Everglades

After deciding that we would go stir crazy if we stayed in Crystal River for a whole week, we thought about what else we could do in the state of Florida. Maybe we should return to Orlando and cane the credit card on a bunch of materialistic trips. Or, what about Cape Canaveral; was there a shuttle due for lift off? Or what about Daytona on the east coast, maybe there were some petrol-head antics to be had?

Better still, what about the Florida Keys for some scuba diving and soaking up the laid back lifestyle down in the south? Yes, that's exactly what we wanted. And since we'd be driving through the Everglades National Park to get there then it warranted a stop-off to see some of the attractions it's famous for.

For visitors who have only seen the Everglades on TV, the first thing that comes to mind are the airboats. Getting a ride on one of these bad boys was a must so we headed to Wooten's Everglades Airboat Tours and made our way out into the wetlands on a short trip. It was a good experience and we saw some wildlife along the way such as alligators and great egrets, but we didn't have the time or money to do it true justice and go deep into the National Park.

Fortunately though we had another taste of the Everglades via Wooten's Swamp Buggy Ride trip. Our driver was one of the most fascinating characters we've ever come across. A real fountain of knowledge, he made it a fun trip and we were imitating some of his classic lines for the rest of the holiday... "HelllooooooooO".

To finish it off we paid a quick visit to the alligator pen, which was a good giggle and very informative. See the videos below...