If you haven’t read my Epcot post yet, scroll down to the next post. I’ve done two posts today because yesterday was such a big day that I didn't have time.
The carpark last night was a complete shambles and took over 1.5 hours to get out of. By the time we got home and went to bed, it was about 2.30am.
We woke at 10.30 and got ready to leave. We drove about 40 minutes to Wild Florida, where we did a one hour swamp tour on an airboat. The tour was really good. We saw some alligators, many different birds (including an eagle) and even some cows from a nearby cattle ranch. Apparently the birds and the alligators rely on one another. The birds rely on the gators as they scare away predators, while the gators eat juveniles or eggs from the birds that have died. Gators can go 2-3 years without food if they really need to though, because they can use fat deposits in their tail to stay alive.
The gators were so close to us but were sun bathing as they are cold blooded creatures. They are different to crocodiles because their faces are more rounded, they are darker, and their eyes are more up on the top of their head. Apparently they can grow up to 18 feet (over 4m).
Our guide told us that Florida is number one in the US for shark bites, gator bites and lightning strikes. They seem to have a lot of creepy, dangerous animals - a bit like home!
Gators lay 30-60 eggs in one batch, but less than 10% of them survive due to predators. The Mum will lay her eggs in a nest, and the rotting reeds of the swamp incubate the eggs. If the temperature surrounding the eggs is 32 degrees Celsius or more, they will be male. Otherwise they will be female. We saw a mother gator, but our guide said her nest had drowned in the last few days due to the heavy rain they had here before we arrived. There was no sign of any rain today, it was bright and sunny.
After the boat tour, we went and explored the Wild Florida Park. For the most part we found this pretty depressing as the enclosures were so small. We saw a panther, birds, zebras, a wallaby, lemurs and more. The main attraction though of course were the alligators, which we watched on the viewing platform for a while. We also watched the gator feeding show. The host of the show here said there are two million alligators in Florida.
We had a good day, but on the way back the cold I have been fighting off took a turn for the worse. We got top travel insurance cover here for a reason, so we decided while we are in a place where it’s easy to do so, we would visit a doctor. We’ve been having a great time, but we literally have not had a day where one of us hasn’t been sick or in pain. I’m hoping those days are coming up.
As I knew it would, the visit to the doctor here made me once again appreciate how lucky we are in Australia. I had to fill out about six forms (one question asked me if I owned a gun!) and then wait. There were only two people ahead of me but it took a really long time. And after a standard consult, a couple of anti inflammatory and antibiotic injections and some other medicine, I was stung $290 US ($415 Australian). Wow. Never take Medicare for granted! Then we went on a trip to the chemist which was just about equally as expensive. I don't want to think about it!
I am feeling very sorry for myself and hope I improve soon. I can't help but feel that it's just one thing after the next. Cross your fingers it clears up!
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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