We finally made it to Gatorland today, and it was a really cool place. It’s actgiantually a beautiful preserve that’s easy to walk around with lots of gators, crocs, and a few birds. We got there about mid morning and got to look around a little before going to the first show that was on called Up Close Encounters. The show started just after we sat down and the guys doing the show ran into the audience and put two boxes on the benches, one of which was right in front of me. Thankfully I didn’t get the first box they opened. They got another woman up on the stage and made her shut her eyes before they opened the box and took out two giant hairy spiders and put them on her hands. I think I would have passed out, or worse. Then it came time to open my box, I tried moving but they found me. It was okay though cos it turned out that in the box was a poisonous snake, a timber snake, that they didn’t make me hold. I did get dragged up on the stage later though with three other people and we got to hold a python; I got the tail not the head (I called the coin toss, Tails for Wales). It was very neat, not slimy but almost spiky when it moved and very muscular. I think I was very brave!
Afterwards we wandered around some more and some all sizes of gators, some were massive and others just babies; we also saw some white alligators, although they weren’t albino. Then we went to watch some gator wrestling; I swear the guy doing it was a nutcase. He was sitting on the gators back holding it jaws closed before prying it’s mouth open so the audience could see inside. Suddenly there was a loud snap as the gator decided he didn’t want assist in the show and closed his mouth; the wrestler moved his hands super fast. Then he showed us how all the strength is in the gators lower jaw by holding the top jaw open with his chin -–like I said a nutcase. It looked like dangerous and difficult work as the guy was sweating and breathing heavy through the whole show. He did tell us that the gator wasn’t being particularly cooperative which didn’t help things but he did a really good show, he was very entertaining. At the end he flipped the gator over and it just lay completely still, apparently when they are flipped on their backes they go to sleep. To ‘wake it up’ he tickled it’s belly and the gator immediately flipped himself over, it was amazing to watch.
After the show we went to the top of the observation tower to check out the huge lake that was full of alligators and crocodiles. The views were amazing and the gators too, they have cool names like Chaos and Mania. There were loads of water birds, herons and storks, just hanging out, some were even perched on the back of the gators. Apparently the different birds that nest in the trees among the gators do so as the gators are a deterrent to other predators – better the devil you know!
We had a good day out, Gatorland is definitely worth a visit. The park is really well put together and they are doing a great deal of work to shelter the injured and to provide sanctuary to gators and crocs that are causing havoc in neighbourhoods throughout Florida.

Mike: Gatorland is cool! That’s where you take someone you want to get ride of!