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Populated by alligators and rattlesnakes, the Okefenokee
Swamp covers 700 square miles of hauntingly beautiful
wilderness in south Georgia and north Florida. The Seminole
Indians named it "Land of Trembling Earth".
Its floating peat islands are eight thousand year old.
The swamp is designated as a National Wildlife Refuge, protecting
the headwaters of the Suwanee and St Marys Rivers
from development. There are 4 entrances to the Okefenokee,
2 on the west side, one in the north and one on the east side.
If you’re looking for a truly unusual adventure, the
Okefenokee is one of the most primeval and stunning places
you can visit in the United States.
Highlights
- Listening to the swamp sounds at dusk When the sun goes
down the volume goes up. It’s as if the swamp comes alive
with the sound of insects and animals.
- Catching your dinner! Fishing in the Okefenokee is easy:
where you find fish, you find ‘gators. They’re no
fools. You just dangle a pole over and the fish is yours.
- Watching alligators basking in the sunshine on the floating
islands of the Okefenokee.
Our Journey Path (as featured
in Treks in a Wild World)
There are many different routes you can take into the Okefenokee
Swamp, lasting from day trips, to more extensive week-long
expeditions. Cristina LaMonica emabarks on a three
day journey, starting at Kingfisher Landing. With her
guide Sheilas, she canoes thirty miles through the swamp,
and spends the night at Maul Hammock. After learning
about the local snake population from wildlife expert Fred
Wetzel, they head through Big Water lake, on to
Billy’s Island where Sheila’s family, an old
swamp-residing clan, show Cristina what swamp life was like
in the olden days.
Travellers Tips
- The swamp terrain is flat. There is no fast water and very
little dry land. Your paddle will be used every inch of the
way as you wind through cypress forests or cross open ‘prairies’
exposed to the sun and win. Motors are not permitted on canoe
trails, so get those arms in shape!
- Temperatures are mostly mild, but can get quite hot and
very humid during the summer months, which is normally the
rainy season. Lightning is probably the most serious hazard
of an Okefenokee wilderness experience, so seek shelter if
a storm strikes.
- Each traveller is required by law to have a standard-approved
life preserver at all times. Canoeist must register in person
when entering and leaving the swamp.
- Because of the danger of alligators, pets are not allowed
into the swamp.
- You must have two or more people in your group to canoe.
No solo travel is permitted in the swamp.
- Local wildlife rangers recommend you come equipped with:
high energy instant foods, drinking water, insect repellent,
mosquito netting, rain gear, compass, first aid kit, snake
bite kit, extra batteries, extra film, litter bag (it’s
all got to be taken out with you!), a tent and/or jungle hammock
and a sleeping bag.
Did you know?
There are about 10,000 alligators in the Okefenokee
swamp and canoeing is the best way to see them.
Wildlife is abundant in Okefenokee every month of the year.
Sandhill cranes, ducks and other migratory birds are
most numerous from November through March, and otters
are commonly seen during cold weather when alligators are
scarce. Alligators are active in spring, summer and
autumn, but are observed mostly sunning themselves on the
banks during spring and autumn.
Throughout the swamp, you’ll see ‘jungle hammocks’
or moving islands of trees. These are created by gas trapped
in peat and blowing up onto the surface. Vegetation holds
this peat together forming the hammocks. If they root to the
ground they eventually become islands. Boats are flat-bottomed
in order to avoid these peat blow-ups. The canoes are typically
16ft long and hold 500-600lbs – plenty big enough to
carry all your gear.
A total of 65 ‘Indian Mounds’ have been
uncovered in this area. They are thought to date back about
4,000 years, to when the swamp was first inhabited by humans.
The last Indians to live in the Swamp were Seminoles who moved
into the swamp as Europeans arrived in the area in the early
19th century. They were finally forced out in 1838 and fled
to Florida after a final stand by their chief.
Billy’s Island, near the Stephen Foster entrance,
was home to a logging boomtown which in the 1920’s had
a population of 600. No one lives here at all now but you
can still see the rusty remains of old stills and bed frames
which were left behind when the last families moved out. You
can also visit the old Lee family cemetery, an 1850’s
homesteading family. |
