Hendry County, Florida
To see Florida like a native, you have to get out of the fast
lane of Miami or Orlando, and head inland and a good choice is the
Big Cypress Indian Reservation in southeastern Hendry County.
The pace eases as soon as you head into the heart of the Big
Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation. It gears down still further as
you turn onto the dirt and stone road that leads to Billie Swamp
Safari, one of the Seminole tribe's latest business ventures,
geared to a growing appetite for soft adventure. From here on,
you'll go no faster than a swamp buggy can roll through the
jungle-like Big Cypress Swamp.
This is a Florida attraction of a different sort. There are no
high-tech rides, no phones, video games or MTV.
No traffic jams in the parking lot. No hordes of people waiting
in line.
The safari offers visitors a chance to
explore nature and sample a bit of the Seminole life in the
sprawling wetlands for a day, an evening or overnight.
For Emma and Jan Trollerud, and their 12-year-old daughter
Veronica, it's become a regular escape from the bustle of Miami.
The family has spent almost every weekend at the safari since it
opened last year.
"It's not far from home and I like the idea that you can be here
without a busy schedule," Emma Trollerud says after a leisurely
horseback ride through the swamp. "It's not like Disney with all
the lines and the waiting. Here you can walk around and enjoy
nature. And these are very hospitable, nice people."
For Veronica the attraction's much simpler: "The horses. I love
the horses," she says.
Visitors live in thatch-roofed huts called chickees that are lit
by oil lamps. They listen to Seminole stories told beside an
aromatic campfire. They explore the Big Cypress Swamp by horseback
or swamp buggy by day and night.
Of course, it's not quite the way it used to be on the
reservation.
Dale Grasshopper, a Seminole woman who grew up on the Big
Cypress reservation, says as recently as 20 years ago, virtually
all the Seminoles lived in the traditional thatch-roofed huts.
Extended families cooked and ate together, sharing food and
stories.
But that's all changed now, Grasshopper says. "Just about
everyone has a house."
And while the Seminoles may not live in them anymore, the tribe
has constructed dozens of chickees of varying sizes that now
attract people who pay money to stay in them.
"It surprised me that people would want to stay with no
electricity and only outdoor water," she says. "As long as I was
growing up, we all wanted to move into a house."
(There are outhouses near the chickees and modern bathrooms and
showers in a nearby building.)
Clearly the attraction offers visitors something that's ever
rarer in this rapidly growing state: a chance to experience
Florida's wilderness, to see the land as it was before it became a
mecca for developers and cold-weather refugees.
It's not that the 50,000-acre reservation is devoid of
development. Besides the safari, there are homes dotting the
landscape, cattle farms, a rodeo complex, a campground and there's
talk of a motel going up soon. A museum devoted to Seminole
traditions is also under construction.
Still, most of the 2,000 acres within the safari are
undeveloped, home to native creatures as well as some the Seminoles
imported. A swamp buggy ride takes visitors through now bare
cypress heads, scrubby palmettos and flowing sawgrass. Grazing
Watusi cattle, bison, axis deer, wild pigs and scimitar-horned oryx
are among the creatures to be found on the safari property.
But first, the preliminaries.
Check-in takes place at a simple desk in the welcome hall. After
paying up and signing a form that releases the tribe from any
liability should you get hurt, you get a plastic wrist band
reminiscent of the hospital variety that identifies you as an
overnight guest.
For those who arrive late in the morning, the first stop is
usually lunch at the on-site restaurant, the Swamp Water Cafe. The
big wood-filled building is nestled on the banks of a canal that's
a favorite with local gators. One particularly large gator likes to
loll about behind the restaurant, sunning and foraging for meals.
Inside the air-conditioned cafe, meals are served either buffet
style or off the menu. There's nothing flashy, but prices are low
and the fare substantial.
On this day, three Miami-based tour buses have emptied their
cargo - German tourists - at the safari. After lunch, they filter
out of the cafe and cluster around the fenced-in pond just outside.
In residence are two gators, a crocodile, several turtles and a box
of poisonous snakes.
They watch with expressions of fascination and horror as Daniel
Yzaguirre of Immokalee handles each of the creatures and explains
some of their characteristics, which the tour guides quickly
translate.
He straddles a gator and pries its mouth open for everyone to
see the fleshy white interior lined with an impressive set of 80
razor-sharp teeth. They let out a communal gasp as the crocodile, a
far more aggressive beast than the gator, suddenly takes a flying
leap out of the pond toward Yzaguirre who quickly jumps out of the
way while a fellow employee races forward with a stick to ward the
beast off.
This isn't for show - both men are clearly shaken. It's a
real-life demonstration of just how dangerous these animals can be.
