Big Time in the Big Easy Part II

By Frank & Patti Johnson
The Times-Picayune

. . . We've saved the best for last. We took a trip to Des Allemands which is a little further down in the bayou country than Crown Point by another 15 to 20 minutes. Owners Arthur and Cathy Matherne operate a unique business -- airboat tours. We really didn't know what to expect but it turned out to be one of the best activities of the whole trip.

Arthur grew up on Bayou Gauche in Des Allemands as did his father and the rest of his family. He knows every square inch of the bayou and where all of its predators live. You step onto the airboat and are given a set of ear muffs to protect your ears from the loud roar of the huge motor. We took off from the dock and began the journey in the water a little way and then the fun really began. We climbed up onto the marshy land in the airboat and took off fairly slow at first looking at Louisiana wildlife in its natural habitat. Lots of neutra rats at first, as well as egrets and other birds.

The further into the swamp country we drove the more alligators we saw. At one point we were cruising on land at a speed of about 60 m.p.h. and even did a one revolution spin when we were trying to slow down to turn into another direction. It was a blast! The highlight of the trip was when Arthur jumped off the airboat to grab a neutra rat out of its nest and the next time pick up a four foot alligator with his bare hands. Arthur even picked up a baby alligator and let my husband hold it while I recorded his voice crying for his mother. Arthur had lots of stories to tell about the animals and even how to tell if an alligator was raised in the wild or if its origin was from an alligator farm (an alligator with a notch in his/her tail means it was farm raised when released into the wild) . . .