We drove to a KOA in Kissimmee, FL today. Really clean park with plenty of space in between sites.
After getting set up, we headed to an airboat tour of the Everglades headwaters, which was an absolutely amazing experience!! The airboat tour company is called Orlando Airboat Rides with Marsh Landing Adventures (http://orlandoairboattours.com).
The airboat has a 470 hp supecharged V8 engine with carbon fiber fan blades. It’s a beast! In the videos below, you will hear the supercharger whining! I’d love to have a car with that engine in it.
When we first got there, it started raining a little bit, but it didn’t last more than a few minutes. The weather was gorgeous! It felt great zipping through across he water with a nice wind in our faces!
Captain Bill piloted our boat and he definitely knows what he’s doing! It was such a rush to fly across the water and vegetation! So smooth!
Here’s where we were located:
He would zoom right up to alligators and shut off the engine. You could hear the alligators hissing at us and sometimes lunging toward us (one gator named “Snappy” has that name for a reason!).
I jumped back about 2 feet when Snappy did I his thing! 🙂 We were told he’s known to actually bite the boat at times!
Another really neat thing we got to see were huge Sandhill Cranes protecting their eggs. They are SO loud yelling at us! We could see two eggs on the ground near the female. Later on, we saw some 2-3 day old baby cranes following their mom and dad around.
The kids really had a great time! Avin’s favorite part was “when he would go really fast!” This was one experience we will never forget!
Looks like fun; glad no encounters with gators !
Haaaa. We loved Snappy! And a sandhill crane by it’s nest! Very few serious birders ever get to see that.
What a neat day you guys had! And the Skype with you all right from the “flying” air boat was GREAT!
Almost like being there…..