Later, gator

THE GREAT OUTDOORS: An area almost destroyed by the intent to develop it, Florida’s Everglades are chock-full of interesting natural sights and sounds, our travel columnist finds.

Taking a trip to Florida’s Everglades is no crock

As our little crew of four kayaks paddles along, the sun slowly sinks below tall trees and gnarled mangroves. Birds are returning to their nests for the night; a graceful egret flaps past, way up high, and a hawk effortlessly lands on a nearby stump. The lazy ahingas which sat a little while ago with wings spread to catch the sun, have disappeared from sight. Is it because their black feathers make excellent camouflage, or have they too gone home elsewhere?

What have definitely gone home are the airboats which roar around the channels, taking visitors to see alligators. Blessed peace —  punctuated by the sounds of water and nocturnal animals — descends upon the Everglades.

With descending darkness, we switch on our headlamps. They cast their light through the tangled branches, and we concentrate hard, searching for a pinpoint of orange in the darkness.

Suddenly, someone calls out, “Here’s one!” And we all sweep our lights around and paddle closer to the spot he has lit.

The eyes of an alligator glow orange in the light from our headlamps, but you have to catch them just right to see this. This proves easy as the huge alligator decides to come and investigate. The guide cautiously suggests we move back slightly, and we’re all privately in agreement! But our kayaks are large enough to intimidate the reptile and after coming several feet, he turns aside. He’s now less than 10 feet away so his dark length is clear in the paler water. Wow, he’s a big fellow!

We move off again and in the course of an hour, spot several more alligators lurking in the undergrowth. We might never have seen them in daylight, so well do they blend into their environment.

It’s hard to describe the thrill this adventure affords. These are big beasts, primeval and dangerous, and there’s nothing but a few feet of open water between us, water they can move through way more efficiently than we could. Still, in the pitch darkness of an Everglades night, with the only light coming from a half moon, the guide has to bully us into finally paddling back. And, as none of us knows the way back to the spot from which we launched our kayaks, following him is a must.

Eventually, happily tired from our paddling and glad to get back, we stumble back to our room at the Ivey House in Everglades City to change for dinner. The Ivey House offers a whole range of expeditions — as well as a whole range of accommodations — for those who want to explore the Everglades.

To see alligators in broad daylight, we head to Shark Valley in the heart of the Everglades, the river of grass, that stretches 100 miles from Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico. The creatures here share a freshwater ecosystem of saw grass marsh and tree islands, and the alligators have become so comfortable they simply lounge by the side of the road.

There’s a tram that takes you the 24-kilometre round trip through the park, with an observation tower halfway along its length. But I would recommend doing this on foot or on bicycle. We watch the tram whizzing past as we get a close look at huge alligators and gorgeous birds, sunning themselves side-by-side in the marsh. It’s quite awe-inspiring. Only half a mile or so from the visitor centre, the splash of water, the chatter and chirp of birds and the click of my shutter are the only sounds to be heard.

But just once, we hear a distinct, deep mutter from an alligator nearby and depart the area hastily. I doubt we would have been in any danger, but tell that to my rapidly pounding heart!

There’s so much to see: beautiful plant life and flowers. Unhappily, I can’t identify these, but their spots of bright colour make a striking contrast in a world of swampy brown and green.

It’s hard to believe that this magnificent wetland encompassing a vast area of Southern Florida, was very nearly completely destroyed.  In the late 1800s, the draining of the area was begun, in order to create more development. But for once, the state’s dreaded hurricanes actually helped, flooding the area and causing developers to give up in disgust.

In the 1970s, UNESCO designated the Everglades as one of only three wetland areas of global importance. Since then, the government has been working hard to restore and preserve the area — a wise move since this is one of the few parts of the state that hasn’t fallen prey to Florida kitsch. It’s always amazing to me that a state with so much natural beauty should so easily embrace plastic pelicans and tacky T-shirts.

With nature at its best and civilization often at its worst, Florida is definitely worthy of a visit. Buy the T-shirt, but don’t let the formidable natural world in Florida escape unnoticed.

If you go:

The Ivey House, Everglades City: www.iveyhouse.com.
Shark Valley: www.Sharkvalleytramtours.com.
Florida Tourism: www.visitflorida.com.