GREAT REVIEW THIS WEEK ON TRIPADVISOR Chris S Austin, Texas “Better than Expected by Far” 5 of 5 stars Reviewed 13 August 2013 NEW I had never been to this part of Florida before. We stayed in Orlando near Disney World which was a relatively short drive to Orlando Boat Tours. I was not sure exactly what to expect when we booked our 90 minute air boat ride. All I knew that is was something I would like to do from what I have seen of air boats on television. The website and information about the 90 minute ride sounded rather interesting and was something that we had not experienced before. The price was very reasonable for what you experienced and got to see. The trip started by going up a short canal to the main body of water. The air boat engine and fan was loud, but fortunately the company does provide ear protection. Once we got to the main body of water our captain whose name was Bill took a short pause in the reeds and cane to talk to us about what the history of the place and to provide us with other information about what we were about to see. We were able to get up close to the flora and fauna where you could almost reach out touch it. After this short pause to provide us a bit of back ground that is when the real fun began. We sped out to the main body of water which is still only about 3 feet deep in most places, but you would not to jump in for sure. We got to see several alligators one of which was estimated to have been about 12 - 15 feet long. That big one we got to view from a distance before he went under water. But they had binoculars on the boat so we all got to see him. We then got to go near shore or to some taller reeds and weeds, where we got to see plenty of birds of all different types. Including a couple who had chicks. As we went through these weeds, we came out to a small clearing and all of the sudden an alligator was sitting just two feet from the boat. This one was only about 3 to 4 feet long and seemed to be very docile. We got to view him for a while. We then zipped across the lake through very heavy brush and cane. The blooming flowers and lilies of all sorts were very pretty as well. Water birds of all types such as a pelican, gull, cranes and what I think they called the swamp chicken. We even got to stop and taste one of the seeds from an edible flower. We also got to get up close to a 6 foot mother alligator that was currently nesting. She was slightly aggressive, but hey what mother would not protect her young. If you do get to go make sure and stay seated as you are only about 6 inches to a foot off the water. Alligators can lunge and run quicker than we can. I always felt safe in the boat, even when the driver did a couple of planned donuts and 360s. Which was extremely fun. I would suggest to wear plenty of sun screen for sure and possibly even certain times of the year I might even suggest a light jacket or wind breaker. This was certainly fun and enjoyable and I would possibly sign up for a longer trip the next time in order to see more. It was certainly a great experience and worth the money I would recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in doing something different and seeing a different side of Florida. It certainly was an enjoyable and different experience. Visited August 2013
Posted on: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 14:40:41 +0000
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