March 11 to 15th: Into the The Everglades

The Everglades National Park covers an area of over 300 square miles. In most people’s minds, it conjures up a picture of vast swamps covered in sawgrass. That really is some part of it, as in the next photo.

The whole Everglades Park is just above sea level. How ‘just above’ is demonstrated by a road sign halfway along the 40 mile long entrance road. It read “Rocky Creek Pass, Elevation 3 Feet”. 

On the face of it, this doesn’t look such an amazing area to visit- a flat ocean of grass. But the bigger picture is of a diverse freshwater and saltwater eco-system that supports a huge range of plants and creatures. And also a small number of Park Rangers, day visitors and campers.

It’s a 70 mile journey for us to the Everglades campsite that is located at the end of the 40 mile road and as far south as it is possible to go on the US mainland.

These are the most spacious pitches we’ve ever had anywhere, with electric hook-up. The downside is that the showers are cold. But the air temperature’s about 80 degrees (27ºC) most days, so it’s bearable.  

We’re on the coast of Florida Bay, where the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic all meet. However, no sandy beaches. The Bay is shallow, 3 to 6 feet deep, and covers hundreds of square miles with hundreds of small islands. The shores and islands are all covered in dense mangrove thickets.

The Everglades environment supports an enormous variety of species. Starting with the biggest, it’s the only place in the world where crocodiles and alligators exist together.

They’re equal top-dogs in the eco chain and actually keep out of each other’s way. They’re not bothered about keeping out of human’s way and here’s a 6 foot croc to prove it on the marina slipway.

We’re told incidents are rare and always down to human stupidity, like the guy who decided to go for a midnight swim a few years ago and lost his arm. It might look like an inflatable toy and tempting to poke with a stick, but look at this chap’s teeth close up!

The young are cute, but it’s a hazardous road to the safety of adulthood. Predators include birds of prey and their own adults. Not us, this time, the Visitor Center café wasn’t offering croc n’ chips, though we’ve seen alligator tails on some restaurant menus sourced from farmed alligators.

The Visitor Center (US spelling), as expected, contained lots of info and many ranger-lead activities, all of which were free – not expected. The next episode will report on some of these.