This last weekend we ran our first overnight guided trip (OGT) to make sure all equipment and itineraries work before we bring out guests. It was fantastic camping in the Everglades!
We loaded the flat bottom boat with supplies for two days and equipment for five people including five kayaks on Friday after lunch. We stayed at a campsite called Darwin’s Place, one of the campsites for paddlers doing the Ninety-nine mile Wilderness Waterway trip.
Darwin's Place is named for Arthur Leslie Darwin, the last private resident of the Park. This spot had many settlers since the 1880’s and was also known as Possum Key.
We spent the next two days paddling around the mangrove islands and tunnels, exploring the surrounding waterways and watching the fly-ins and fly-outs of roosting birds. The most numerous birds were Tri-colored Herons fishing along the edges of the mangroves joined by many White Ibis as the honked there way up river over our heads. Among others were Anhinga, Double-crested Cormorant, Brown Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Osprey and Great Egret.
Spectacular sunrises greeted us each morning and beautiful sunsets bid us goodnight. Saturday was a full moon and we paddled by the light….something everyone one should do at least once!
One of the highlights of the weekend was when a pod of dolphins were hunting a ball of fish. The fish, we believe mullet, were jumping out of the water to escape this predator. The five of us in boats looked so small compared to these great animals and we were quite excited when they passed just in front of our kayaks.
I would recommend this trip to anyone coming to the Everglades and the guides, equipment and itineraries are all ready to go. Come on down!
