Okefenokee & Satilla Expeditions LLC

05/09/2024

I donated two 4 hour Okefenokee kayak tour tickets to Called to Care Ware County for their online auction- click to register and bid for a great cause!

Okefenokee & Satilla Expeditions (Waycross) Gift Certificate

04/09/2024

All smiles! Our next public 3 hour guided boat tour of the west side of is coming up on Saturday, September 21st. Learn about the swamp's ecology, wildlife, and history from a local Naturalist while drifting through some of the prettiest places in all of Georgia!

Explore Billy's Lake, the Middle Fork of the Suwannee, and Billy's Island on this small group trip. Complimentary drinks and snacks included.

Tour fee is $100.00 plus tax per person. Register by emailing Jenny at [email protected]!

okefenokee-satilla.com

03/09/2024

I'm excited to partner with the Satilla Riverkeeper to lead this upcoming trip on the Satilla!

With the closure of the Hwy 84 Landing for construction, unfortunately we can't do that 9 mile float, so this is an out-and-back trip up the river from Jamestown Landing. A very pretty area and an easy upriver paddle!

If you don't follow their page already, give them a follow to keep up with their important work to protect our beautiful Satilla, the river of my childhood. And join us on the water!

03/09/2024

Fall in Okefenokee is so beautiful! Early November is one of my absolute favorite times to go because of the bounty of color that you see right here. By late November the cypress needles have turned brown as the process of dying for the winter completes, and soon they drop to the water.

Just because they are a conifer, doesn't mean they're evergreen! The two cypress found in Okefenokee, the bald cypress and pond cypress, both drop their needles before winter. That's where the bald cypress gets its name!

Fall is a time of transition. Humans are headed back to school, leaves are changing colors, and birds are heading south.

Whether you're exploring our National Wildlife Refuges or wandering through a local park, there's something magical about the way the sunlight filters through the trees, setting the landscape aglow. And don’t forget those crisp fall mornings, perfect for a stroll with a warm cup of coffee or tea in hand! ☕️

Embrace the season—take in the beauty that surrounds you and enjoy the simple pleasures that make fall in the Southeast so special.

📸Fall at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge by Larry Woodward/USFWS

01/09/2024

We Georgians are proud of our beautiful Okefenokee- its nature, history, and culture are in our blood. ❤

01/09/2024

This stunning landscape isn't in Brazil, the Congo, or beyond... this is hidden away in the heart of my homeland, Southeast Georgia. This quote by Robbie George sums up how I feel every time I float through this location on the western side of the Okefenokee Swamp: "The wilderness imposes a profound stillness on the river of your soul."

Make memories here with us on a personalized, private guided trip: okefenokee-satilla.com

31/08/2024

I just got back from a solo canoe camping trip to Floyd's Island in the middle of the today. On the skinny trail out from the island, I encountered a gator on a mission! Some may have panicked thinking that the gator was being aggressive and coming right at them, and then trying to attack!

No... what is really happening, is that the gator in this video was trying to get somewhere, and a human in a canoe was in their way. They dove out of the way at the last second when they realized there wasn't much room for either of us to go. Then popped back up after we passed each other and resumed (after I stopped recording) the path it was taking.

There isn't much room on some of these narrow wilderness trails in Okefenokee, so sometimes you have encounters like this. Just stay calm and know that there is very little chance that the gator is actually trying to be aggressive with you!

More photos and videos to come!

28/08/2024

In a few days I'll be taking a solo trip to Floyd's Island and I can't wait! Generally, I don't camp in the summer, for obvious reasons. But when you love camping in America's largest blackwater swamp, sometimes the wait for fall weather is too much to bear. My summer induced hysteria led me to book an August trip to the middle of the Okefenokee Swamp. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures to share with y'all!

Want to challenge yourself with a canoe camping trip to Floyd's Island in the heart of the Okefenokee Wilderness? Join our 19th-21st October public trip, or you can request your own private, all-inclusive guided trip with OSE!

Your trip begins at okefenokee-satilla.com

27/08/2024

There is so much to discover in ! From the wide open prairies to the sun dappled cypress swamps, and everywhere in between- what an amazing wetland. At 438,000 acres, we have the largest blackwater swamp in our country right here in South Georgia.

Plan your visit with a local Naturalist at okefenokee-satilla.com! Private and public tours available. Groups welcome!

26/08/2024

I'm ready to hit the rivers again soon. 😍 How about you?

25/08/2024

I was contacted today with a request to plan a combo Okefenokee-Suwannee expedition for Spring 2025. It's never too early to get trip requests in- ESPECIALLY for March, which is generally the most popular time of the year for Swamp visits.

While this request was for a 3 day trip, you can also book a 4 day trip that combines the two!

Who wants to go on a Folkston to Fargo expedition? 🖐 On this 4 day adventure, we'd set out on the east side of the Swamp at the Suwannee Canal Recreation Area, and 4 days later (2 days paddling the Okefenokee Swamp, 2 days paddling the Suwannee River), we'd end up in Fargo, GA on the west side, about 40 miles away!

We are so blessed here in my homeland of Southeast Georgia to have such awesome paddling opportunities just outside our doors.

