OUTDOORS & NATURE FEROCIOUSLY FUN ALEX FRIEDRICH Tour Guide, The Paddling Center At Shingle Creek SPECIALTY: Ecologist, tour leader, children’s program educator WHAT YOU’LL EXPERIENCE: Guests can take a self-guided kayaking, canoeing, or stand-up paddleboarding tour along the 2.5-mile Shingle Creek, or join one of our led expeditions. (Newbies can have a free mini-lesson before departure.) Our newest marina, about 5 miles downstream, is an eco-tourism center called The Docks at Shingle Creek. It off ers the same paddling options as well as more advanced tour packages. WHAT’S TO LOVE: The creek flows through one of Florida’s last remaining navigable cypress forests—a primordial fairyland of hanging bromeliads, wild orchids, water lilies, and hyacinths. It’s teeming with animal life too: herons, eagles, hummingbirds, wading birds, turtles, otters, and more! TIPS: Mornings have less traff ic and more wildlife, and temperatures are milder. Bring a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen. And dress to get wet. BOB WILAMOSKI Owner/Pilot, Bob’s Balloons SPECIALTY: Area native, air balloon pilot, and lifelong enthusiast WHAT YOU’LL EXPERIENCE: This is a rare opportunity to float 1,000 feet up and see the beautiful Kissimmee area in all its natural glory. Aft er watching the balloon get set up at sunrise, you’ll enter the basket and, depending which way the wind blows, soar over the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve, Walt Disney World® Resort, fields, lakes, or grand vacation homes. WHAT’S TO LOVE: I’ve been doing this 30 years, and I still get chills at the peacefulness of gliding silently through the air. You’ll literally have a bird’s-eye view of all the local flora and fauna. TIPS: Bring a hat, sunscreen, and a camera—but you won’t need a jacket. In addition to its gator park, exotic animal exhibits, and airboat tours, Wild Florida off ers a special program called Zookeeper for a Day in which guests work side-by-side with staff and participate in enrichment activities with the animals. The morning-long experience provides training and education focused on the animals, their habitats, and feeding needs. In this program you’ll learn to measure the food and mix up the right blend for each animal—lemurs, sloths, porcupines, zebras, and many tropical birds—and then deliver it to their trays (some of the animals will come running). You’ll help out in the petting zoo and get a private, hands-on alligator demonstration as well as a photo of you handling a gator. A real Florida BBQ lunch is included—but not before your hourlong airboat tour that glides you across the swamps into the Everglades. NOTE: Must be booked at least 24 hours in advance. For ages 12 and up. ExperienceKissimmee.com 69
Experience Kissimmee 2018 Kissimmee Destination Guide: Page 69
