While we were in Lafayette we used the opportunity to go on a swap tour.  We ended up at Champagne Cajun Swamp tours with Gary, a southerner to the bone, as our guide.  Fortunately we were only 6 guests and took off on a small swamp boat. Small versus larger boat is better as we could get into the real shallow stuff.

The scenery was just incredible with the cypress leaves turning red, mixed with the grey color of the moss hanging from the trees.  Saw quite a few bird species as well, even though it was already deep into fall.  We were lucky enough to see a few small alligators, 5-7 ft.  Being from Africa we’re used to seeing large crocodiles and it was interesting to get up real close to these guys, even though one of the other guests (a city slicker affectionately referred to by our guide as “Mr Whoop Whoop Los Angeles”) freaked out whenever we got close to them.

Here are some pictures of the beautiful cypress trees

A couple of the gators we saw…….

A large duck blind. Interesting to hear that some of these blinds are actually passed on from father to son and stays in the family for decades.

moving through the muddy water, sometimes only 6 inches deep. But like Gary our guide said – “Its a Mercury, we ain’t getting stuck today”