We set off for a drive into the middle of nowhere, lol, to Kissimmee Swamp Tours. It took about a hour and ended up on a very rough road, however, we got there, lol!!! 
We had not booked but they were happy to fit us in. We were briefed on how to use our headphones, mics and control packs and then headed to the boat. They are fascinating and I was reminded of the original Miami Vice TV programme, lol!
The boat ran very smoothly even when at times, we had little water to move in, it moved well over the mud and plant life although our driver did say if we stayed still too long we might get caught! 
Every time we stopped, we were bombarded by huge numbers of mosquito like insects, they are called, Blind Mosquitos, but the big thing is they do not bite!!
We saw such a variety of birds, it was fascinating, Egrets, Ibis, Blue Crane, Glossy Ibis, Snail Kite, Snipe, Sandpiper, Limpkin, Green Heron, a nesting Sand Hill Crane and Purple Swamphen (this has to be a relative of the New Zealand Pukeko). 
We were even lucky enough to see two eagles in a tree with their nest below them. We also saw a couple of cattle who had wandered into the swamp, lol. Alligators will not attack them as they swallow their food whole, crocodiles would attack as they tear their prey up! 
The first bird we saw was an Anhinga. These are very interesting, they dive under the water to catch fish but have on oil glands so have to dry in the sun.
The cranes will eat baby alligators and can swallow a snake up to a metre in length!
We saw so many alligators, many of them just lazing on the mud although we did see a few swimmers. one of them was 12 feet long so an older adult and we also saw some young ones. 
We did see one with its mouth wide open and this means the gator is hot and that is how they try to cool down, if it does not work they go back into the water.
We spent about an hour on the boat and it was great, in spite of a few black clouds and a brief shower on the way to the swamp, it remained dry while we were on board. We did get another brief shower on the way back into Orlando.
We headed to Disney Springs, parked up and wandered round on our way to eat. We passed the Lego place, there are many scenes with characters constructed of lego, even a Loch Ness monster, lol!! Thee was a shop called Little MissMatch where people can, for example, purchase odd socks!!
We reached Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' Restaurant. I ordered the Braised Short Ribs and they were very tender and delicious. MK had fried chicken and doughnuts, I have never seen that on a menu before, lol!! 
I was full after that but Smitty ordered a piece of Hummingbird Cake and it was huge, lol!! We all had to help eat it but there was some left for a doggy box! 
They also served Moonshine but I decided not to avail myself of any, MK had the Apple Pie a La Mode and I had a taste, it sure tasted like Apple Pie!
After this wonderful meal, we then wandered round further and passed by the Hot Air Balloon that people can go up in to take photos but it was too windy for that today. We then saw one of the amphibian cars making its way slowly through the water, lol! I bought a Starbucks and we were soon back at the car ready for our journey back to downtown. 
We passed Sea World and a number of hotels along the way. We were also caught up in the rush hour traffic so it was a fairly slow trip back to the hotel.
I want to thank MK and Smitty for a wonderful day out and for looking after me so well, every time I went to get my purse I was told to put it away!! I really did appreciate the day out, driving me round and the excellent company. 
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