EcoTrecks by Rod

This was definitely not what I expected, its even better. When I first read about this new company I was thinking. a little rafting, a little biking, etc and that anyone can do this. This is definitely an intense but amazing eco tour. It’s not extremely hard but Rod did warn me upfront that you had to be in decent shape or you wouldn’t enjoy it. They have easier tours but it evolved more mountain biking and I’m not a fan of that. So I chose the «Bald Cypress» tour; which was to be comprised of cannoning, biking on moderately flat ground, kayaking, and finished by having an air boat ride back to the camp. We first met Rod, who is one of the sweetest and knowledgeable people I’ve ever met who handed our personal collectors backpack filled with water bottles, power bars, etc. He also offered sunscreen but we got busy setting up and forgot to put the sunscreen and bug repellent on. (BIG mistake). We started off cannoning for around a mile and a half in this huge canoe that Rod had to drive to Maryland to get. It’s extremely stable and I never felt we were going to tip over or anything. When then made it to the end of the river, beached the canoe and there were new Swiss mountain bikes waiting for us, compliments of his assistants setting up. We hopped on the bikes and took off for a 7.2 mile bike on a path along the wide open and gorgeous marshes, where you could see all types of birds, turtles, fish, and of course gators. At the end of the biking trail we met up with his assistants who were also very nice and helpful. They had aired up the kayaks, that Rod modified to be stable, otherwise I wouldn’t have even got on. But once you’re on they don’t flip or spin and are easy to control. We kayaked for around 3 or so miles, all while being just feet away from gators sitting out sun bathing. It was scary at first but they paid us no attention and we kept going. After arriving at the stopping point we sat and took a 30 minute break while the air boat came and picked us up. The air boat ride back was amazing and we got to see another view of the rives and marshes. In total we were out there for 5 and a half hours on Christmas eve. Yes we were only in Florida on a short trip and rod took time out of his christmas to take us on this tour. After the air boat ride was over, my boyfriend and I were getting out our car keys from an airtight bottle and dropped the keys in the murky water. The two assistants stayed there for two hours in the water with my boyfriend until we found them. They are amazing people and this tour was once in a lifetime and I will be telling this story for ever. Next year’s vacation is definitely going to have this scheduled in.