outdoors,  travel

Swamp Tour: Cajun Encounters

June 15, 2022 /

One of the things we wanted to do on our trip to New Orleans was to go on a swamp tour. We drove about 45 min to Slidell to take a tour with Cajun Encounters. We chose this one because it was recommend to us and was well priced for our family of 6: it is about $32 for adults 13 and older and $22 for children. The boat held 20 people and took you on a 2 hour tour through Honey Island Swamp and the river.

The tour first starts on the river and the boat takes up speed to get to an area where the alligators are known to frequent. The tours have been taking people in the same areas for years so the animals come knowing they will get fed. They used to give them unhealthy food but for the past 5 years have been giving the gators protein pellets. The staff research what zoos gave their reptiles and followed their example. Several alligators came and went close to the boat.

We then followed for the river. There were fewer birds than I expected but I loved watching this crane in action.

You know when you are close to the swamp when you look at the water. Katrina’s damage came this far up destroying houses along the river as well as house boats as the one below.

My favorite part of the tour was when we went more into the swamp. Once again there were spots where animals can be seen, snakes, raccoons and sometimes wild pigs.

The raccoons had to look out for the alligators! I was surprised to see the raccoons out but as the alligators they probably know the likelyhood of receiving some food, in this case dried corn and a protein pellet.

 

I love how duckweed looks: it makes the water look so vibrant! Duckweed grows quickly and is a great source of food for waterfowl and fish.

Did you notice that pink glob on the stump above? Our guide informed us that these were snail eggs (we later saw some of the snails in the water at the sculpture garden in New Orleans) and is a source of food for birds and other animals. The snails grow really large!

We really enjoyed our tour and I definitely would recommend it to friends and family. The staff was friendly and personable and we were able to see some of the wildlife that lives in the swamp.

I hope you enjoyed this virtual swamp tour! Next week I will be back to share some more areas in New Orleans!

A bientôt!

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