Blog

Carnival season in New Orleans is incredible, unlike any atmosphere that I have experienced before.  This city runs unearthly and mystical enough as is, but give these beautiful aesthetic renaissance creatures a month-long free ticket to unleash their inner gonzo potential and you better print more paper.  The streets become sloshing interactive exhibits of perfectly…

Spring has Sprung in Manchac Swamp! AJ Nash, Operations/Head Guide Hidden Adventure Tours New Orleans, LA. Wow! We’ve been busy paddling every day in Manchac Swamp this winter! As fun as that has been, the season is changing. It seems that the Mardi Gras miracle of a warm sunny Fat Tuesday has catapulted us into…

Food Adventures at Cochon Butcher AJ Nash 2/3/18 Recently we stopped by Cochon Butcher at 930 Tchoupitoulas St in the warehouse district. Its way worth your time! Located next to the flagship restuarant Cochon, this is the simpler deli style lunch stop they opened a couple years ago. We ordered up some favorites from the…

Winter Swamps 1/17/18 AJ Nash A kayak swamp tour always sounds like a fun little excursion. This time of year the swamps aren’t likely the first thing to cross your mind when you land in New Orleans, but perhaps they should be! A few days ago on my last trip out we were blown away…

Perks of winter birding in the swamp. by Ross Baringer The bald eagle may be the most recognizable bird in the US and for fairly obvious reasons. It is one of the most famous symbols of our country. Before European colonization even began in North America, people native to this continent revered the bald eagle…

Reptilian brumation in south Louisiana. By Ross Baringer Alligators, snakes, and turtles; they are the three most common reptiles in Louisiana’s wetlands, but for a few months each year the chance of spotting them in the wild decreases significantly, in many cases dropping to almost zero. In the fall and winter months, especially from November…

Natures bounty Paul Cronan Plants of the Swamp There are many beautiful things to look at in the swamp. Below you will find a list of some of the most common and beautiful plants. Cypress Trees – Quite possibly the most important to the swamp Cypress Trees can be spotted all over and provide a…

by Ray Swaney Water, still and calm Makes everything grow downward From cypress to me Gator in tableau Remains inconspicuous- Kayakers glide by Birdsong travels light Through reeds and grass and my ear… A swamp symphony

by Emma Reid On kayak tours in Manchac and Honey Island you may spy a shiny dark lizard with red stripes and possibly a blue tail crawling up a Cypress tree. These are actually called five-lined skinks and they are not very common. Males develop a widened head and reddish-orange coloration of the snout and…

by Josh Jack Man has historically maintained a difficult relationship with rodents: those loathsome pests whose teeth forever grow and grow and must be worn away in ceaseless gnawing lest they spiral backwards towards their source and penetrate their bearers brain (an existential problem, dentally expressed.) Mice poach our food from the pantry, and rats…

I couldn’t tell you exactly why I think AJ IS or closely related to the mosquito, maybe its because sometimes he sucks the life out of me when he calls me about nothing important at 4am after I work a double back to back. Perhaps its because I think he might be giving me a…

Wikipedia describes the Honey Island Swamp Monster as follows: The creature is described as bipedal, 7 feet (2 m) tall, with gray hair and yellow or red eyes, and accompanied by a disgusting smell. Check. Check. Check and Check. I have spent 13 minutes gathering the information to alleviate ALL doubt. Bipedal https://photos.google.com/u/1/photo/AF1QipM5kvXR-vqTK0owZJjmlQlEihXE0SYvdJrjgZdV (Tall, obviously.) Yellow or…