Alligators and top golf in Miami
It is an interesting combination of alligators and ‘top golf’, but these were the fun things we did with our time in the US. I hope you enjoy this side of the US as much as I did.
Alligators and the everglades
We deliberately picked an indigenous tour, for the added layer of culture and support to first nations people in the US. But it fell a bit flat on the indigenous bit as in nothing was said about the traditional owners and care takers of the land or water ways, which as an Australian, I thought was quite strange.
We did fly over the water with an airboat; this type of boat felt like a fast noisy dragonfly gliding across the water’s surface. After only a few minutes we saw some alligators, the driver of the boat managed to upset a “mama alligator”, she was protecting her young and we got too close to her nest. She made a clear hissing sound and came very close to our boat; I made sure to keep all my limbs in the boat.
Like my research article on native South American animals: Lamas, Alpacas, Vacunas and Guanacos, I did some research on alligators. There are notable differences between an alligator and a crocodile, despite their similar appearances. The most obvious distinction is the shape of their snout; alligators have a wide, U-shaped snout, while crocodiles possess a narrower, more pointed V-shaped snout. This difference in snout shape also relates to how their teeth are visible. When a crocodile's mouth is closed, its large fourth lower tooth is still visible, giving it a toothy grin. In contrast, an alligator's upper jaw is wider, completely concealing its lower teeth when its mouth is shut. Another key difference is their geographic location. While alligators are primarily found in the Americas and China, crocodiles have a much wider distribution across the world.
Both species can vary greatly in size as you can see in the image above.
Playing golf at a golf driving range on our last night
On the same day as the alligator tour, we decided what better way to finish our time in the USA than to play some ‘top golf’? We went to a golf driving range where we played golf from a first, second, or third story platform, we played on ground level. The objective was to hit the ball as hard as you could so it would fly across the golf range. They even had a set of American Football goal posts positioned at about 100 metres that you could try to hit the ball through. This was the first time I had ever done it, so it was hard to get the swing right, however, nearing the end of our allotted time, I started to get the hang of it. David was by far the best at this game. The three of us QAD went, as my mum stayed home getting an early night.
In the next blog I will talk about our trip to Guadeloupe and the daily magic of running water that we take for granted.