Yzaguirre's brother, who also works at the safari, lost an index
finger to an angry gator a few months back. He says he can't even
watch the gator show anymore.
Yzaguirre imparts some valuable advice: "If a gator ever bites
you, stick your small finger in his ear to make him let go."
Several of the observers appear to make a mental note of that
hint.
He also pulls out several poisonous snakes - an Eastern
diamondback rattlesnake, an adult water moccasin and a baby water
moccasin. Finally, he extracts a non-poisonous indigo snake from
the box and holds it up for guests to touch. Most are now ready to
see less threatening species.
On to the swamp buggies. Everyone clambers up the ladders to the
elevated platform atop the buggy and the odd-looking vehicle
lumbers into the swamps.
Guides are good at spotting animals tucked inconspicuously among
the palms, including the various types of deer the tribe imported
to create a more safari-like setting. They also share information
about the vegetation in the swamp.
Depending on the time of day, route and luck, visitors can see
all sorts of creatures. Between the day and evening swamp buggy
tours and a lengthy horseback ride, white-tailed deer, axis deer,
Watusi cattle, a herd of bison an oryx and a couple of adult pigs
and five of their squealing offspring made appearances.
Two species rarely seen alive - a possum and an armadillo - were
also visible tooling through the swamp.
The dinner buffet is the same as lunch, but guests can also
order off the menu. We tried the fried chicken and fried shrimp,
both of which were hot and crisp, served with french fries and cole
slaw.
It was a chilly night and we gratefully parked ourselves in
front of a campfire burning in the center of the grounds. Soon
Monica McCowan came to sit with us and tell Seminole tales. There
were only the two of us that night but it was possible to imagine
what it must have been like when the women in a Seminole family
would gather at night and share tales.
McCowan says that's how she learned the tales - stories that
explain all sorts of natural phenomena - how the alligator got such
tough skin, how the possum got such an ugly tail, why buzzards are
black, how rivers were formed.
The evening's final activity is the night swamp buggy ride, on
which the guide uses a large spotlight to illuminate the animals.
Some, like the oryx and bison, are so accustomed to the nightly
visits, they barely acknowledge the presence of the buggy and its
passengers.
At last, it's time for bed. It's a cold night, requiring serious
layering of clothes, blankets and sleeping bags. The chickees have
screens but no windows and it's as cold inside as out (a good point
to remember when booking a trip).
Without an alarm and so far removed from the rumble of
civilization, guests tend to wake up gently, naturally.
The morning chill urges us toward the cafe for some heat, coffee
and - what else - a buffet breakfast. We're talking hearty
breakfast: scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, fresh biscuits and gravy
and grits.
There's time to stop by and pet the three Florida panthers who
live in large runs on the compound. Raised by man since they were
born, they purr loudly and rub their tawny necks up against the
side of the cages for petting.
Then, full of breakfast, a new appreciation for Florida's
wilderness and the peace that comes with some time out, we
reluctantly drive away from the reservation, back to the fast and
furious pace of daily life.
IF YOU GO ... TO BIG CYPRESS INDIAN RESERVATION
WHERE: On the Big Cypress Indian Reservation in southeastern Hendry
County, Fla.
GETTING THERE: From Southwest Florida, take Interstate 75 south
to Exit 14 (where the Miccosukee Shell service station is) and
drive 20 miles north on BIA Route 1281. Follow the signs to the
safari. (From Miami, take interstate 75 north to Exit 14). They also have a private airport on the reservation if you'd like to fly in by private plane.
COST: There are several options from which to choose.
Overnight safari: Costs $99 per adult, $65 per child 6 to 12
years. This includes lunch, dinner and breakfast, a day swamp buggy
tour, a night swamp buggy tour, storytelling, gator and snake show
and accommodations in a chickee.
Day safari: Costs $35 for adults, $25 for children 6 to 12. This
includes a swamp buggy tour, lunch, orientation and welcome beverage.
Night safari: Costs $45 for adults and $35 for children. This
includes dinner, a night swamp buggy tour, storytelling, beverage
and orientation.
Chickee rental: Chickee rentals are $35 for a chickee that
sleeps two. Dorm chickees may be rented for $18 per person, with a
minimum of three people. The large ones sleep eight.
ACTIVITIES: Swamp buggy rides, guided hiking and horseback
riding, camping, storytelling, wildlife shows, hunting (packages
available and must be arranged in advance).
WHAT TO BRING: This time of year, extra blankets and warm
clothing are vital. (You are supplied with a small bed which has
sheets, blankets and a pillow but it can get pretty cold.) Also
take gloves, a hat, flashlights and cameras. In warmer weather,
mosquito repellant is a must.
INFORMATION: Call 1 (800) 949-6101 or 1 (813) 983-6102.