|
High Life and Wild Life
By Kathleen Walls
Naples has one of Florida's most beautiful beaches. Photo by Martin Walls
A great way to get an overview of Naples is to hop aboard the Trolley Tour. Your guide will cover at least 100 points of interest and you can disembark and re-board all over the city. You will see the obvious points of interest, such as Palm Cottage, one of Florida's last "tabbie houses" dating to 1895. But you'll also find out a lot of whimsical facts. For example, as you pass an Eckerds Drugs, your driver will point out a wrought iron fence with headstones. "Rose Mary Cemetery," he comments. "What's a cemetery doing in the middle of a parking lot?" Well, it was moved there in 1937 to accommodate expansion. It was deeded so that whoever bought the land would have to build around it so that it would never have to be moved again. That was all rural land those days. No one lived for miles around. So that's why you find a cemetery in the middle od a Eckerds parking lot."
Old Naples General Store is the logical place to embark on your trolley journey. You can purchase your tickets there as well as stock up on some delicious candy, buy souvenirs, pick up tourist information and experience the way people shopped in Naples at the turn of the century. They also have a large parking lot that will easily accommodate an RV.
A fierce pirate welcomes you to one of Tin City's eateries.
Photo by Kathleen Walls |
Tin City is one place you definitely want to stop and explore. Tin City began life as a oyster and clam processing plant in the 1920's. In 1976, it began its reincarnation as the Old Marine Market Place. Today, Tin City combines the ambience of the city's nautical past with unique shops and eateries. Thai is also the boarding dock of many of the sightseeing and fishing boats.
Although Naples is filled with sunshine, the Double Sunshine is a special treat. It transports you over the magical waters of Naples Bay. Here you observe the homes of the rich and famous in Port Royal as dolphins frolic around your boat. The more you applaud the dolphins' antics the more they cavort. You can practically touch them from the lower deck of the boat.
If you enjoy fishing, the Lady Brett or Captain Paul depart from the same dock. The Captain Paul also has a shelling trip. They transport you to Keewaydin Island Beach where you can search for Sand Dollars, Conchs and a host of other iridescent beauties. If you want a charter boat, Fish Finder Charters is the place. It's also the home of the one and only Bubbles Vanderbilt, a well dressed potbellied pig who actually has her own website. Fishing and water fun has always been a big part of Naples. The Silver Slam Tarpon tournament and the Great Dock Canoe Races reflect Naples love affair with the sea.
If you yearn to take a walk on the wild side, visit Caribbean Gardens. Like any life story, the garden's saga is one of ups and downs. Begun in 1919 by Dr. Henry Nehrling as Tropical Gardens, one of Florida's earliest arboretums. It gained a world wide reputation during his lifetime but degenerated with his death in 1929.
More than twenty years passed and the once lush garden became an overgrown jungle. Then Julius Fleischmann, of the yeast and Standard Brands family, discovered the gardens and began a loving restoration. He cleared away years of neglect and brought Dr. Nehrling's dream to life once more. He added a dazzling array of tropical birds and in 1954 reopened the gardens under its present name, Caribbean Gardens.
The white tiger is poetry in motion. Photo by Martin Walls
The next step in the garden's metamorphism came in 1967 when "Jungle" Larry Tetziaff and his wife, Nancy Jane fell in love with the serene setting and attempted to acquire it for their animal exhibit. They had both spent their lives working with wild life and carrying a message of conservation to the world. Mainly through a combination of rarely seen filmed footage of the habitat and activities in the wild combined with the living animals. They were then sharing their love of nature with over a million visitors a year at their Ohio location. Naples climate was what they wanted for their jungle friends. However it wasn't until shortly after Fleischmann's death that their dream of combining the beauty of the tropical flora with their exotic fauna became a reality. In September 1969, the gardens threw open its gates to an unprecedented offering of many of the earth's rarest creatures in a setting of some of the world's most beautiful plants.
The best place to start your tour is at Safari Canyon where you will be treated to a multimedia show unlike any you have seen. You learn about the animals in their natural environment on hugh screens then met the actual creature up close and personal. Speaking of "meet", the Meet the Keeper Series is a great place to ask all those questions about your favorite animal to the person who knows it best, the keeper.
