Everglades

Days 57 and 58 were spent travelling from LA to Florida over-night. Unfortunately for Dave, he was sat next to a 17 month old baby that proceeded to throw tantrums every few hours, the toddler's mother who threw up during the trip and had a child behind him who kicked his chair for part of the trip.  Fun times!

Day 59, our first full day in Florida, saw us we visit the Everglades, a tropical wetlands area in Southern Florida. The wetlands are in effect a river with grass in them - the fresh water is constantly flowing from Lake Okeechobee to the sea...

We visited an air boat tour company that had a small zoo of animals (turtles, snakes and alligators) and took an air boat tour over part of the Everglades. We started off with a small presentation showcasing the animals and were sat on some steel benches facing away from the swamp. I was a bit concerned when I looked back and saw a wild crocodile approaching from the swamp, which was not part of the attraction. Luckily for us he just wanted to bask in the sun rather than join in!!!

Zoo Area

Big Daddy, the biggest alligator on site in the zoo, with a length of 14 feet

Big Ben, this alligator was housed here after trying to attack a human in the wild

A snapping turtle, the jaws on this little turtle have amazing power!

Dave holding a 3 year old alligator, you'll also notice a wet patch on the t-shirt, this is sweat from the humidity, not a number 1 from the wee gator (pun un-indented).

Me holding the alligator, after a bit of persuasion from Dave

Airboat Tour

View from the start of the boat tour



Me and Dave in the air boat. You can see the driver in the background on the high chair along with the top of the giant fan. Matt did consider a mutiny at one point, being more commonly known as the captain although he didn't fancy walking the plank over these waters!!

The Everglades swamp area

An alligator in the wild as spotted from the boat tour.