was originally the home of Native Americans and the park has excavated many artifacts of their way of life on the island, like arrow heads and pot shards. They have also found many Spanish coins and metal crosses from the time when the Spanish Soldiers and missionaries were there in the 1500’s. Later two forts were built here, Fort William and Fort St. Andrews, both to protect the interests of the British colonies. Unfortunately no remains of these structures can be found today. After the Revolutionary war Nathaneal Greene, a war hero, purchased the island and it became part of the southern plantation economy. Shortly after Thomas Carnegie, the partner and brother of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, began building on the island a vast estate called Dungeness where they would enjoy peaceful summers full of entertainment and fun with their family and friends. There are two mansions on the island that you can explore, Plum Orchard still stands today and is kept up by the park service and Dungeness lays in ruins (which reminds you of the days past as it is being reclaimed by
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The boardwalk to the beach through the dunes.
nature).

We have been taking a break from all of the traveling we did in the last couple of weeks and now spend our time relaxing in the mornings with a cup of coffee while viewing the wildlife of the island from the cockpit of the boat. From there we enjoy watching pods of Dolpins that swim up the river to feed and play. One day we were even blessed with the presence of a baby Dolphin and its mom which came right up to the boat. Kona still has a special knack for attracting dolphins and you can tell when they are coming because he will be on point way before we can see them. We also are anchored right at a great place to view the seashore with its small grass meadows where some of the islands 250 wild horses like to graze in the morning sunlight. Every morning we see a light grey horse of in the distance enjoying its small patch of green grass and occasionally a group of horses walk the seashore right by the boat. Another majestic animal of the island that has a residence atop the remains of a dead tree right
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Trail through the forest full of large moss covered trees sitting majestic for centuries while light shimmers through the leaves
near us is a peregrine flacon that will watch the water attentively then swoop down and a grab a couple of small fish in it’s talons for a meal. It is pretty special to see this so close and it is really a sight to see a bird like this with the ability to pick out his food from such a distance and then catch two fish at a time!

We also have spent time on the island exploring the many trails, beaches, and open areas that it has to offer. On our first visit to the island we brought the video camera and ventured down a trail and immediately heard rustling in the underbrush. Certainly we were expecting a visit from one of the islands many wild horses and we waited silently with anticipation for a first viewing. With the camera rolling the noises got closer and closer until a small wild armadillo came up to my feet and gave me a good sniff. We were laughing at the experience and baffled by what we saw, certainly unexpected! Apparently armadillos were introduced to the island in 1974 from one of the residents. Now we hear them rustling around
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The curious horse.
the trails whenever we go out.

On another adventure we ventured to the ruins of Dungeness. On the way, we passed by the old Ice House museum and open area where we saw the first of wild horses. There was one right by the museum and a couple more in the distance. We took pictures in the pastoral setting and viewed the history in the museum. The park ranger warned us to not leave Kona alone as the horses are “curious” about dogs. So after each of us separately viewed the museum, I came out to see the three horses has congregated by Jen and Kona and they were experiencing a close encounter. After I arrived a curious brown horse started to notice Kona and rapidly approached. I started to move away and the horse followed suit and chased after me all the way to the museum. I fled up the stairs and into the museum with Kona and firmly closed and locked the door behind me. I then realized how funny the situation was, why do I think a horse can turn a door handle, thus the need to lock it? I laughed at the situation and opened
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The iron gate, the grand entrance to the Carnegie estate.
the door, where to my surprise the horse had followed us and his head was peeking through the crack in the door! He gave me a “ppphhhhhpphhhhtttttt” with his nose and lips and I rapidly closed the door again thinking this horse sure has a mischievous personality! After the horse wandered off a few minutes later we continued our walk down the road to the ruins and came across a group of white tailed deer, which quickly bounced down the road as we approached.

Upon view of the large rot iron and brick gates that mark the entrance to the once grand estate, the splendor and size of the grounds comes into view. In the front on both sides are groups of horses, eating and playing, reclaiming the vast fields for themselves. Walking down the dirt road to the ruins of the mansion we can see the turkey vultures which are perched atop the great brick pillars and fireplaces. It truly is a sight to see the vastness of the estate and imagine the parties and family outings that took place here. A walk around the back finds more horses playing and another vast garden were there are ruins
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Horses roam the ruins of Dungeness.
of old fountains and terraced steps leading to the marshlands below and a great view for summertime sunsets. While we were more cautious of the horses, it certainly was a nice sight to see about fifty horses all around the estate roaming around!

