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| Swan & Dolphin Resort, Swan side |
Probably most of the people, except people like me, staying in the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort would not miss the locational advantage of the hotel to the theme parks of Walt Disney World.
(BTW, does anyone know why the fish-like statue with scales represents the dolphin?)
I chose that accommodation option only because it was the conference venue.
I don't remember any of my life stage when I indulged in any type of fairytales, animated stories, or comic books.
Rather I was more drawn to observing the real animals, insects, or trees.
Because of this tendency, my itinerary did not have a single line for visiting theme parks of Walt Disney World.
Hence, my post-conference schedule was like this:
After completing 4 days of conference programs including 2 intense workshops, we (I and my soul mate) were drinking beer and chatting at the hotel lobby with the conference members whom we can meet only once a year.
At 10 pm, half-drunk, half-awaken, we were lying in the bed thinking what should we do the next day?
"Definitely, No Disney! 🙅🙅"
"Start googling!"
With a combination of search terms like wildlife, Florida, Orlando, and tour, top results guided us to take the Everglades Airboat Tour.
In 2 minutes, we made a reservation for it.
"OK, done."
The next morning, we were still blessed by the Floridian sunny weather and everything looked so vivid and splashy.
It took around 40 minutes to get to the Wild Florida Airboats and Gator Park at Kenansville.
The airboat tour company also ran a small park where gators, parrots, turtles, and little animals were kept.
Right next to the deck area, there was a short boardwalk across the swamp and we took a short walk before boarding.
The cypress trees were enjoying 24/7 spa time and the water was still and quiet but we could sense hundreds of eyes were watching us. But none was friendly enough to greet us.
After given a brief description about the tour, we were quickly on board with around 15 other people.
Immediately the boat engine was started and all of us were excited like kids.
The boat captain intensified the thrill of rough riding by making a sharp turn, which made the boat look like a big jumping fish generating a big splash of water.
The seemingly-peaceful lake soon was filled with several airboats and the delighted voices. Not long after the departure, the captain spotted a giant gator (about 2.5 m in length) lurking under the water. The gator gave a covert look on the crowd and hid himself completely under the water. Everybody seemed to be happy. Was it because of the rare experience of seeing the cold-blooded hunter or because of the hunter's mercy to let us leave his zone unharmed. Maybe both.
Soon the captain restarted the engine and drove us to the more reedy area where we found totally unexpected locals grazing and submerging half of their bodies in the water. The cows!
Rather I was more drawn to observing the real animals, insects, or trees.
Because of this tendency, my itinerary did not have a single line for visiting theme parks of Walt Disney World.
Hence, my post-conference schedule was like this:
After completing 4 days of conference programs including 2 intense workshops, we (I and my soul mate) were drinking beer and chatting at the hotel lobby with the conference members whom we can meet only once a year.
At 10 pm, half-drunk, half-awaken, we were lying in the bed thinking what should we do the next day?
"Definitely, No Disney! 🙅🙅"
"Start googling!"
With a combination of search terms like wildlife, Florida, Orlando, and tour, top results guided us to take the Everglades Airboat Tour.
In 2 minutes, we made a reservation for it.
"OK, done."
The next morning, we were still blessed by the Floridian sunny weather and everything looked so vivid and splashy.
Yes, we were in the Sunshine State.
It took around 40 minutes to get to the Wild Florida Airboats and Gator Park at Kenansville.
The airboat tour company also ran a small park where gators, parrots, turtles, and little animals were kept.
Right next to the deck area, there was a short boardwalk across the swamp and we took a short walk before boarding.
The cypress trees were enjoying 24/7 spa time and the water was still and quiet but we could sense hundreds of eyes were watching us. But none was friendly enough to greet us.
Immediately the boat engine was started and all of us were excited like kids.
The boat captain intensified the thrill of rough riding by making a sharp turn, which made the boat look like a big jumping fish generating a big splash of water.
The seemingly-peaceful lake soon was filled with several airboats and the delighted voices. Not long after the departure, the captain spotted a giant gator (about 2.5 m in length) lurking under the water. The gator gave a covert look on the crowd and hid himself completely under the water. Everybody seemed to be happy. Was it because of the rare experience of seeing the cold-blooded hunter or because of the hunter's mercy to let us leave his zone unharmed. Maybe both.
Soon the captain restarted the engine and drove us to the more reedy area where we found totally unexpected locals grazing and submerging half of their bodies in the water. The cows!
Do they know they share the water with the gators?
According to the captain, the cows are too big for the gators to bite. It was totally a surprising scene to us. Anyway, those peaceful herbivores having a lunch time in the water eased the nervousness, which unconsciously settled in my heart right after the moment of seeing the giant, potential predator. Probably, the cows might have been disturbed to see the bunch of humans who have been their predators with dual personality. Humans feed them and butcher them, which is not a typical hunting process in the nature.