The variety of big cats is unsurpassed. Be sure to see the rare White Tigers and the even rarer Honey Colored Tigers. If you have children with you, you may want to get a "ZooKEY" which provides valuable information via an audio station at each site.
This chimp appears to be observing his observers with an
almost human intelligence. Photo by Martin Walls
Primate Expedition Cruise is another favorite. You visit monkeys and other primates from around the world in a natural type habitat as you cruise in comfort around their islands.
For a closer look at the local wild life, try The Conservancy of Southwest Florida. The Conservancy has spearheaded the effort to maintain nature's delicate balance in a rapidly progressing society since 1964 when they stopped the building of a highway through the environmentally delicate Rookery Bay. A visit to the Naples Nature Center is the best value for your vacation dollar. (For $6 adults and $3 children, you tour both Naples and Briggs Nature Centers.) At the Naples center, book your electric boat tour and/or naturalist guided hike first. If you only have time for one, opt for the boat tour.
Then start with the Museum. There is always something going on there. You might find Snakes Alive, a program that will tell you all you ever wanted to know about serpents, or perhaps it time for Simply Shells, these iridescent jewels of the beach are not simple. Turtle Talk, featuring the new turtle exhibit, or a guided trail walk are also programs you will enjoy.
Their rehabilitation center provides the most advanced care to the injured wildlife brought there daily. You can peep in on the treatment center through the special closed circuit television. Visit with an American Eagle, owl, pelican and hawk who live there permanently. Because of their injuries they cannot be returned to the wild.
When it's time for your boat tour, one of the volunteer's like Capt. Jim Kussic will guide you through a estuary of the Gorden River. You are surrounded by Red Mangroves, Brazilian Pepper Trees and Australian Pine. He recounts the lore of the Caloosa Indians, the history of the area, gossip about the residents past and present and as much scientific information about the native flora and fauna as you want to know. You will probably see herons, turtles and other wildlife.
If you are in the mood for hiking, the trails wend their way through 14 miles of woodland.
Nearby rivers are great for canoe trips.
Photo by Kathleen Walls
Briggs Center, located on Rookery Bay, boasts a butterfly garden,an interpretive center, two nature trails and a half mile of board walk from which you are sure to spot many of the wading birds, herons, egrets, anhingas and many other species that use the area for a hatchery. Both centers offer canoe and kayak rentals.
For more nature adventures, Naples is located just a few miles from the Big Cypress Swamp, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Fakahatchee Strand Preserve are nearby and offer glimpses of the Everglades ecosystem. Two state parks are also close by. Wiggens Pass State Park offers day adventures and an excellent sandy beach for swimming and shelling. Collier Seminole offers camping as well as boat rentals and picnic facilities.
Collier County Museum is a great place to delve into the history of Naples and Collier County. If you plan to visit the first weekend in November be sure to attend their Old florida Festival. This is held annually on the museum grounds and celebrates 6000 years of South Florida history. The booths are arranged as camps from the First Floridians to World War ll. The pride of the museum is their newest exhibit, an authentic World War ll Sherman Tank.
Of course the festival also features entertainment, food and arts and crafts.
Art of all kind is well represented in Naples. Several art and music events are held throughout the year including Art in the Park and Naples Concert Band. Both run from January to April. The Naples Downtown Art Festival is held annually in March.
Naples is a city of glitter and glitz but it's just a friendly small town at heart. It lives up to its slogan "Florida's Most Gracious City."
Sidebar
Naples General Information on line www.see-naples.com
Naples \Trolley Tours 239-262-7300
Lady Brett, Capt. Paul, Double Sunshine 239-263-4949
Collier County Museum 239-774-8476 www.colliermuseum.com
Caribbean Gardens 239-262-5409 www.caribbeangardens.com
Tin City 239-262-4200 www.tin-city.com
Conservancy 239-262-CARE www.conservancy.org
Bubbles Vanderbilt www.bubbles-vanderbilt.com.
| 