Get started at okefenokee-satilla.com or email me at [email protected]!

23/08/2024

In case you want to cure your cow's warts, Swamper style 💁‍♀️

Book your guided Okefenokee Swamp trip at okefenokee-satilla.com. I can't promise you'll get to whack a cow with a rotten log, but I can promise an up close and personal swamp experience!

22/08/2024

Here's something fun that'll be a part of future OSE trips- I'm going to get one of these Polaroid Now cameras for everyone to pass around and use during a trip, and at the end, I'll share all the photos taken by my guests here on Facebook in a photo album. So take those selfies with a cypress, capture cranes on a stroll, snap a photo of your buddy paddling the canoe, just have fun and make beautiful memories!

Start your trip planning at okefenokee-satilla.com

20/08/2024

In the heart of the vast green sea known as the Okefenokee Swamp, there stands a 99 year old wooden cabin, on an island whose original names have been lost. This cabin once belonged to the Swamp's owners prior to its status as a National Wildlife Refuge- the Hebard family. It now is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Here's your chance to stay a night there!

This morning I secured the necessary permits for the upcoming October 19th-21st public guided camping trip in the Okefenokee Swamp. Our 2 campsites are... drumroll please...

Floyd's Island (where the Hebard Cabin stands) and Mixon's Hammock (also an island)!

TOTAL MILEAGE: 23

ITINERARY:
19th (Saturday) - We’ll meet at Stephen C. Foster State Park, load our canoes, and head out! We’ll head into the heart of the Swamp, 9 miles to Floyd’s Island, our first night’s stop. You can sleep in the Hebard Cabin or outside in tents. Who wants s’mores?

20th (Sunday) - After a hearty breakfast, we’ll load the canoes and head back the way we came, but instead of going into the state park, we’ll pass it to go to our second island camp- Mixons Hammock. Today’s paddle will be 11 miles (all downstream!)

21st (Monday) - Rise and shine! Time to head to the Narrows - the passage to the Suwannee River Sill. We’ll float downstream just 3 miles, and then we’ll shuttle back to the state park and say our goodbyes, after 3 amazing days in the Okefenokee Swamp!

FEE: $450.00 per person (plus tax) - all inclusive: fee covers canoes, gear, meals, guidance, naturalist interpretation, and federal permit fees

TO REGISTER: Email Jenny at [email protected]

See other OSE public trip dates here: https://www.okefenokee-satilla.com/2024-schedule

19/08/2024

Anything you canoe, I canoe better!

The BEST way to experience the Okefenokee Swamp is on a canoe camping trip. Did you know that Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is crisscrossed with an extensive wilderness trail system that can take you through prairies, lakes, to islands, and through "the forest primeval"?

Let me help you achieve the dream of a canoe camping trip in The Land of the Trembling Earth. Booking fall and winter dates now- permits are opening up so get your trip requests in soon before all the platforms get booked up! They go fast for fall especially!

October 3 day public canoe camping trip, the 19th-21st, Floyd's Island and Mixons Hammock- registration open!: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/bfaz6ouJ9dkpoxeq/?mibextid=oFDknk

November 3 day public canoe camping trip- the 15th-17th, sites undetermined yet until permits can be obtained- registration open (email [email protected])

Your guided, outfitted trip begins at okefenokee-satilla.com

Okefenokee & Satilla Expeditions LLC is a local, family-owned small business. Our job is making memories!

19/08/2024

I took my camera to the west side of Okefenokee today and snapped this lovely Great Egret (aka pond scoggin) at the Suwannee River Sill.

The Great Egret is one of the most recognizable and admired birds of our Swamp. And, of course, it's in our logo! But did you know they were once on the brink of extinction?

At the beginning of the twentieth century, these birds and others were killed relentlessly for their beautiful feathers- unregulated hunting and booming market demand for feathers to decorate women's hats nearly wiped them out. But fortunately, due to the work of conservationists, market hunting was outlawed and regulations were established that allowed these birds to come back from the brink!

Thinking of taking a swamp trip? Plan your Okefenokee visit at www.okefenokee-satilla.com

17/08/2024

Want to experience the wonder of wilderness canoe camping in the Okefenokee Swamp, but not quite ready to tackle it on your own? That's where Okefenokee & Satilla Expeditions LLC comes in!

Book your guided, fully outfitted (boats, gear, necessities, all meals and cooking service included!) camping tour with us and you'll get to experience the Swamp with a local professional naturalist with deep ties to this amazing land. Okefenokee is our heart, let us share its wonder with you! Be sure to get those fall and winter dates in soon, dates are already getting booked- fall permits are opening now, the sooner you get your date requests in, the better chance I have to secure our ideal permit!

Begin your private trip planning or join a public trip at okefenokee-satilla.com

16/08/2024

“Why, this ground moves!” cried Charley, astonished.

“You'd better look out!” cried Joe. “It won't hold you up much longer. It's not ground at all; it's floating moss and stuff —”

The speaker paused suddenly, as Charley now broke through, and stood in mud and water nearly up to his waist.

