Into the SWAMPS!!

Want to see alligators?? Well then don't go on a swamp tour in January...😅

Picking a Tour

New Orleans is surrounded by many swamps and many different companies that offer a variety of tours for different prices. You have night tours where they bring a big spotlight, airboat tours where you take a bigger and faster boat (but are more expensive), kayak tours (which we were surprised to see were the most expensive but I guess it makes sense), and then your regular old swamp boat tour.

Regular Swamp Tour

Yup, with all those fun options, we went with the regular tour - but we wanted to go at daytime, and the prices were much more expensive for the others. We picked Cajun Encounters since it had good reviews, was 30 mins east of us, and about what we expected for prices (with taxes and fees we paid $35 each). It was advertised as a 2 hour boat tour and they said get their 30 mins early so that's what we planned to do.

Make Sure You're Early

I'll be honest, I was blogging. It was Monday, January 16th, 2023 and I didn't have to teach since it was Martin Luther King Jr Day. We made the reservation for 2:45 so all day before that we didn't do much except eat and make sure everything was clean and tidy. So I was getting really into writing for the blog when it was time to go. I really didn't get up until the minute we should have been pulling out. We didn't sweat it because they say 30 minutes early to everyone for check in so we'll just check in 20 minutes early it'll be fine. Also once you're late not much you can do about it while you're en route (cause speeding is not safe and we aren't trying to be pulled over in different states) so might as well enjoy the drive.

Seriously, Make Sure You're Early

Upon arrival, there was plenty of parking because most people choose the more expensive ticket and get shuttled there from their hotels. The place was pretty crowded with all kinds of people - from families with young kids to young adults who were...rowdy. The line to check in was way out the door, so we waited. Everyone gets a different colored bracelet depending which boat you're on and then they seat you in waiting areas based on your bracelet. There is so much to see while you wait - the gift shop was cool and they have a huge fake alligator and tanks filled with murky water that probably have real stuff swimming in them but we didn't have any time to look around. A two hour boat tour means make sure you use the bathrooms and then we also saw everyone getting all kinds of snacks and drinks from the gift shop. We had brought our own snacks and water but left them in the car so I decided to book it back and grab them while Nate stayed with the group. As I'm running back I see the group walking out to the boat and Nate trying to call me but I was able to run up to them before they boarded.

Picking A Spot On The Boat

Of course we wanted good seats, we were glad to find that the boat has 2 long benches facing back to back so anywhere you sit you have a front row view of what's on your side. Luckily the loud group of rowdy friends on our boat let us in front of them so they could sit their big group all together at the back. We would have had a hard time hearing the tour guide if we had been on the other side of them. So if you're there to listen, try to get close to the driver - they also have the stick with food on it if you want to see animals even more up close.

Our driver was Captain Will, who started the tour by asking us not to stand up since he had a tendency to bump the boat into trees or other things (this was true and happened several times). He also expressed that he would not be swimming for anybody or their belongings. He was pretty sure the lifejackets were under our seats but had never seen them before. And in the past he used to not care about strict rules until a group of influencers with a lot of Instagram followers posted a video of them all leaning over the rail to look at an alligator...which the company ended up seeing. These were all things we were told after the boat had already left the dock, but we did really enjoy Captain Will and laughed a lot. Besides, the water was very shallow in the swamps and we could see the bottom, so no one was actually worried.

Views!

Wow it was pretty to just be on a boat out in Louisiana. The weather was gorgeous and I'm not sure why Nate and I are so interested in Cyprus trees but they're everywhere and we can't get enough of them. They just have a cool look, getting wider at the bottom and then having "teeth" stick up all around them. Captain Will told us their roots do this so they can get better air circulation into their system and that they'll grow up to 2 feet then stop no matter how old the tree is. We also learned all those Cyprus trees were 100 or less years old since in the 1800s, they came and clear cut all those swamps. The wood was used for making houses and especially boats since it was resistant to water, animals, and rot. Now Cyprus wood is much more expensive since the tree was endangered for a while. Once Louisiana noticed they couldn't find Cyprus trees, they made it the state tree, and began trying to bring them back. We're glad they were successful!

These Birds Mean Business

Right away we saw a brownish spotted bird with a long bill, Captain Will said that was a limpkin. I'll be including the pictures I took of the birds while on the tour, next to a picture of that same bird from Wikipedia. I'll leave it to you to guess which is which though. Anyway, limpkins are known for eating apple snails which is a good thing since they are an invasive species that is damaging the plants here and thus the ecosystem. Then he pulled out an apple snail shell and passed it around! It was almost the size of my palm!

Just a little farther down we saw another, even larger and all white bird! Captain Will said that was an egret and it was the second largest bird in the state. They had almost gone extinct because they had 3 long and beautiful feathers that were used to make decorative hats. But people saw they were disappearing and placed egrets on protection lists and they are thriving today.

And as if it was planned, RIGHT behind the egret, was another bird that Captain Will said was the largest heron in all of Louisiana (and the internet tells me the whole continent as well). It was the Great Blue Heron and we were told the story of how that thing kills more people in Louisiana per year than alligators do. Gross alert - one lady went to rescue one tangled in some netting and it drove its beak through her eye. It also preys on pretty much anything that's the right size in the swamp, including small alligators.

Seriously good luck guessing which picture is mine and which one is from the internet.

Swamp or Marsh? Both?

