Captains Log

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Hi Guys. I just thought I would give you a quick review of my adventure in the Everglades.
Well, it really was an experience. The everglades are very beautiful, the water is quite still (which is a very good thing when you have three girls who have never kayaked before in their lives), the stars in the evening were amazing; the sky there was really clear and we saw three shooting stars in the space of about 10 minutes (thats got to be lucky), and on our second day there we visited a giant sand patch which was also very impressive.
Apparantly the Everglades are described as a sub tropical marshland and we were reassured that crocodiles only live in tropical waters so that was good. We were also told though that Bull Sharks have been known to lurk in the waters, which was not so reassuring. I can happily say that we never fell in the water, although there were a few close calls. We decided that the key was to keep swapping over the side that we paddelled in order for us to go in a straight line. Despite this we still had a few close encounters with the reeds and trees on the waters edge. Kayaking is really hard work and by the end of the first day I had discovered muscles that I never knew I had.
We did swim in the water at the side of the camp a few times. It looks like a really murky brown but is actually perfectly safe drinking water. This is because all of the trees around it are Tea Tree. The roots filter the Tea Tree into the water and thats why its the colour it is. Its meant to be very good for your skin.
Camping was another experience again. Pitching the tent went quite smoothly but we did seem to suffer with regards to equipment. We weren't given a lamp so by 6.30pm we were in pitch black dark. The first night we didn't realise it went dark so early (or that we didn't have a lamp) so we cooked our soup with the aid of our one working torch but by the second night we were tucked up in our tent by 6.15pm.
The wildlife here in the day is really nice. Denise and me got really close to a couple of Kangaroos and there are also a lot of birds of prey around. There are also a lot of reptiles, which is not so good, especially in the evening. You have to be very careful when you are making your food that iguana's aren't nearby because they are likely to attack. We did see one when we were making some sandwiches one day, I have never seen us run so fast in our lives! We also heard a lot of strange noises in the evening which was very concerning when you had to leave the tent to venture to the drop pit toilets.
Overall the trip was amazing, even though we were all craving a shower and some nice food at the end of it, we felt quite proud of ourselves that we had done it. Before we left on the water taxi to get to the base it was pouring down with rain and we had been told that the weather would be really bad, rangers may have to come and get us on the second night if the conditions deteriorated, and to try and camp near a shelter, but not to panic! A few girls did back out but we decided to brave it and I'm glad we did. It turned out that the storm passed anyway and the weather was actually very nice apart from a few showers in the evening.
After our camping experience in the everglades I feel more prepared for my camping trip on Fraiser Island which starts tomorrow.
Other things learnt on this trip included; when told a trip will take 5 hours it is more likely to be about 7 (we learnt this when racing down the river at 5.30pm on the second day to get back to camp before the sun went down) and apparently I talk in my sleep, about canoes!
I hope everyone is well. I will be in touch again soon. Love Rachelxxxx

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