One of the most unexpected and daring journeys in Florida is accessible when you travel the Everglades’ wild backwaters with our trained field biologists and naturalist guides. This is a day of discovery and exploration in one of the world’s most threatened and beautiful wild places: The Florida Everglades and Big Cypress Preserve.

First, stroll through the black and white gallery of world-renowned photographer Clyde Butcher. His pictures awaken a true sense of understanding and respect for South Florida’s natural beauty.

Next, start the trek at the trailhead for an experience that is only available to 0.1% of all the people who have ever visited the Everglades. While you wade in clear knee- to waist-deep waters, you discover lush cypress domes as native orchids and bromeliads hang overhead and learn why conservationists have described this area as "a beautiful, rugged, subtropical landscape.”

After drying off, we move on to a remote and idyllic fishing village in the heart of the Everglades. There we enjoy an authentic lunch grown from the rich glades culture of just-caught seafood and fresh-from-the-ground vegetables.

Through the eyes of our expert field guides, this rare and unusual ecosystem comes alive with wonder and beauty on a trip never to be forgotten. The emotions experienced on this expedition over the years have been strong and abiding - come see why!

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QImRfWZI95k

Traverse with us across the great southern expanse of Florida that is the Everglades. Renowned around the world in legend and lore, the Everglades today is a treasure to behold. Our experienced naturalists will bring this watery world to life, weaving the story of the human history, both Native American and settler into the natural evolution of the Glades as we move through three separate and distinct ecosystems: Sawgrass prairie, Cypress forest and Mangrove islands.

Our first stop gives you a unique opportunity to become familiar with a world-famous photographer and to view his stunning work. No one really expects to find an art gallery in the Everglades, but it’s there in the form of Clyde and Nikki Butcher’s Big Cypress Gallery. You may notice a few dozen gators in Clyde’s front yard. Don’t worry, as with any good neighbor, if you mind your own business, they will mind theirs.

Meander with us through an ancient Cypress dome only feet above the vibrant, teeming world of this river of grass. Witness the numerous forms of life that make this mysterious realm their home. Then venture with us through the quirky town of Everglades City, the center of Everglades life for over 100 years, and down to the historic fishing village of Chokoloskee where you will be visiting an old Indian Trading Post – virtually unchanged since the day it was built.

Skip across the shallow waters and sawgrass prairie to a distant Miccosukee island as your guides prepare you for a day of natural wonders and cultural discovery! Watch in wonder as great blue herons, egrets, wood storks and ibises take flight as we travel into the true heart of the Florida Everglades. It is here among the sawgrass prairie that remote cypress islands filled with Seminole and Miccosukee history still exist and it is here that our adventure begins …

Only accessible by airboat, we travel miles into the Everglades to experience two historic Miccosukee island camps. We walk the islands that they once called home to hear how the Miccosukee families for generations learned to live in harmony with what many considered an unlivable landscape.

Seek out the family of wild gators that live near the big camp. If they care to show themselves, our guide will demonstrate his ability to “speak gator.” To the amazement of all, the gators respond.

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QImRfWZI95k

Skip across the shallow waters and saw grass prairies to a distant Miccosukee Island as your Native American guide prepares you for a day of challenge and cultural discovery! Our goal: build a native chickee dwelling on an island owned by our host, Johnny Tigertail. We will separate into teams who will each be given the task to build a traditional Miccosukee chickee. Each team will be responsible for organizing, delegating and constructing their chickee under the guidance and accumulated cultural wisdom of our native Indian guides.

Next, we will travel further into the Everglades to experience a historic Miccosukee island camp. As the sun sets we will join the island’s native wildlife (including a couple of resident gators), light the torches, fire up the grills and enjoy a great feast, Everglades-style.

After dinner we will board our airboat back to the mainland hoping, in the darkness of the Everglades, to reveal hundreds of reds eyes staring back toward us from the waters of the Florida Everglades as our driver’s searchlight cuts through the night.