Do you know the difference between a swamp and a marsh? We saw both on the boat ride and had seen signs about it on some of our hikes but when Captain Will asked us, we could not recall what the answer was. Nor could anyone on the boat, so he told us. A marsh is when you have a lot of grass in the water, and a swamp has actual trees.

This image comes from a video I did not watch but if you want to here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bst1ywLRIbY

Alligators, Where Are You?

We went up the Pearl River and when we were in the wider waterways, Captain Will was looking at all the logs on either side of the tree lines. He said this is where you would see the large alligators hanging out but since this was the coldest month, many had gone into hibernation. As the temperature gets colder, they have a gland in their throat that swells and when it gets big enough, they are unable to eat and they go dormant due to their heartrate and metabolism dropping. They are cold blooded creatures and get warm from laying in the sun but with the cooler temps in this month, they were a rare sight. Everyone was disappointed but he said maybe we would see some little guys but even they aren't as active. Then he told us to hold on to our stuff and he took off fast! Zipping down the water way was so fun!

What Are Those?

So many groups with a 2:45 reservation, meant a bunch of boats staggered but taking the same routes. Most of the time we did not see these other boats, but once we were moving very slowly in more tree condensed areas of the swamp, we had a boat in front of us, and a boat behind us. This was a good thing though because the wildlife you got to see depended on if you could actually spot it. The more eyes, the more we could find. Captain Will had spotted turtles sitting on a log, and a boat in front of us was playing with a creature I had not expected to see! Darting among the trees was a raccoon! And for the first time ever I thought it was cute!

The boat was holding out some food, and the raccoons obviously knew the drill. Captain Will told us they were on payroll and it certainly seemed like it. He explained when the alligators are out, these guys are rare to see since they can fall prey to an alligator. But in these colder months, they were more free to play around the swamp. We even saw one sitting up high in a tree!

I really want to get a better camera but you get the idea. Look how rolled up he looks up there.

Captain Will took us to a part of the swamp that the boats didn't drive through so we could see just how clear the water was. When the boats aren't around to kick up dirt, the water looks like glass and is perfectly see through. He had a water bottle to fill up so we could see how clean it looked.

MORE Wildlife!!

We went deeper into the narrow swamp and a boat ahead of us was playing with a raccoon. They headed out and we took their place to try and bribe the raccoon to come out. The raccoon seemed cautious, but did come out to grab some snacks and we got to see them more up close!

Suddenly a voice from our boat shouted, "An alligator!!" Everyone became very excited since we had had no hope of seeing one and was craning to see where it was. Even Captain Will could not see what they were talking about. But sure enough, behind the trees, but getting closer and closer was a baby alligator!

The boat was SO excited. Captain Will grabbed some food to encourage the little guy to swim closer. He threw out a piece and he went for it, while the raccoon scurried away. The little alligator started munching and munching on the food and threw his head back a little to try and swallow it. The Captain reminded us again this was due to the gland in its throat swelling up and making it hard to swallow. It's little tail would rise up out of the water as it did this - and don't worry, we got the whole thing on video!

We told the next boat that was getting closer about the baby alligator and they were excited, but they got a little close and he was more under their boat so they couldn't see it very well. We headed out - feeling SO accomplished that we had actually seen an alligator in its natural habitat.

Plants

Long grasses were on either side of our boat as we exited the denser swamp areas. Captain Will grabbed a piece and passed it around so we could feel how smooth the grass felt one way, and how sharp it felt the other. He showed us willow trees people would come to in order to relieve their headaches, for the bark contains a chemical called salicin which is known to reduce headache related pain.

People Live Here?

Lastly, he drove us over to a residential area, people who live on the swamp and have to drive boats out to their homes. Some of the houses were raised up on stilts with boats out in front of them. One line of houses were all floating on the water, being held up by barrels. We also saw damaged boats and houses from hurricanes Katrina and Ida. Captain Will told us to try and imagine this area with another 22 feet of water from Hurricane Katrina and 10 feet from Ida. We looked at those houses and tried to imagine how high the water would have been on them.

Floating houses on the water.

On the left, a boat with cages for catching seafood. On the right is a boat the owner moved to the other side of the canal so it wouldn't bash against his house during Hurricane Ida, but it became unusable anyway. At least it didn't bash into his property.

More houses and at the end, I try to zoom in on the parking lot in the distance.

We also passed under the oldest vertical lift bridge in the state - built in the '20s. We learned there is no longer an operator that sits there waiting for a boat, you have to call the number on the sign posted and give them 4 hours to send someone to lift the bridge. When it lifts, it goes straight up like an elevator!

Would You Hold a Baby Alligator?

On that note, we headed back to the docks. Tips were welcome and we thanked Captain Will before heading back to the gift shop since we hadn't had time to look around before. We went inside and an employee had a baby alligator in there and was letting people hold and take pictures with it! We decided against the photo though because we weren't sure if the baby alligator liked being held by so many people and the line was long enough already so he/she had their work cut out for them.

Takeaways

Our main takeaway was, the ecosystems, birds, and plants look so different from back home and were so cool to see and learn about! I think I would definitely like to do another swamp tour someday when the weather is warmer and see some of the really big alligators living their lives in the swamp.

If I had a bigger group, I'd definitely go early - but it worked out that we could still walk around and see what Cajun Encounters had to look at after our boat tour - it was actually better with no crowds like beforehand. All the tour guides seemed really nice and funny, not just ours and I would choose this company again even if it means seeing the same area.

If you have any questions, remarks, or advice - just reach out and let us know!