Okefenokee Swamp Park

Let's face it, there's not a lot to see and do in southeast Georgia. Our one major claim to fame is the Okefenokee Swamp. This swamp is currently being considered to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it is one of the world's largest naturally driven freshwater ecosystems. Unlike many other significant wetland areas, the Okefenokee Swamp is the source of rivers rather than their recipient, and therefore escapes most disturbances to natural hydrology and water flow. (Yes- I stole that last sentence off of the Internet.) There are three main entrances that a person can use in order to explore the swamp- one of those being just outside of Waycross. Brian and I have been to the swamp park a dozen times, but we have never taken the kids. So, today we decided to do just that.

We arrived at the swamp in the afternoon, but were able to do everything that we wanted to do except take the train ride. We visited all of the exhibits. The most popular of these being the "trembling Earth" simulation- which was really just very large cushions that you could walk around on to simulate the unsteady marshland. The kids had a good time jumping around on those.

There were several animals on display at the park. We saw gators (of course), bears, deer, otters, and snakes. We were the only people at the reptile show in the afternoon, so we got a lot of individual attention. Olivia was able to pet a corn snake (named Cornelius) and two young alligators at this show. She's braver than I am- you couldn't pay me to touch those things! In addition to all of the live animals, there were also a large number of stuffed animals. I noticed that there was a taxidermist on staff- so I guess that explains it. There was one exhibit where we walked through a dimly lit room full of stuffed animals- that was a little disturbing.

The highlight of our day was the boat tour through the swamp. We signed up for the 30-minute tour, but ended up getting the 1-hour tour. The captain said that since we were the only ones on the boat that it would go faster and we could cover more ground in less time. We saw several gators while on the boat tour. We even saw a mama gator with babies in her nesting area. The only negative thing about the day was that the swamp was teeming with yellow flies and it was a constant battle to keep them off of us while on the boat tour. Other than that, we had a pleasant afternoon exploring this natural treasure.