Other creatures that can be seen around Cumberland Island include blue crabs. These crabs are feisty if you approach them and are quite the scene if you try and grab them. At anchor the tide shifts and the water comes in and goes out with quite a current. These crabs like to make a pit stop to avoid the strongest portions of the tides on the back of our boats swim platform. On occasion they can be seen hanging on with their claws, which is a pretty funny sight! It would have been nice to get one for dinner, but we just enjoyed watching them swim around the boat and hang out.

The time we spent at Cumberland happened to also be a great time to see and hear about the nesting turtles. Loggerhead turtles use the Barrier Islands of north Florida and Georgia for nesting during the summer months and Cumberland Island has over
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The ruins of old fountains.
250 nests right now. We went to a talk at the beach about the turtles put on by the park given by college students who are spending the summer researching the turtles and protecting the nests from predators. While we didn’t get to see a turtle come up on the beach, we did get to see one of the many nests of the island.

One of the more adventurous days included an outing of kayaking up one of the many marshland rivers. Of course the day we wanted to go a thunderstorm was brewing, but we decided to take our chances and race out to beat the storm. We drug the kayaks up to the mouth of the river and set our anchor in the dingy and prepared for the journey up. Setting the anchor out on the bank of the river and getting into the kayaks got our first experience of Georgia mud, which I am hoping has rejuvenative properties, for it is some of the thickest, smelliest, and stickiest mud anywhere. We meandered up the river and had a peaceful ride as the tide was coming in, looking at the cranes, herons, and other birds that congregate
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Horse in front of what remains of the glorious garden.
near the marsh edge. Small fish jump as the kayaks go through the water, and our minds turn to wondering of alligators, which are supposed to be prevalent in the park in these marshes. We came to the end of the river as the first sprinkles started and so we kayaked back without seeing any alligator, but we possibly heard the croak of a small female (which was just about as close as we want to get to an alligator on our kayaks anyways).

One of the other cool things that we got to watch from the boat was the transit of many submarines along the intercostal waterway. The base for many of the submarines in the East Coast is just up the river from Cumberland and we have heard to be on the lookout for them as we travel in these waters. It is a very impressive sight to see these massive naval ships go by. We hummed the theme song to from “Hunt for the Red October” whenever we would see one travel by. We got to see one of the giant nuclear submarines, over 1000 foot long with its con tower over 8 stories tall- very
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A blue crab grabbing onto the back of the boat.
impressive, as well as 3 of the smaller Los Angeles class submarines go by. What a sight!

On our last day there we decided to take a sunset walk to the boardwalk on the south side of the island which overlooks the marshland. On the way we went through the ruins again and enjoyed a quick stroll by the cemetery. To get to it you have to follow a small path that is overgrown with trees and brush, with spider webs and huge spiders in them. It was almost a “Blair Witch” moment, and I had to take the opportunity to put a scare into Jen. From the cemetery we followed the trail south, which turned to a dune area and a clearing where we saw a group of wild turkeys with its young in tow, cotton tail dear with their fawns, and horses with colts. After the ferries leave at 4:30pm, it seems all of the wildlife comes out and takes back their island and they all looked at us like “what are they still doing here???” We treaded quietly by to the boardwalk and enjoyed the sunset sky over the marshland. This was a perfect ending to
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One of the 250 nesting sites of the Loggerhead turtle on Cumberland Island.
a great week here at Cumberland Island.


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27th July 2006

Enjoyed the pics and travelogue; you will be ready for National Geographic soon!!!!! I am so happy that you are enjoying this life on the sea. Love you
27th July 2006

Looks like you are having a grand time!!
It has been great to see the beautiful photos and the interesting stories of your adventure! It makes for wishful thinking that we all could have the opportunity to travel like this!! Have fun and be safe!!! Until the next adventure blog....
28th July 2006

Hi Jay and Jen, If you guys need a place to rest up I live in Bluffton, SC (right next to Hilton Head) and you are welcome to stay. You could explore Hilton head and SAvannah, GA. Of course Kona is welcome too! 843-706-3061. THanks for the travel updates!

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