Monday: A heavy dew has dang near drowned us (the 3 season tent has shown its colours - moisture is dripping on us) so its pack wet and fast for
the 1st leg. Larry, who is heading home today, has offered to drive our car back from the put-in - great we don't have to worry about a car on the
side of the main road to the Everglades.
Time for a mental panic - how the heck are we going to fit all this gear into 2 kayaks plus heave them over the edge of the landing jetty? We did it,
but I had doubts. Now its time to tackle the 'Hells Bay Trail'
D is in the lead and we've broken our 4 piece paddles down to halves - basically we're canoeing - paddle one side then the other as the trail is too
narrow for a standard double blade. Neat! There's silence, Alligator porches, birds & bromeliads. As I follow D my eyes are deceived by the still
waters - the gentle bow wave that D is creating appears to be a step in the water as though D is about to glide over a 10cm drop in water level. After
about an hour D asks for me to lead as its not much fun navigating some of the bends and trying to sightsee. So now I'm hearing "hold-up, photo
shoot" while D catches up with nature... The object of the whole trip!
The waters are some times only blade deep and all the while we're looking around for that beady snout and eye of an Alligator as we wind our way
through the Mangrove trail. We never saw an Alligator on this leg of our trip, mind you there were plenty of porches along the way!
Aside from the newness of paddling along a narrow mangrove channel (which dates back to the 1800's for 'Gator hunters) there's the occasional
sense of 'claustrophobia' which lasts momentarily as the loops keep on opening onto small lagoons. Even with a single paddle some of the bends
force us to back & forth while turning our 4.5m kayaks around corners. But it's the stillness of the waterway that holds me spellbound when I take
the lead - always 'mirror water' to paddle through.
After a while the channels open out into Pearl Bay - there across the water is our 1st sight of a Chickee. After the regulatory rest and leg stretch, we
back aboard searching for the markers that lead to Hells Bay. D whips out the binoculars and quickly calls 'thar she blows' or words to that effect.
An hour later and we're moored and unloading at Hells Bay. Apology time as I was reluctant in packing the small cooler with ice for this trip but D's
foresight ensured that our 1st day & Chickee campsite was christened with a "cold beer".
Footnote: Unloading at a Chickee - the kayak sits about 0.5m below the Chickee deck and the barnacles on the pilings and ladder are a touch cutting for our kayak
skins. I unloaded the 1st night by laying on the deck, unzipping the deck and swinging dry bags back up behind me to D. Tiring and difficult. The 2nd night D sat in
her kayak and unloaded mine, then swapped kayaks and repeated the effort - less effort, faster and no rushing of blood to the head!
the 1st leg. Larry, who is heading home today, has offered to drive our car back from the put-in - great we don't have to worry about a car on the
side of the main road to the Everglades.
Time for a mental panic - how the heck are we going to fit all this gear into 2 kayaks plus heave them over the edge of the landing jetty? We did it,
but I had doubts. Now its time to tackle the 'Hells Bay Trail'
D is in the lead and we've broken our 4 piece paddles down to halves - basically we're canoeing - paddle one side then the other as the trail is too
narrow for a standard double blade. Neat! There's silence, Alligator porches, birds & bromeliads. As I follow D my eyes are deceived by the still
waters - the gentle bow wave that D is creating appears to be a step in the water as though D is about to glide over a 10cm drop in water level. After
about an hour D asks for me to lead as its not much fun navigating some of the bends and trying to sightsee. So now I'm hearing "hold-up, photo
shoot" while D catches up with nature... The object of the whole trip!
The waters are some times only blade deep and all the while we're looking around for that beady snout and eye of an Alligator as we wind our way
through the Mangrove trail. We never saw an Alligator on this leg of our trip, mind you there were plenty of porches along the way!
Aside from the newness of paddling along a narrow mangrove channel (which dates back to the 1800's for 'Gator hunters) there's the occasional
sense of 'claustrophobia' which lasts momentarily as the loops keep on opening onto small lagoons. Even with a single paddle some of the bends
force us to back & forth while turning our 4.5m kayaks around corners. But it's the stillness of the waterway that holds me spellbound when I take
the lead - always 'mirror water' to paddle through.
After a while the channels open out into Pearl Bay - there across the water is our 1st sight of a Chickee. After the regulatory rest and leg stretch, we
back aboard searching for the markers that lead to Hells Bay. D whips out the binoculars and quickly calls 'thar she blows' or words to that effect.
An hour later and we're moored and unloading at Hells Bay. Apology time as I was reluctant in packing the small cooler with ice for this trip but D's
foresight ensured that our 1st day & Chickee campsite was christened with a "cold beer".
