If I have time, before I go on a trip I like to consider what different flora and fauna I might see. People from southern states traveling north to Pennsylvania would likely not see too much that they can’t see at home, I expect. South Carolina, however, is far enough south to hold what seem (to me) to be exotic species. These are things that are probably pretty quotidian here, but to a traveler they really stand out. My family had hoped to see an alligator, in a safe way, as long as we were here. That’s why we ended up at the Audubon Swamp Garden on the Magnolia Plantation just outside Charleston. Although it’s October, it’s still warm here and although it took some time we eventually spotted a fair sized gator sunning itself many yards away. After seeing the first one you kind of know what to look for and we ended up spotting four more.
This swamp has a walkway intended to keep visitors safe, so we followed it through the facility. You have to pass a kind of Jurassic Park entry gate to get in, and it may be best to reflect later that alligators have been around since the dinosaurs. There were plenty of other animals too. Our first encounter was a snowy egret. This was followed shortly by an anole, but my lizard species identification isn’t very developed, I’m afraid. There were dozens of turtles sunning themselves—several quite large—and a blue tailed skink. And spiders of apocalyptic size. My phone camera didn’t zoom in much on the gators, so I’ll put the anole here for you to enjoy.
This iconic swamp was used in the filming of Swamp Thing (I couldn’t resist), and is rumored to have been the inspiration for Shrek’s swamp in that movie. The most poignant aspect to me, however, was just how much beautiful diversity the world allows if people aren’t constantly trying to improve it. When a field in my native Pennsylvania is left to its own devices, it will likely become a forest and all the usual suspects will come back. We do still have elk in some northern counties. Yes, I suspect if we left swamps run wild mosquitos and other less fun species would also proliferate, but still, there are places that are transcendent for not having been improved upon. The Audubon Swamp Garden is one such place, although the sunning platforms allow us to see some of the creatures, and with an alligator just a few yards away, I am grateful for this raised walkway.