With the airboat’s engine off, the bayou is a very quiet place. The gentle buzz of insects, the light patter of rain on the water, and the chatter of children in the boat makes the absolute silence of the approaching predator unnerving. The eight-foot alligator gliding toward our pontoon moves with deliberate confidence as she joins the other three gators circling us. The fact that we can see her coming is the only reassuring part of the experience. “It’s the ones you don’t see that you have to worry about,” Captain Tucker explains.
Captain Tucker knows the Atchafalaya swamp like the back of his hand. And he knows this congregation of alligators (yup, that’s what a group of alligators is called) well enough to be on a first name basis. Fred, the alpha male keeping the others slightly at bay, is boisterous and bit of a grandstander, but Suzette is the quiet stalker. She’s the one I keep my eye on.
My caution is a bit unnecessary. The gators know that Captain Tucker will share raw meat or marshmallow with them, so there’s no need for them to be hunting. My fear is that of a city-boy completely out of his element, rather than there being any real risk. Our airboat sits high above the water and there is plenty of space to dive out of the way… or so I tell myself. With five children in the boat, how dangerous could it be? At one point, Captain Tucker even runs his hand over Fred’s head as he coasts past the boat. On some level, that gives me confidence we were in good hands, but on another level, I question who is this crazy person petting an alligator?
The gator encounter is the highlight of the hour-and-a-half tour, but by far not the only reason to get onto the bayou. Simply riding on an airboat is a rush. Winding through tight areas that may or may not have enough water for a traditional boat is a thrill. Banking around majestic cypress trees laced with Spanish moss as cranes take flight to get out of the way is like being inside a wildlife documentary.
The Atchafalaya Basin is a nature lover’s dream. It’s the largest wetland in the United States, covering an area of 1.4 million acres along the Atchafalaya River—an offshoot of the Mississippi—which empties directly into the Gulf of Mexico. If the extensive system of levees and flood controls managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were not in place, it is likely the flow of the Mississippi would discharge through this area, bypassing the major port cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans further east.
Captain Tucker, who leads tours through Basin Landing & Marina, is full of history and regional insight. He is happy to share the stories of those making a life on the bayou. It’s a complicated web of survival, ecology, and conflict with the federal government over flooding controls that often favor the economically significant cities over the communities along the bayou. After the tour, don’t miss the chance to join the friendly group of locals for a drink at the Turtle Bar, located just next to the boat launch site. They couldn’t be more warm or inviting to outsiders and are happy to share advice on the best places to visit or eat along this stretch of Cajun Country. Anyone up for fried alligator?
Where: Basin Landing & Marina, 1377 Henderson Levee Road, Breaux Bridge, LA, 70517 (but GPS systems and some locals say it’s in Henderson, LA, not Breaux Bridge – to be sure you’ve got the right location, set your GPS for Turtle Bar, rather than the actual address). It’s a 20 minute drive from Lafayette; 55 minutes from Baton Rouge.
Tours: Book tours by calling 337-228-7880. Tours currently run 9am, 11am, 1pm, and 3pm, but check the website for updates.
Cost: $49 per adult; $35 for Children 5 and under; $39 for members of the military
Website: www.basinlanding.com