We went out with Garl recently for a full day adventure and had a great time. It was a very full day. We started at about noon and didn't get back to his shop until 8 p.m. My wife and I were combined with other smaller groups to make a group of about twelve people.
We started with a little nature walk into a cypress dome, which wasn't on a marked trail or off a pull out. It's an area we would have never explored if we weren't with Garl. He talked to the group about the ecosystem and the flora we were observing. We also followed some alligator tracks in the mud and located a couple of his favorite gators.
Next we were off to kayak at Nine Mile Pond. This was a real fun paddle through ponds and a maze of mangroves. This area was the home to both gators and a crocodile, which was tremendous! There was also a bunch of nice birds in this area. We paddled here for a couple of hours and had an awesome time.
After Nine Mile Pond we headed to Flamingo for a sunset paddle. By the time we got to Flamingo, it seems that we were running a little behind schedule, so we ate a hurried lunch/snacks and got in our boats. We made it out into Florida Bay for sunset. We stopped at an area that Garl explained was in the flight path of many flocks of birds that pass through at dusk. We got enveloped by a huge flock of skimmers. There were so many and they were so close, you could hear them flapping there wings as they went by. Sunset was beautiful. The Bay was pretty peaceful at this hour.
Lastly, on the way out of the Park we walked the Anhinga Trail in the dark with some flashlights. Spotting gators at night with a light was extremely cool. The gators eyes reflect back a devilish red, and is real crazy to see.
We recommend you spend a day with Garl. You will see much more than if you spent a day in the Evergladess by yourself.