Okefenokee Swamp
Les marais d'Okefenokee ("Pays de la Terre qui Tremble" dans la langue des amérindiens) se situent en bordure de la Floride. 1600km² de tourbe et canaux qui sont protégés en grande partie sous le titre de refuge national de faune. Des marais, des grands je n'en ai pas vu souvent alors forcement je n'allais pas rater l'occasion de m'y rendre; surtout que c'est bien mieux d'y être pendant l'hiver. L’été c'est simple, tu te fait bouffer par les moustiques. Même avec des températures fraiches je suis repartie avec une piqure de "l'oiseau d’État de la Floride", alors je n'imagine pas quand il fait chaud...
The Okefenokee swamp ("Land of the trembling earth" in native american) is located at the border of Florida. 43800 acres of peat-filled wetland which are protected under the title of National Wildlife Refuge. I haven't seen many swamps, especially large ones, so I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to see one; especially since it's far better to see it during winter. During summer it's simple, you get eaten alive by mosquitoes. Even with the cool temperatures, I still went home with a "Florida State Bird" bite, so I don't even want to think about it when it's hot.
Nous avons loue un canoë au centre d'acceuil du parc d'Etat de Steven Foster. Il y a plusieurs entrées du marais, nous avons choisi celle a l'Ouest. Pour une vingtaine de dollars nous avions 4h sur l'eau, les pagaies et les gilets de sauvetage.
We rented a canoe at the welcome center of the Steven Foster State Park. There are several entrances to the swamp, we picked the western one. For about twenty dollars we got 4 hours on the water, paddles and life jacket.
Il y a un petit canal d'approche qui permet de pratiquer un peu et de s'assurer qu'on sait en effet pagayer.
There is a little approach chanel allowing to practice the paddle.
Après ça nous nous sommes retrouves sur Billy's Lake. Une étendue d'eau calme et sombre (du fait des tannins des arbres).
After that, we found ourselves on Billy's Lake. A quiet and dark (because of the tanins) spread of water .
Le lac, et le marais en général d'ailleurs est bordés de magnifique cyprès.
The lake and the swamp in general are borded with beautiful cyprus.
On y rencontre aussi toute sorte d'animaux interessants. Nous avons vu de nombreuses aigrettes mais elles sont un peu difficile a prendre en photo, des herons, une cigogne locale (ci-dessus), et puis...
We came across all sorts of interesting animals. We saw many egrets but they are difficult to capture on camera, herons, a type of local stork, and...
Ben oui, le truc typique du marais du Sud: l'alligator. C'est le plus gros que nous ayons vu ce jour la. Mon homme aurait voulu me faire croire que c'etait un jeune. Ouais, non, j'crois pas moi. Le truc aussi c'est qu'on c'est approches avec notre canoë, et moi j’étais a l'avant. Hubby avait beau dire qu'on a un gros canoë, qu'on ne risque rien, je n'en menais pas large. Par beau temps on peut en voir beaucoup plus. Perso les trois que nous avons vu ça me suffit, je ne sais pas trop comment je me sentirais si on avait été entoures. Oui je sais ils étaient la quand même c'est juste qu'on ne les voyait pas dans l'eau...
Well, the typical thing of the Southern swamp: a gator. It's the biggest we saw that day. My man would have had me believe that it was a youth. Yeah right, I don't think so. The thing is, we also got pretty close with our canoe, and I was upfront. Hubby kept on saying we were safe in our big canoe but I wasn't feeling all that brave. I was told that when there is good weather you can see many more. As for me, the three we saw were enough, not so sure how I would have felt surrounded by them. And yes, I know they were there, we just couldn't see them in the water.
En comparaison, voici un alligator juvénile, bien plus petit et bien plus a mon échelle!
To compare with it, here is a youngling, far smaller and far more to my liking!
Nous avons fait notre pause repas a l'ile de Billy ou l'on peut encore voir des traces de l'exploitation forestière du début du siècle ainsi qu'un petit cimetière. 600 personnes vivait sur l'ile a son pic.
We took our lunch break at Billy's Island were one can see the remains of the logging at the beginning of the century as well as a small cemetary. 600 people lived on the island at its height.
En 2007 un immense feu de foret c'est déclenché dans la région brulant pres de 2000 km². On voit forcement encore les traces. Difficile d'imaginer des arbres brulant alors qu'ils sont les pieds dans l'eau, et pourtant...
In 2007, a huge wildfire started in the area burning 600 000 acres. Traces of it are still visible. It's hard to imagine a tree burning while its roots are in the water, and yet...
Après avoir rendu le canoë nous avons marche sur le petit sentier d'exploration au début du parc ou nous avons rencontre des chevreuils pas vraiment peureux.
After returning the canoe, we went on a stroll on the small trail at the entrance of the park where we encountered some less than fearful deers.
Il y a de nombreux canaux sur le marais qui donnent envie de faire un séjour de plusieurs jours. Je pense que ca peut etre sympa au printemps avant les chaleurs de l’été mais avec la floraison des plantes.
There are numerous chanels on the swamp which made us want to do a multiday trip. I think it could be fun to do in the spring, before the summer heat but during the flower blooms.
The Okefenokee swamp ("Land of the trembling earth" in native american) is located at the border of Florida. 43800 acres of peat-filled wetland which are protected under the title of National Wildlife Refuge. I haven't seen many swamps, especially large ones, so I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to see one; especially since it's far better to see it during winter. During summer it's simple, you get eaten alive by mosquitoes. Even with the cool temperatures, I still went home with a "Florida State Bird" bite, so I don't even want to think about it when it's hot.
We rented a canoe at the welcome center of the Steven Foster State Park. There are several entrances to the swamp, we picked the western one. For about twenty dollars we got 4 hours on the water, paddles and life jacket.
There is a little approach chanel allowing to practice the paddle.
After that, we found ourselves on Billy's Lake. A quiet and dark (because of the tanins) spread of water .
The lake and the swamp in general are borded with beautiful cyprus.
We came across all sorts of interesting animals. We saw many egrets but they are difficult to capture on camera, herons, a type of local stork, and...
Well, the typical thing of the Southern swamp: a gator. It's the biggest we saw that day. My man would have had me believe that it was a youth. Yeah right, I don't think so. The thing is, we also got pretty close with our canoe, and I was upfront. Hubby kept on saying we were safe in our big canoe but I wasn't feeling all that brave. I was told that when there is good weather you can see many more. As for me, the three we saw were enough, not so sure how I would have felt surrounded by them. And yes, I know they were there, we just couldn't see them in the water.
To compare with it, here is a youngling, far smaller and far more to my liking!
We took our lunch break at Billy's Island were one can see the remains of the logging at the beginning of the century as well as a small cemetary. 600 people lived on the island at its height.
In 2007, a huge wildfire started in the area burning 600 000 acres. Traces of it are still visible. It's hard to imagine a tree burning while its roots are in the water, and yet...
After returning the canoe, we went on a stroll on the small trail at the entrance of the park where we encountered some less than fearful deers.
There are numerous chanels on the swamp which made us want to do a multiday trip. I think it could be fun to do in the spring, before the summer heat but during the flower blooms.
