An adventure to the middle of nowhere? Yes please! A visit to the Florida Everglades can lead you to the Wild Florida Airboats and their unique Wild Life Park. A chance to get up close and personal with 200 creatures both rescued and raised; some of which I’ve never seen before! Our day began on an airboat.
With the Captain firmly in his chair and our ear protection firmly in place we took a whirlwind tour through the waters and swamps….hunting gators. (with only our camera of course!)
We weaved in and out of small canals and tall grasses. Smooth waters and lots of sunshine. The weather was picture perfect and the breeze was nothing short of glorious on our faces. There were cattle…who were clearly confident that we would stop for them. COW!
We spotted gorgeous birds, taking off over the marsh and perched in the mossy branches…
..and just a glimpse of a couple of gators. When it’s that hot (the hottest it’s been in 80 years!) the gators stick to the bottom of the water as long as possible in an effort to stay still. Although this time around we didn’t see any huge alligators up close and personal,for me, this was still worth the trip. Out there on the airboat, skimming across the water, you get to see a side of nature this girl from the Suburbs has never seen! And there was still so much more to come.
After what can only be described as an awe inspiring ride, wind in your hair adventure, you are invited to head back down the dock to The Wild Life Park, to explore even further.
The Wile Life Park. A place to explore at your leisure and learn about zebras, turkey, watusi, zedonk, deer, water buffalo, emu, wild boar, and zonkeys? Yes Zonkeys! A cross between a zebra and a donkey. Who knew!
One of my favourites? This little guy, one of the newest additions to the park was spotting cuddling in close to his Mama. A sloth! Did you know the worlds slowest mammal could be so darn adorable?
Or this inquisitive little fellow. Thelma, the white tailed deer. How sweet is she?
Don’t worry, she stays far away from the gators!
And there are lots of Gators!
Just heed the warnings! Ha!
If you are in Kissimmee and looking for some adventure off the beaten path, consider a half day at Wild Florida Airboats and their Wild Life Park!
Important Details:
Hours: Monday through Saturday at 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed: Sundays.
Cost: $26.50 Adult / $23 Child – Ages 13 and up are adults.Airboat tour includes free admission to the Wildlife park.
Cost of Wildlife Park Only :$18 Adult / $15 Child – Ages 13 and up are adults
My Thoughts: The wildlife park is a great addition to airboat ride ticket; this allows you to take all the time you would like to enjoy their gators should you not spot many on your boat ride.
e-mail:info@wildfloridairboats.com
address:3301 Lake Cypress Road
Kenansville, FL 34739
Disclosure: Our park admission and expenses were covered by Experience Kissimmee as part of a press trip to Kissimmee, Florida. As always, all reviews and opinions are entirely my own.
This looks like so much fun. I think we often forget some of the other places in Florida that are there to visit. We will add this to our list for sure.
There are so many hidden gems in Florida and this is certainly one of them! So happy to hear you will add it to your list!
the children=gator snacks would have a lot of selfies by the sign, I think.
LOL I bet you’re right. Such a fun sign!
Wow!! Hopefully one day I will be fortunate enough to take a vacaton and to see this beauty ! Looks like you all had an amazing time ! The costs isn’t that bad it’s just getting sown to Florida from WV! I love the sloth and thelma!
Road trip 🙂 Hope you get a chance to take that vacation one day!
So fun! My kids would love this!
A great place to go with the kids, I’m hoping to go back with my entire family!
Ahh, I would be so freaked out by the gators.
They were incredible to see in this kind of atmosphere, so much better than any kind of zoo.
I agree with salexis – Thelma is so cute! The airboat ride sounds like fun, although I think I would be quite scared if I saw an alligator that close up!
It was AMAZING to see gators in the wild….with a guide by our side 🙂
I think Thelma is the cutest thing! This sounds like it was a lot of fun. 🙂
And Thelma loved the attention too! There was so much to see and do here!
I have never heard of a Zonkey before! Cool! Oh man, those gators scare me. But this would be an interesting afternoon with the family. Sadly, Florida is very far away from me!
This was the first I had ever heard of a Zonkey!! For us Florida is just a three hour flight or a very long drive for us, but so worth it. 🙂
I love the Florida Everglades, there was so much to see and do and yes we went on an air-boat too and we also saw quite a few gators. Travelling from East to West through the Everglades was a wonderful experience so much wildlife, especially beautiful birds. I’d love to go again.
The unique wildlife beyond the gators were such a bonus on this trip. So much beauty in the everglades!
The everglades are full of beauty. (And gators!) Love the face on Thelma!!!
I imagine the everglades aren’t as astounding to you Florida folk, but even the trees in the swamp were amazing to me. I took a ridiculous number of pictures 🙂
That looks like it would be a lot of fun! Will have to remember about it if we ever get back to Florida.
It was an adventure like no other, and you get to see a side of Florida you don’t usually see!
We are going to Florida over Christmas–my guys would like this
Oh please do tell me if you decide to go! Would love to know what you think:)
OMG @ the baby sloth! He’s so cute!!
I’d never seen one before! Ridiculously cute.
Awesome place! Thelma is the cutest!
Isn’t she adorable!!
Looks like fun! I’ve always wondered what it would be like to go on one of those boats but it seems scary and not enough protection
I’ve done quite a bit of boating and this was my second airboat ride. I felt very safe. The Captains are professionals and the boats are very stable. Nothing to worry about at all! Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will try and answer them for you.