Leaving the happy cows behind, we explored much deeper area surrounded by tall cypress trees and then the open, vast area where lots of birds of various sizes were nesting.
As a bird lover, it was so fascinating moment to see all those birds such as herons, egrets, cormorants, anhingas, and moorhens. But soon, I realized they were constantly evacuating from their nest/resting place/hunting place to avoid the collision with the boat. It was not a pleasantly eye-catching moment but a disturbing, and guilty moment. They were constantly disturbed.
Then I realized the noise itself from the boat was really huge as well. I started wondering whether the environmental impact of these airboat tours ever have been assessed by an independent organization. When leaving the boat, I felt guilty and selfish of taking this tour. As a nature lover, I thought it was a good choice to be close to the nature. Yes, I was very close to the nature, which only resulted a lot of stress to the nature.
I could not toss such a question to the captain as his living matters in the Everglades. He has been operating the airboat for decades and his interest probably would have prevented from being objective. This type of dilemma should be forwarded to the official body.
Coming back home, I searched the internet whether the problem I noticed was ever recognized in the Florida. And yes, the concern existed long before. At least I could find a short article about such a debate in 1998.
Local Florida Commission Hesitates to Ban Airboats (1998)
And it seems the federal government banned airboat tours in the national park area several years ago.
Feds Ban Everglades Airboat Tours (2013)
Wildlife tourism cannot be always a ecotourism. People can disturb the animals habitats, cause direct (unintended) death, and change their natural behavior. From this experience, I learned that I should search for the ecotour company not any company providing the wildlife tour.
However, the validity of the ecotourism should be carefully evaluated. Based on the article below, I can imagine how loose criteria are applied for the commercial ecotourism.
Marshmallows for Alligators: Defining Ecotourism in Southwest Florida (2015)
So as a nature lover, I decided to evaluate the potential environmental impact of each tour I choose in advance and to assess the ethical standards a tour operator follows and implements in their program. It's challenging to remain as a eco-friendly being.
Anyhow, I concocted a video using several footages taken during non-ecogriendly airboat tour. 😁
According to the captain, the cows are too big for the gators to bite. It was totally a surprising scene to us. Anyway, those peaceful herbivores having a lunch time in the water eased the nervousness, which unconsciously settled in my heart right after the moment of seeing the giant, potential predator. Probably, the cows might have been disturbed to see the bunch of humans who have been their predators with dual personality. Humans feed them and butcher them, which is not a typical hunting process in the nature.
Leaving the happy cows behind, we explored much deeper area surrounded by tall cypress trees and then the open, vast area where lots of birds of various sizes were nesting.
As a bird lover, it was so fascinating moment to see all those birds such as herons, egrets, cormorants, anhingas, and moorhens. But soon, I realized they were constantly evacuating from their nest/resting place/hunting place to avoid the collision with the boat. It was not a pleasantly eye-catching moment but a disturbing, and guilty moment. They were constantly disturbed.
Then I realized the noise itself from the boat was really huge as well. I started wondering whether the environmental impact of these airboat tours ever have been assessed by an independent organization. When leaving the boat, I felt guilty and selfish of taking this tour. As a nature lover, I thought it was a good choice to be close to the nature. Yes, I was very close to the nature, which only resulted a lot of stress to the nature.
I could not toss such a question to the captain as his living matters in the Everglades. He has been operating the airboat for decades and his interest probably would have prevented from being objective. This type of dilemma should be forwarded to the official body.
Coming back home, I searched the internet whether the problem I noticed was ever recognized in the Florida. And yes, the concern existed long before. At least I could find a short article about such a debate in 1998.
Local Florida Commission Hesitates to Ban Airboats (1998)
And it seems the federal government banned airboat tours in the national park area several years ago.
Feds Ban Everglades Airboat Tours (2013)
Wildlife tourism cannot be always a ecotourism. People can disturb the animals habitats, cause direct (unintended) death, and change their natural behavior. From this experience, I learned that I should search for the ecotour company not any company providing the wildlife tour.
However, the validity of the ecotourism should be carefully evaluated. Based on the article below, I can imagine how loose criteria are applied for the commercial ecotourism.
Marshmallows for Alligators: Defining Ecotourism in Southwest Florida (2015)
So as a nature lover, I decided to evaluate the potential environmental impact of each tour I choose in advance and to assess the ethical standards a tour operator follows and implements in their program. It's challenging to remain as a eco-friendly being.
Anyhow, I concocted a video using several footages taken during non-ecogriendly airboat tour. 😁
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