Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

Experience the Okefenokee Swamp by Kayak

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Okefenokee Swamp near Waycross, Georgia, is just fascinating. The landscape itself is fascinating with the black water and the reflections of the trees in the surface. You can see  birds everywhere; herons, egrets, ibis, and more depending on the time of year.

You can  paddled through the canals, and there are trails meandering through prairies filled with aquatic plants and bordered by islands of grasses, shrubs and trees. The swamp is basically a large basin filled almost entirely by rainwater. The still water retards

Okeefenokee Swamp
Tom Monahan, Up The Creek Trips

organic decay and creates a peat layer on the bottom supposedly several feet thick. This peat layer has accumulated over thousands of years. When the peat dislodges, rises to the surface and forms floating islands. Grasses come  first , then shrubs and then eventually trees such as the Cypress. “Okefenokee” is an indian word that means “Land of the Trembling Earth”.

Suwanee canal
Long canals in the swamp

Periodic fires rage the landscape and return areas to prairies, but the swamp always bounces back. It’s the never-ending circle of life for the swamp.
It’s very still, and very quiet, except for the occasional splash in the water from a fish, turtle or maybe alligator, or the birds. This landscape has looked the same for a very long time. You can’t hear traffic, it’s just peaceful and quiet. But then of course, a plane will fly by and remind you that you’re actually living in the 21th century after all.

Our favorite outfitter is Up the Creek Xpeditions from St Marys. They run a guided kayak tour through the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, and sometimes they even go out at night. For more information visit www.upthecreektrips.com or call 912.882.0911

Alligator babies are hatching in August, and fall migration starts in September. So make your plans to visit this beautiful area!









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Click here to view the brochure for the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge, it has some beautiful photos in it!

Photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development
Photo: Georgia Department of Economic Development

Sea Turtle Walks at Edisto Beach

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Edisto Park is located in one of the most beautiful areas on the South Carolina coast. If you’re in the Charleston area – you should try to drive out for a visit.

edisto-seaturtle7You probably already know that the loggerhead turtle is an endangered sea turtle that comes to our beaches in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida to lay eggs. Many parks on the coast have special educational programs about the fascinating sea turtle. At Edisto Park you can learn all about these fascinating animals.

After a short program, the group will go down the beach in search of a nesting loggerhead sea turtle. Kids need to be 10 or older to participate, and you will of course have to be prepared to walk, so wear you’re best walking shoes.
There’s no guarantee that you will actually see sea turtles – or hatchlings, you might see tracks, and who knows? You might be one of the lucky ones who get to see a loggerhead sea turtle returning to the ocean after laying her eggs.
The loggerhead sea turtle is the South Carolina state reptile and is the most commonly observed sea turtle off the South Carolina coast.
In any case, nesting season lasts from May – August. Usually hatchlings emerge at night and head for the ocean.

Edisto park also has a campground, hiking trails, picnic areas and a playground. So why not bring the whole gang, a picnic basket, blankets and make a day of it. There is a lot to discover in this area.

The Edisto Interpretive Center helps promote the wise use of coastal resources. An exhibit features interactive displays, including a touch tank, and explains the fragile resources of the ACE Basin reserve, the largest such natural reserve on the East Coast.

The Sea Turtle Walks take place every week in July on Tuesday and Thursday at 9:00 PM – till whenever. Tickets are $10. Please call (843) 869-4430 to make reservations for the Sea Turtle Walk. Spots go fast, so call now.

Click here to watch our weekly show with  The Sea Turtle Walk at Edisto Beach State Park, South Carolina. as the pick of the week.

Edisto-Sea-Turtle

Year Round Sea Turtles Program
Interested in learning more about the sea turtles? Sea turtles have lived on the earth for about 150 million years, before the time of the dinosaurs.

Don’t despair, beside the seasonal sea turtle walks, here are a few ideas for other interesting programs lasting year round.

South Carolina Aquarium
Find it more about sea turtles at the aquarium. Here you will meet current patients, learn from sea turtle experts speak, and you’ll find out what goes on behind-the-scenes at the sea turtle hospital.

Tours are offered Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
from 1:00-1:30
$10/adult, $5/child for the behind-the-scene tour + cost of admission to the aqurium. Adult admission is $17.00 and kids under 11 years of age $10.00.
Reservations are recommended, please call (843)577-FISH.

If live in the area, take a look at the yearly aquarium membership. It comes with a lot of extras, and if you’re planning to do any of the special programs it is definitely the best way to go.

For a family of four it’s $135/year – and you can bring 2 guests. Check the website for details.  www.scaquarium.org

Georgia Sea Turtle Center
In Georgia you can visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island, a marine turtle rehabilitation, research, and education facility. The center opened in June 2007 and provided state-of-the-art emergency care to sick and injured sea turtles. Jekyll Island is unique among Georgia’s developed islands for its significant annual turtle nesting.

Visitors to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center will learn about sea turtle conservation, rehabilitation, and the sea turtles fascinating journey from egg to adulthood.

There are different programs offered during the year; behind-the-scenes, sea turtle walk and more.

Check out the website   Georgia Sea Turtle Center or call 912-635-4444 for more details.

The Sharks are on the move at South Carolina Aquarium

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We just received news that two sandbar sharks at the South Carolina Aquarium are moving out. The sharks were probably not unhappy with the accommodations; we suspect the decision came from above. What we found out is that actually the sharks have been donated to Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach, so there is nothing fishy going on.

The donation will make it possible for four sandbar sharks to move out in the spotlight to the Great Ocean Tank exhibit. These poor souls are currently residing in the less popular behind-the-scenes holding tanks. Besides it will also give the South Carolina Aquarium the chance to feature hammerhead sharks.

Right now, there is no set date for the addition of hammerhead sharks.
Aquarium staff members are currently looking for hammerheads. The Aquarium is permitted to collect four hammerhead sharks for the Great Ocean Tank.
Currently there are eight sharks in the Aquarium’s Great Ocean Tank exhibit, three sandbar sharks, three sandtiger sharks and two nurse sharks.

“Opportunities to showcase new animals are exciting,” says Senior Dive Safety Officer, Arnold Postell. “We are hopeful to collect hammerhead sharks in the next few weeks. After a quarantine period, the species would then be featured in the Great Ocean Tank.”

The sandbar shark, Charcharhinus plumbeus, is one of the most common species of shark found in South Carolina.

Photo: courtesy of the South Carolina Aquarium



Sandbar Shark, courtesy of: South Carolina Aquarium
Sandbar Shark, courtesy of: South Carolina Aquarium

Wild Amelia Nature Festival 2009

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This year’s festival is highlighting the Right Whale. Every year the festival chooses a focal point, last year it was the gopher tortoise and the year before the painted bunting.

There are only about 350 Northern Right Whales left, which is why the festival is highlighting them this time around.

There are lots of different activities during the festival. You can learn about nature photography in several different workshops. There are also lots of eco-tours; from segway tours, to paddles in Okefenokee swamp at night, to stargazing at Fort Clinch.

There’s also early morning yoga followed by birdwatching on the porch, nature bike hike,  sunset boat tour and owl prowl.

There is just such a variety of things to do during the festival, the best thing to do is to visit the website and study the program.

For contact information and phone number, visit or post Wild Amelia Festival May 15 – 17, 2009

Wild Amelia Nature Festival
Photo by: Roger Graw

Jacksonville: Report from Butterfly Festival

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We had a great time at the Butterfly Festival. There was so much to see, so many cute animals, and some not so cute, and a whole bunch of kids joined the fun.

Take a look at this little video from the Butterfly Festival to see what the excitement at Tree Hill Nature Center was all about.