Footnote: Unloading at a Chickee - the kayak sits about 0.5m below the Chickee deck and the barnacles on the pilings and ladder are a touch cutting for our kayak
skins. I unloaded the 1st night by laying on the deck, unzipping the deck and swinging dry bags back up behind me to D. Tiring and difficult. The 2nd night D sat in
her kayak and unloaded mine, then swapped kayaks and repeated the effort - less effort, faster and no rushing of blood to the head!
| ...We're barely back from New Years in NY and it's repack for a week in the Everglades... Our kayak bags continually weigh-in 3-5 kg overweight when we fly to & fro Which begs the accuracy of the bathroom scales not the Airport weigh-in! So I've stripped the bags to the minimum and repacked the odds & sods into a carry-on bag. We're camping this trip at Flamingo National Park; so there's a tent, sleeping bag, air mattresses, camp stove, pots'n'pans, freeze dried food, 1st Aid kit plus the extra safety Kayak gear - 2-way radio, flares, mooring lines and so on into another 2 backpacks. So with no fear of Grizzly or Black Bears we're anticipating a bare bones trip... Aside from the 'no-see-ums" (midges); mosquitos; alligators and campsite thieving Raccoons... |
| Miami - Everglades |
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History: The Flamingo Flotilla happens annually in the Everglades, Florida.
It sounds like a motley collection of like-minded folding kayak souls (commonly known as FLAMINGOES - though not the pink feathered
variety... this flock uses Sunblock) who gravitate like moths to a candle flame on these mosquito infested shores to have a pancake
bake the first day then dissipate into the 'glades for no rhyme nor reason under no control or direction but their own**.
There's the organiser and a crew of diehards, so I'm led to believe. They travel from the 4 corners of the USA and in 2007 had
things been otherwise from Australia & New Zealand. As we've been based in Bermuda for nearly two years now, it sounds a bit
far-fetched to claim we've travelled from Oz & NZ for the event. But we'll take the bragging rights for the furtherest travelled,
regardless, as we join the other 20+ souls. Getting there has been fun and the offers and solution solving that is part of the 'Flotilla'
has eased the 'unknown factor' from our shoulders. p.s. I've since found out that a kayaker came from Belgium one year.
It sounds like a motley collection of like-minded folding kayak souls (commonly known as FLAMINGOES - though not the pink feathered
variety... this flock uses Sunblock) who gravitate like moths to a candle flame on these mosquito infested shores to have a pancake
bake the first day then dissipate into the 'glades for no rhyme nor reason under no control or direction but their own**.
There's the organiser and a crew of diehards, so I'm led to believe. They travel from the 4 corners of the USA and in 2007 had
things been otherwise from Australia & New Zealand. As we've been based in Bermuda for nearly two years now, it sounds a bit
far-fetched to claim we've travelled from Oz & NZ for the event. But we'll take the bragging rights for the furtherest travelled,
regardless, as we join the other 20+ souls. Getting there has been fun and the offers and solution solving that is part of the 'Flotilla'
has eased the 'unknown factor' from our shoulders. p.s. I've since found out that a kayaker came from Belgium one year.
Saturday: We're underway - landed, picked up by Tom with the gear.
I've organised a hire car from Florida City (I thought) 48 km down the road, Tom is helping us avoid
"busy freeway Rt Hand traffic" by picking us up from the Airport. A mere 16 kms later, we're dropped
off... Failed already... So it's off to a megastore for the groceries and odds'n'sods that we'll need for the
adventure.
Flamingo campsite is pretty relaxed and almost on the Gulf of Mexico as we're sited about 200m inland.
After the intro's all around, we've erected the tent, assembled a kayak and enjoyed a wee drop of wine.
I've organised a hire car from Florida City (I thought) 48 km down the road, Tom is helping us avoid
"busy freeway Rt Hand traffic" by picking us up from the Airport. A mere 16 kms later, we're dropped
off... Failed already... So it's off to a megastore for the groceries and odds'n'sods that we'll need for the
adventure.
Flamingo campsite is pretty relaxed and almost on the Gulf of Mexico as we're sited about 200m inland.
After the intro's all around, we've erected the tent, assembled a kayak and enjoyed a wee drop of wine.
| Sunday: 1st meeting, it's decided that those who want to will be paddling 9 mile lagoon @ 11:00 am. We hie off to the Park rangers and book our campsites for a 6 day/5 night paddle after the 2nd kayak is assembled then its back up the road for 16 km to join the Flamingoes. Launched and what a blast - across the 1st lagoon and into the twists and turns of Mangrove channels - fortunately for a novice marked with PVC channel markers. In the 1st 200m I've seen 3 Alligator snouts and by the time we land probably 10 plus 3 big'uns resting on their porches. Typically I need to get a bit closer, so when this 3-4m Alligator launches off his porch directly at me there's a rush of adrenaline as well as "gee, I'm a silly sod. Didn't learn much in Alaska with the Black Bears, did I". After that we edged up towards a 5-6m beastie who I kept a fair distance away. Then of course there was the Alligator that was waiting at the launch site for the photo-shoot. Beastie was a mere 3m from where we put in... |
| **Shades of OCKI* in the Gascoyne of W.A. The idea of a meet with no direction or organisation is so what endeared me to kayaking in the 1st place - OCKI is a group of kayakers whereby everyone is at one and the same time President/SecretaryTreasurer and member with no committee nor agenda or rules. * OCKI = Outback Coast Kayaks Inc |