Read more from this excerpt about Okefenokee's trembling earth (from a book published in 1895!) in the latest Blackwater Blog entry:

“Why, this ground moves!” cried Charley, astonished. “You'd better look out!” cried Joe. “It won't hold you up much longer. It's not ground at all; it's floating moss and stuff —” The speaker paused suddenly, as Charley now broke through, and stood in mud and water nearly up to his wai...

16/08/2024

Thank you to April and Jay for exploring 8 miles of the east side of the Okefenokee Swamp with me recently!

They chose a 3 hour private boat tour, during which I led them through the historic Suwannee Canal, lily-filled Pink Trail and pitcher plant-lined Tater Rake Run of Chesser Prairie, the solitude of the Crossroads/Big Bend, and the green tunnels of the Cut-Off. There are so many peaceful and beautiful places to visit in just a small section of this amazing wetland. Have you booked your trip yet?

okefenokee-satilla.com ⬅️ is where to begin!

15/08/2024

Thanks to Bonnie for paddling the east side of the Okefenokee Swamp with me recently! She learned how to kayak and knocked it out of the park. You can see some of her beautiful photos that she posts periodically on The Great Okefenokee Swamp, a group for Oke lovers, by Oke lovers!

13/08/2024

Here's a short glimpse of what it looks like to go on a private guided trip in "The Swamp"! On this morning's 3 hour private boat tour, I took my guests on an 8 mile journey on the eastern side of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. We saw all manner of bird life, gators around every bend, water lilies galore, and more Spanish moss than you can shake a stick at! What an amazing place we have to love, visit, and conserve.

Okefenokee is not only our local heritage, but a national treasure. If you have never been, but have always wanted to experience it for yourself, please reach out! I'm proud to show my guests the wonder of The Land of the Trembling Earth.

Our next public 3 hour boat tour of the west side of the Swamp is coming up on August 23rd- sign up by emailing Jenny at [email protected]!

okefenokee-satilla.com

Follow Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge here on Facebook to keep up with Oke updates! If you go to the Suwannee Canal Recreation Area on the east side of the Swamp (the Main Entrance, near Folkston), be sure to visit the Richard S. Bolt Visitor Center to watch the movie and see the exhibits about the Swamp!

Music by Kevin Macleod

12/08/2024

When you go on a trip with us swamp guides in Okefenokee, you're going to hear us say "battery" at least once. In the case of the last trip I took with a guest, I said "oh that battery's blocking the way"!

A battery is a floating mat of peat (partially decayed vegetation) in the Okefenokee Swamp. They can be any size, and they move! Wind and currents (yes, the Swamp has currents) can move them around, often to the detriment of paddlers like myself.

I took a picture of the one that blocked us on the Hurrah Run (Day Use Canoe Trail) at the Suwannee Canal Recreation Area on the east side of the Refuge. Yellow is the battery, red is the actual trail.

What do you do when a battery's in your way? Well, some are small enough that you can scoot past them. If you really had to, you could get past some, with some effort. I had a brand new paddler learning the ropes with me this day, so I wasn't going to make her get on the edge and have to scoot/push/pull herself over on her first outing (because on this trip we would have had to just go right back over it again).

On many of my guided boat tours, I have had to gently nudge a battery out of the way. On most trails in the Swamp, there is zero room for deviation off trail for boats. So, every once in a while, a boat may find themselves blocked and have to turn around.

Batteries that become lodged somewhere may eventually grow trees and bushes on them and become a "house"! Batteries and houses that have a layer of water between them and the bottom are what the famous "trembling earth" of Okefenokee actually is.

If these floating peat mats pop up all over the Swamp, and occasionally block trails, then how can anyone actually travel through Okefenokee? Thanks to the hard working trail crew of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge! They work tirelessly travelling the Swamp all over, maintaining the wilderness trail system and removing blockages so that paddlers and boaters like you and I can enjoy this amazing wilderness. Thanks, y'all!!

If you encounter a blockage on a trail, be sure to inform the Refuge so they're aware.

Have you ever been blocked by a battery, or had to scoot yourself around one on a trip before?

11/08/2024

I got an email last night requesting a river trip, but after Debby's deluge, it can't happen yet til levels drop. So, just a note for anyone interested in a guided river trip with us at Okefenokee & Satilla Expeditions LLC - when the rivers around the Okefenokee Swamp (the Satilla, the St. Marys, and the Suwannee) are flooded, trips of any length are paused for our safety, but also because I want y'all to be able to appreciate our beautiful sandbars!

Photo from our last overnight river trip on the St. Marys. We camped on a Florida sandbar! 😍

10/08/2024

Join me on the river!

10/08/2024

In need of quality time? Take a Naturalist-guided trip with us into the beautiful Okefenokee Swamp and make unforgettable memories! Fall will be here soon and will be perfect for the day trip or overnight trip of your dreams! Learn about the Swamp's ecosystem and history as you explore the Land of the Trembling Earth.

Email Jenny at [email protected] to start creating your unique experience today with your own private guide to this amazing wilderness.

okefenokee-satilla.com

09/08/2024

A gorgeous video by Jay and Erin Blanton! Our Okefenokee is truly wonderful and I am so looking forward to trips this fall and winter. Go give their page a follow!