The Challenge

Photo by Claude Nall

With so many views of what is going on in Louisiana right now with the oils spill it is difficult to know who to believe. Yet that is a challenge we must face everyday, on many fronts of the government, news media, education, religion, and business.

Photo by Claude Nall

I have always made my best effort to share the truth about things in the swamp, in my swamp tour presentations. I have a passion for the wildlife, culture, history, and environment of south Louisiana.

I will tell you things like; alligators don't eat us, we eat them, true!

Yet you can see my friend Simone, from Lafayette, is a little uncertain about getting so close to one on my tour.

It irks me that New Orleans tries to capitalize on it's close procximity to Cajun Country. But it is on the wrong side of the Mississippi River to be Cajun.




The media wrongly promotes our food as spicy, actually it is flavorful.



And BP would have you believe they have it under control and all is safe, when it is not, but luckily if you are aware of the geography and wanting to do a swamp tour you should now where I do my tours at Lake Martin, we are far inland and about 200 miles away from the toxic effects of the BP oil spill. Our seafood, so far is uncontaminated, and our wildlife is safe from harm.



A Bald Eagle in a tree watching over Lake Martin
Photo by Claude Nall


But one does have to consider if our life here in the heart of Cajun Country could in the future also be adversely affected by the oil like our neighbors to the east.



For now anyway the well is capped for the last few weeks, and nature will heal itself given time.



We still have the food, music, dance, and swamp tours Cajun Country is famous for.




A de la Houssaye's Swamp Tours in the bayou.

I can be reached at 337 298 2630 if you are interested in doing a tour with me.

Hero woos commission with soulful crooning

A Lake Martin swamp sunset


Photo by Claude Nall


OK, I'll keep it short here because this blog was set up to help people coming to Louisiana find a good swamp tour in the Lafayette area. And if you scroll down to the next post you can see who I am, and what I have to offer you on my swamp tour.

But, I am a political person, and I couldn't resist sharing here as a Lafayette local says it all musically, in front of Obama's oil spill commission at the Hilton Hotel in New Orleans.

So what does this have to do with swamp tours? Katrina and the government/corporate bungling after it, hurt me and a lot of other small busineses in south Louisiana. I was out of business for three years because people just stopped coming to Louisiana.

The oil spill hasn't shut me down yet, as I am still doing my world famous swamp tours, but we are watching this oils spill situation closely.

In the end, hopefully we can use this oil spill, like Katrina,
to make Louisiana a better place for us to live and for you to visit.

Here is my friend, Drew Landry.


Enjoy


This You Tube video was pulled from a C-Span broadcast:

Louisiana Swamp Tour Sunrise

For swamp tour reservations, you can call me at 337 298 2630



A de la Houssaye's Swamp Tour leaving Lake Martin Landing shortly after dawn...








Sunrise is the time to be at Lake Martin in the summertime.


Photo by Claude Nall


The fog hangs low in moss draped Bald Cypress and it is the coolest time of the day.




Birds are everywhere,



as the spoonbills leave the roost in search of breakfast,

Photo by Claude Nall

along with the Great Egret,

Photo by Claude Nall


and the Great Blue Heron,



It's yummi...sushi for breakfast,

Photo by Claude Nall

and also sunrise is the best time to see the most sought after sighting on a swamp tour; an American Alligator.

Photo by Claude Nall

The young birds who hatched in the rookery this past spring, are very vulnerable to alligators as they are getting out of the rookery and learning to feed themselves.


Photo by Claude Nall

this one of course must be wondering why we humans complicate things so with loud noisy motors, which seem to give us more sorrows than service at times...


Photo by Claude Nall

And if these young birds are not careful, they will help feed someone else,

Photo by Claude Nall

and apparently judging by the feather in his mouth, this one might already have had someone in his breakfast menu.

Photo by Claude Nall

Well, not long after passing by this Great Egret and was going into the woods nearby to finish his meal, he came out quicker than he went in...

Photo by Claude Nall

Apparently a larger, dominant alligator had plans of "stealing" his breakfast!

Photo by Claude Nall


Sunrise tours are doing really well this summer...



The flora of summertime is abundant...



and exquisite...




And we can run into some friends along the way,

Photo by Claude Nall


After a couple of hours it is back to Lake Martin landing for some fish tales




A nice catch of crappy, A.K.A. as "sac-a-lait" in Cajun.



Then as I am about to load up the boat on the trailer, a couple of Christian missionaries on their way to Mexico, calling last minute wanting to see some swamp..

So I said come on, I am at the landing and the boat is already in the water...




I don't advise you go to landing hoping to step onto a tour without calling and making a reservation first, because with the heat at 95 degrees + F, I am for the most part, only doing sunrise and sunset tours. I might be out in the boat on a sunset tour as seen below and actually be there, but not waiting for you at the landing. Also consider there is no storefront, receptionist, or restroooms at Lake Martin Landing, because it is a public wilderness boat landing. Your best approach to doing a swamp tour with me is to call first.



To make a reservation, you can call me at 337 298 2630,




and I will see you at the lake.

Photo by Claude Nall

Independence From British Control?

It has been a good week at de la Houssaye's Swamp Tours, leading up to our 4th of July Independence Day Celebration.




I feel privledged to be an American and enjoy the rights of freedom which were bought and paid for with blood in our American Revolution against the British over two hundred years ago.



If you are wanting to do a swamp tour, I can be reached at 337 298 2630 for reservations. And my advise is you really should make a reservation before driving out to Lake Martin because I maybe fishing for redfish in the marsh for the next few days.



It is starting to look like the 1st amendment right of a free press is being suspended by our federal government who is in cahoots with a British corporation who is making the rules in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in order to cover up the negligence, and damage it is doing to our people, the wildlife, and our state wetlands environment.



Here is a You Tube audio tape of Billy Nungesser, the President of Plaquimines Parish discussing the Coast Guard enforcing a 60' rule made up by BP to cover up this mess and to keep the media far enough away from the oil spill and dying wildlife to do a fair job of reporting the incompetence and dysfunction of the people in charge of managing and cleaning up this man made disaster.

Billy is a for real, local boy who grew up in New Orleans and tells it like it is.

I believe the audio is self explanatory.

Happy Independence Day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-twfQwTr6LE



Here is a link to a You Tube video of Anderson Cooper of CNN doing a story about the suspension of the first amendment right of a free press.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXsmLMV1CrM