Champagne's Cajun Swamp Tour

A few weeks prior, I booked a swamp tour in Houma, LA which is closer to the Gulf of Mexico.  My Dad and I are camping in Lafayette and unbeknownst to me there are swamp tours located near by.  I called last night and surprisingly got a reservation.  This was incredibly fortunate, since the scenery would be far superior to tomorrow's adventure.

Champagne's Cajun Swamp Tour is situated in Breaux Bridge, which is just east of Lafayette.  The tour takes advantage of the swamps and bayous around Lake Martin.  There is a birding sanctuary with many Egrets which is protected by the Nature Conservancy.  The area appears to be well protected and there appeared to be life everywhere.

Our guide Gary was a fun-loving guy who was knowledgeable of the flora and fauna of the region.  We learned that Spanish Moss is not Spanish nor is it moss.  It's native to the area and it's a flowering plant.  Used to make pillows and mattresses it apparently is where the saying, "sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite" originated.  I learned that baby alligators stayed with their mother for up to 3 years.  I also learned they are incredibly cannibalistic.

We learned the difference between a bayou and a swamp.  A bayou is essentially a slow moving stream or creek that usually has poorly defined shorelines.  Today we were almost exclusively in a swamp.  The Cypress tree is the most prevalent to be found, but there are some Magnolias and Oaks.

Champagne's offers their tours from a motorized (though very quiet) 16 seater boat.  They also rent out canoes and kayaks.  If I had planned ahead, I would have done both.  Our guide knew the area well and led us past wildlife seemingly every second.  Here are a couple videos: Swamp and Alligator.  We saw countless alligators and turtles.  Numerous bird species (I wish I knew my birds) including hawks, bald eagles, herons and egrets.  The wildlife did not appear to be bothered much by our presence.  The turtles were a little skittish and would jump off their logs as we approached and the alligators would usually duck down as we left.  This allowed for us to get quite close to the gators.  Another great thing about this tour is that they do not feed the wildlife as many others do.  I'm not a fan of the practice as it makes the alligators more aggressive.

Without question, I would do this again.  Next time I would do the boat tour, followed by a solo canoe/kayak trip.  Even my dad was a big fan of this tour.