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BradnDad2014
We headed off about 8.30am for the drive to our tour start point. Quite excited, as we were off for a tour encompassing part of the Jean Lafitte National Park, travelling by air boat across "Gator Country"...
A fairly overcast day, I could envisage ourselves getting drenched as we made our way around alligator infested bayous. Brad was starting to regret his tasty treat of alligator bites last night..
With images of "Swommp Peeple" (say it with a Southern drawl..) washing through my mind, I pulled Betty into a quiet, secluded property (think "Deliverance") about an hour out of New Orleans.
As we were greeted by 4 young men, with the best Southern Louisiana accents you will ever hear, wearing checked shirts and rubber fishing overalls.. we knew we were in the right place !
Meeting "Captain Brian", (when you see the photo of our air boat, you'll see what I mean), didn't exactly allay our concerns for a safe return from the 4400 acres of swamp...
As it turns out, our mental images couldn't have been further from the truth..
Brian is a knowledgeable, fourth generation alligator farmer that seems to know just about everything there is to know about the area. Deeply respectful of the environment, he and many others in the area have grave concerns for the future of the wetlands. The same levees that collapsed and flooded Now Orleans also starve the wetlands of water that is diverted to the Gulf of Mexico via The Mississippi river. Reducing the amount of wetlands protecting the coastal plain also exposes the region to unnatural erosion.
Brian and his family only hunt alligators in the wild on occasion these days, relying mainly on tourism. They do collect about 1000 alligator eggs a year which are sent off to captive farms. Sustainability is maintained by returning 40% of the 1 year old back to the wild..
There is also a bounty on Nutria rats, an introduced 20kg rodent that decimated the native Muskrat population. Sometimes shooting 150 in a night...
Our air boat cruised effortlessly (although somewhat noisily on full throttle) in and out of the twisting canals. Stopping at known alligator nesting / fishing areas, Brian attracted some locals by slapping the water surface and rewarding with treats of marshmallows... Yep, alligators like marshmallows... We learnt some other interesting facts...
Whole alligators sell for between $11 - $20 / foot. The sex of an alligator is determined by the temperature of the egg, warm = male, cool = female. Alligators have 3 eyelids (crocs only have two) and lots lots more...
We had a really good time on the tour, and came away with a new found respect for wetlands.
After a lot of thought, we have decided not to go to the Jazz Festival. On advice from locals, there is an anticipated audience of around 400,000 people over the course of the festival along with Eric Clapton being a headline act, the crowds would be huge. Given that Brad is not exactly a fan and I'm not into masses of humanity, we decided to pass. Having said that, it would be a fantastic, week long, festival event for another date.
We head off for Tallahassee in the morning after swapping Black Betty for something else... Probably a Prius or a similarly practical mode of transport... Tallahassee is a stop over on our way down to Miami, Florida.
A fairly overcast day, I could envisage ourselves getting drenched as we made our way around alligator infested bayous. Brad was starting to regret his tasty treat of alligator bites last night..
With images of "Swommp Peeple" (say it with a Southern drawl..) washing through my mind, I pulled Betty into a quiet, secluded property (think "Deliverance") about an hour out of New Orleans.
As we were greeted by 4 young men, with the best Southern Louisiana accents you will ever hear, wearing checked shirts and rubber fishing overalls.. we knew we were in the right place !
Meeting "Captain Brian", (when you see the photo of our air boat, you'll see what I mean), didn't exactly allay our concerns for a safe return from the 4400 acres of swamp...
As it turns out, our mental images couldn't have been further from the truth..
Brian is a knowledgeable, fourth generation alligator farmer that seems to know just about everything there is to know about the area. Deeply respectful of the environment, he and many others in the area have grave concerns for the future of the wetlands. The same levees that collapsed and flooded Now Orleans also starve the wetlands of water that is diverted to the Gulf of Mexico via The Mississippi river. Reducing the amount of wetlands protecting the coastal plain also exposes the region to unnatural erosion.
Brian and his family only hunt alligators in the wild on occasion these days, relying mainly on tourism. They do collect about 1000 alligator eggs a year which are sent off to captive farms. Sustainability is maintained by returning 40% of the 1 year old back to the wild..
There is also a bounty on Nutria rats, an introduced 20kg rodent that decimated the native Muskrat population. Sometimes shooting 150 in a night...
Our air boat cruised effortlessly (although somewhat noisily on full throttle) in and out of the twisting canals. Stopping at known alligator nesting / fishing areas, Brian attracted some locals by slapping the water surface and rewarding with treats of marshmallows... Yep, alligators like marshmallows... We learnt some other interesting facts...
Whole alligators sell for between $11 - $20 / foot. The sex of an alligator is determined by the temperature of the egg, warm = male, cool = female. Alligators have 3 eyelids (crocs only have two) and lots lots more...
We had a really good time on the tour, and came away with a new found respect for wetlands.
After a lot of thought, we have decided not to go to the Jazz Festival. On advice from locals, there is an anticipated audience of around 400,000 people over the course of the festival along with Eric Clapton being a headline act, the crowds would be huge. Given that Brad is not exactly a fan and I'm not into masses of humanity, we decided to pass. Having said that, it would be a fantastic, week long, festival event for another date.
We head off for Tallahassee in the morning after swapping Black Betty for something else... Probably a Prius or a similarly practical mode of transport... Tallahassee is a stop over on our way down to Miami, Florida.
- comments
susan_dougherty What is wrong with some people?? Why would you do this!?
susan_dougherty Put it down! Normal people do not hold alligators!