Kayak swamp tour II

A little over a year ago, on November 28, 2009, I took the most enjoyable trip in my kayak that I ever taken.  Today, I revisited the same area.  The scenery was a bit different this time, being later in the season.  The two most notable differences were that there was less foliage on the cypress trees, and, because the water level was much lower, the cypress knees were much more exposed and impressive.  Enjoy the photos.

Kayak swamp tour

I posted a boat trip that Ron Mangels and I took into swamp country not far from where we live back on May 23 of this year. While it would have taken hours to paddle my kayak to the furthest point that we reached, going the same route, I was aware of an access water route from the highway that goes along Bayou Black between Houma and Gibson that would take me to the same location.

Today, I decided to figure out exactly where the access route was, and take it. This was probably the most enjoyable trip I have had thus far in my kayak...moderate effort with a big scenic reward. The most exciting thing I saw from a wildlife standpoint, was the biggest owl I think I have ever seen in my life. It swooped down very close to where I was paddling...what a thrill!

Boat trip with Ron Mangels

Ron Mangels, a close friend who I know through our church, invited me to take a boat ride with him in the Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge area that I described in an earlier blog (24 Jan 2009). We had talked about doing this together sometime, so I was excited when Ron called me up early this afternoon inviting me to go with him.

I included a Google Earth map of where we went by boat (the red lines). The map also shows where we live (red arrow) to provide orientation. The area we went through was truly breathtaking and otherworldly. It's hard to imagine that we are within one or two miles of areas like this when we are driving on the highways down here.

I don't even begin to remember all the different bird species Ron pointed out to me, but they included herons, egrets, coots, wild ducks, owls, woodpeckers, and so on. The close up I have in the collection of pictures was of two yellow crowned night herons in a tree. We saw a good number of alligators. I got a nice picture of a young alligator on a log basking in the sun. We saw some wonderful cypress groves. The pictures don't really do them justice.

I was also impressed by the large outcroppings of cattails. This country is almost tailor made for cattails. We took a side trip (where the red line splits) to see if I could access the area by kayak without having to go to the Intercoastal Canal, and proved that it could easily be done. If I didn't put the lines in the right place, Ron can straighten me out.

At any rate, it was a very nice activity for a Saturday afternoon, and I am very appreciative of Ron's offer to go on this boat trip with him.

Enjoy a Cajun Swamp Tour

If you enter the words 'swamp tour' in Google, you are going to see the strong connection between swamp tour and southern Louisiana. There are many swamp tours, such as Attakapas Adventures Swamp Tours (see above photos from their website). Swamp tours are quite distinct from one another, but they do have a few things in common. A few that you can generally count on are alligators (often by name), a wide array of birds, and enchanting cypress trees. When Lori (our daughter) and her husband James were here, we went on the Cajun Man's Swamp Cruise, with Black Guidry and his singing dog named Gator Bait. That was quite an experience. James knew French as a result of the time he had spent in western Africa. We had a group on board who were from France. Since Black Guidry knew Cajun French, he spoke to them in French. James was the only one among us who knew what he was saying to the French group. We later asked a bilingual member of the group if they could understand what Black Guidry was saying to them during the tour. This person said that as long as Guidry stuck to the script, they were ok, but when they were asking him questions, and he was responding spontaneously, they were having problems following him. We loved the tour, and couldn't believe all the beautiful birds we saw. A member of our Church in this area, Bill Munson, runs the Munson swamp tour. Judy and I have been on that one. It's a little more intimate, not as much out in the wide open spaces, but the swamp creatures are real up and close.

You can treat yourself to your own mini-swamp tour with a little mellow Cajun background music. First, click on some Cajun background music (Click on 'CLICK HERE'), then click on a self-advancing slide show of a tour, and Voila! Kick back and enjoy!