Posted on Aug 30, 2020
There is more to do on your vacation at our Lucky Emerald than just the theme parks! While we, our daughter and grand children were at Lucky Emerald the 3rd week of March we took a trip to Captain Fred’s Airboat Nature Tours on Lake Hamilton. The trip to Captain Fred’s was about 45 minutes. Even though this was the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, they had all the sanitation requirements in place.
Captain Fred's staff started our visit off with an education segment on alligators that proved very informative and interesting. You even have the opportunity to hold a baby alligator! 
Next, you get your flotation device and get loaded on the airboat. The boat holds 6 plus the pilot. Put on your earmuffs, and away you go for a 45 to 60-minute tour of the marshes and wetlands surrounding Lake Hamilton.
Have your phones or camera handy, because you will have many wildlife photo opportunities on your tour. Keep your eyes open as you glide through the marsh for wildlife because you never know when and what you will see. The captain does point out wildlife including turtles, different bird species, and alligators as well as points of interest on our tour to make sure you don't miss anything. 
We stopped frequently in areas where the captain knew alligators were living. We were taken to one small area where they knew baby gators had recently hatched from their eggs. We could not see them but could hear the babies making their little peeping type sounds. We did not dare stay long however, because we could also hear the mother gator doing her warning grunt. As we continued our tour gliding over the wetland grass, cattails, and floating bog on the paths through them, we got up close and personal with 10 or 12 gators, various turtles, muskrats and dozens of birds of various species. 
So, if you and the family want to do something different, make some new memories, spend time in nature, and seeing some of Mother Nature’s wildlife up close; then we suggest making a visit to Captain Fred’s Airboat Nature Tours. We don’t think you will be disappointed and will be glad you made the short trip. Look them up on the web at www.captfreds.com. They are located at 4700 Crump Road Suite C, Winter Haven, FL. Phone: 863-696-1637. Reservations are needed, so call ahead.