Day 7 – Friday

Today started early with an exciting airboat ride across the waters of the Everglades. We had a boat to ourselves, donned our ear protectors and were driven really fast through some narrow channels and out into a large pool too.

This wasn’t about wildlife spotting, although the birds were out in force. This was about exhilaration. The captain made us go faster and faster, ending with a full 360 degree turn. A lot of fun!

After that we headed along the Tamiami Road (so called because it joins Tampa and Miami through the northern Everglades and had a day when the wildlife just got better and better.

First stop was the Big Cypress Visitor Centre. We watched a film about the Big Cypress National Preserve and the kids completed another Junior Rangers badge, but the real highlight was watching the manatees from the boardwalk. There must have been 6-8 of them, all coming to the surface right in front of us. And there were around three alligators for good measure.

After that we headed a short way up Turner River Road – a dusty dirt road which follows the Turner River. We only went a short way because of the horrible bumpy road and because there were so many alligators in the water right next to the road that we didn’t need to. At one stage we counte 9 from where we were stood.

Spot the scariest monsters in these photos...

Back at the entrance the road there was another boardwalk where we saw our first turtles. We stood watching them for ages.

Finally we drove on to Shark Valley – so called because the water from this area drains to form the shark river, not because there are any sharks. Here we had our closest encounters yet with yet more alligators and turtles – we even saw some very tiny alligators.

The highlight was probably watching an anhinga (a bird) catch a fish by swimming under water and stabling it with its beak and bring it ashore. Here it banged it against a rock until it was dead and then ate it whole, head first, right in front of us.

Day 6 – Thursday

We had an early(ish) start today to go on a boat trip into the Everglades. And it was worth the prompt start as the trip was excellent.

We started in the marina and spent a bit of time there watching the manatees. They come into the marina to get warm as the water is warmer there than further out to sea. They’re magnificent creatures, closely related to the elephant. They were all around the boat and pop up for just a couple of seconds to breath. They are very difficult to photograph!

Then the boat went out through the islands. The area is called The 10,000 Islands and the reason is obvious as there are mangrove islands as far as you can see (and a lot further). And the wildlife is spectacular. We saw another alligator, dolphins, several ospreys, herons, egrets, terns, starfish (which they are trying to get known as seastars as apparently they aren’t really fish), raccoons, sea cucumbers and more.

We stopped on one of the furthest out islands where we could walk around which was idyllic and on the way back all the kids had a turn at being Captain of the boat.

After lunch we headed into Everglades City where we were lucky to join a Ranger talk about turtles before the kids did their Rangers tasks in their books and got sworn in as Junior Rangers for the Everglades Park.

Then it was back to the hotel for a swim, tea and bed.

Day 5 – Wednesday

We’re now in Naples. No, not Italy, Naples in Florida – it’s right on the edge of the Everglades and our base for the next three days while we explore the National Park.

We drove the scenic route from Sanibel all along the coast, dreaming of the houses and boats we passed. When we arrived in Naples we had a few hours to kill before we could check in so we went down to the beach for lunch before heading out along the Everglades road to book some tours for tomorrow and Friday.

At one of them we got to hold a 2-year-old alligator. They’re quite cute at that age!

A little further along the road we went into a park where we saw several more alligators, including three young ones on a bank. That makes nine we’ve seen now. 

And then it was back to our superb accommodation via TGI Friday’s (where the service was so bad that we got all out meals and drinks free)! But the food was great!

Day 4 – Tuesday

Today was chilly! OK, what I mean by that is that the wind has been really strong today, and carries a chill. We even kept our jumpers on for most of the day. I guess you couldn’t actually call it cold.

More bikes this morning as we headed to the JN “Ding” Darling’s Wildlife Refuge. This is one of a network of reserves all over America that protect natural habitats for wildlife, especially migratory species.

This is a coastal wetland. It is mainly mangrove swamps with mudflats (the tide was out) where the birds were feeding. We saw many different birds...

We also saw crabs, a mangrove snake, a massive spider and... our first alligator!

After lunch we went to the Shell Museum where we saw lots of, you guessed it, shells. Thomas and I had a little snooze through a film about molluscs!

In the evening we went down to the beach to watch one of the sunsets that Sanibel is famous for. By now the wind had picked up and it was really quite cold. We braved it out (with the help of a large packet of M&Ms) but frankly it wasn’t worth it! I can only assume it gets better then this!

Day 3 – Monday

We’re really on holiday now – no more travelling for a few days.

This morning we hired bikes and explored the island. Cycling here is great as there are cycle paths everywhere you’d want to go and bikes have right of way over traffic. You have to watch out for pedestrians though, and Jack and I did nearly get taken out by other bikes!

We cycled all the way (OK, it was only around three miles) from the cycle hire shop to the end of the island to look at the lighthouse. It wasn’t the most exciting lighthouse...

But we stopped there and were treated to a couple of pods of dolphins in the water just a few yards off the shore – sorry, but this was the best photo we got of them.

And a flock of pelicans feeding there too. They were flying around and then diving into the water to scoop up fish in their beaks. We sat there a long time waiting for this photo!

After that, it was off to explore more of the island on our bikes. We were a bit worried by the sign as we entered the tourist info.

We saw vultures:

 And we saw lots of signs of wildlife:

Signs. Of wildlife... geddit?

After dropping off the bikes and a stop for frozen yoghurt, we went back to our holiday home to find a whole load of ibises outside it.

After tea we then went for a long walk along the beach. The beach is approached through where we’re staying and then crossing a hundred yards of dunes. Foe a short while to our right (north west) there are some rather spectacular houses looking out across the dunes to the sea, but after a while they stop, from which point there is nothing but sea (and shells!). We walked for miles into a strong wind (blowing down from the north where they have had awful snowstorms, so it brought a bit of a chill with it). And then we turned round and got blown back in half the time!