A Trip to Georgia's Coastal Islands

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A Trip to

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GedfAids Coa5td Islands Jorry Gnenv

SOMEONE TOLD YOU about a warm, inviting with islands full of opportunities for outdoor adventures. including dolphin spotting, shrimping. or kayaking, 1.ou might think they were talking about Hawaii or Florida. Yet you can frnd yourself on just such an excursion in the islands of the southern coast of Georgia.

With one hundred miies of Atlantic seacoast and a host of easily accessible islands, the area invites visitors to enjolwater-based adventures serwed up with southern hospital-

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seacoast

ity and small-torvn charm.

The southernmost islands, often called the Golden Isles of Georgia, consist of Jekyll Island, St. Simon's Island. and several srnaller islands. With an average high temperature of seventy-seven degrees and about 121 days of rainfall each year, coastal Georgia is not too hot and not too cold and has a good balance between dry and rl'et days. The region is a transition zone between northern and southern forests, so both deciduous and coniferous trees thrive there.

Georgia boasts plenty of swamps and jungle-like areas, but there are also yrrcca plants, cedar trees, and shortleaf pine trees, as well as the popular magnolia trees, and the official state tree: the live oak, draped with Spanish moss'

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PHOTO: @PETE OXIORD/MINDEN PICTURES/CORBIS

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Floating lhrough Nature There's no better place

to spot wildlife than Jekyll Isiand, just south of the mainland port of Brunswick. Pelicans lounge on decks and pilings, and cormorants sit with their wings spread in order to dry them properly. If you take one of the boat excursions starting out from Jekyll Island, there is a good chance you'll see pelicans on the ocean, too, hovering around the boat or bobbing up and down like buoys on ocean swells. Spotting dolphins can be more difficult. The Atlantic bottlenose dolphins found in these waters may show their faces, but quite often they only offer a quick glimpse of their dorsal fins breaking the water's surface. If you want to photograph them, a quick shutter finger is required in order to get a shot of one or two before they splash back under water.

There are more bird-watching opportunities on Jekyll Island, as the Colonial Coast Birding Trail runs through the island, with three stops: on the causeway and at the north and south ends of the island. Each stop has viewing platforms from which you can watch egrets and herons wading through the waters, or marsh hawks soaring over

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the tops of the grasses, biding their time, waiting for some unwary prey to show itself. The birding trail also passes along nearby St. Simon's Island, at Gould's Inlet and the East Beach.

Kayaking is one of the best ways to see birds or other wildlife. Paddling quietly along coastal waterways through marshes and calm rivers, you almost become part of the landscape, and the animals seem more calm and accepting of your presence. Whether you are a veteran or a novice

paddler, there are plenty of options available for kayak touring. You can enjoy trips ranging in length from short two-hour tours for those without much experience, to longer multiday tours for the more adventurous.

A typical three-hour kayak trip starting at a place like Postell Creek, on St. Simon's Island, winds through the nalrow channels of a reedy salt marsh, where the distinct "oka-deel" call of red-winged blackbirds resounds through the watery pathways. If you're lucky, you might even get close enough to see egrets fishing for their breakfast. Eventually, the creek reaches the ocean and the small islands, some of which are home to hermit crabs and willets. Cactus plants sprout intermittently along the sandy beaches on some of these islands, an interesting contrast to the lush trees found locally.

Ifyou kayak through the meandering creek to the northern marshes of St. Simon's Island, you pass by the site of

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fne 1742 Battle of Bloody Marsh. Both Britain and Spain

claimed the area as their own, and

in July t742

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Spanish sent an invading force of several thousand men to

take the island. The British forces, led by Gen. James Oglethorpe, repulsed the Spanish and eventually won control of St. Simon's Island. Historians believe that this r.ictory ultimately led to the formal ceding of Georgia to the British in 1748.

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For visitors who just can't get enough of paddling, longer kayak tours are available during which a group ofkayakers is escorted by a ship, providing the opportunity to explore more of the coast while sleeping in comfort at night.

the site of the former Hampton Plantation. Architect Joe Lee, the course designer, created a unique layout that

Jekyll Island and St. Simon's Island contain bike-only

incorporates a small cluster of marsh islands located across a small tidal creek just west of the high ground, and four separate holes carved from the islands. To get there, golfers travel along eight hundred feet of elevated cart bridges.

The golf course is owned by the King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort, originally opened as a dance club in 1935 and now listed on the Nationai Register of Historic Places.

paths connecting historic sites, restaurants, and beaches, allowing for leisurely rides that glide underneath large

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Pedals and Clubs

Georgia's Golden Isles contain miles of bike paths for the enjoyrnent ofvisitors who prefer pedaling to paddling. Both

canopies of coniferous and deciduous trees.

If

1'our idea of adventure involves plapng a round of u'hat is often called "the sport of presidents," you will be happ1. to knolv that the islands are home to some historic and prestigious golf courses.

The Jekl-1l Island Golf Club holds a couple of distinctions. Created in 1898, it is the largest public golffacility in the state of Georgia. with three different eighteen-hole courses: Oleander. the oldest and considered to be the most diffrcult; Pine Lakes. the longest course; and Indian Mound, the shortest course. Audubon International has bestowed Certifred Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary status on the

After a day playing golf, paddling a kayak, or cycling, few things are better than a spa treatment for loosening up

tight muscles and restoring vigor for another day of sightseeing. There are spas that offer treatments and pack-

ages for all budgets, from the Island Day Spa on St. Simon's Island to the five-star Cloister Spa at the Sea Island Resort.

Sipping a cup of herbal tea while sinking back into a

waiting room chair is a pleasant prelude to a custom massage from a trained therapist. Indoor spa treatments provide relaxation on rainy days, while on sunny days the natural sounds of the wind, waves, and birds at a nearby

Jekyll Island Golf Club. meaning that the club has taken steps to ensure it is enrironmentally friendly for both people and native piants and ivildlife. Golfers can therefore

beach enh.ance an outdoor massage. The experience can be so relaxing that you may not want to leave.

also enjoy birding betrveen shots.

AllA[oard!

The nutrients produced in the coastal marshes mean that the sea along this area of Georgia is rich with aquatic

St. Simon's Island is home to a pair of historically signifrcant courses. The course at the Sea Palms Resort and Conference Center was designed by George Cobb, who also designed the Par-3 Course at the Augusta National Golf

Club. The natural beauty of the area around the course inspired the poet Sidney Lanier when he visited the islands after the American Civil War. His poem, "The Marshes of Glynn," lauds the beauty of the salt marshes, live oaks, and island pines that can still be seen by golfers playrng on the course today.

The King and Prince GoIf Course was built

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life, including kingfish, snapper, grouper, cobia, and shrimp.

Many companies offer deep-sea fishing trips, but visitors

looking for a more family-friendly experience might consider a shrimping tour, such as aboard t}re Lady Jarue, which ships out of Brunswick.

Once the boat pulls out into St. Simon's Sound, the noise of a winch alerts passengers that the net is about to drop and trawl for shrimp. But not just any shrimp: fresh, coldwater, Georgia-coast shrimp. Gulls and pelicans, seemingly

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enough to catch a glimpse of a gator while paddling, don't worry: they tend to be more wary of people than people are of them.

The Little St. Simon's Lodge is par-

ticularly family friendly, with interpretive tours and structured activities available to visitors. A vacation at the lodge on Little St. Simon's Island in-

cludes meals, activities, and guided tours. There are several different lodges and cottages for accommodation, but the maximum number of guests on the island at any one time is limited to

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thirty-two.

Whether you catch your fish from the dock of a private island, buy it from a market, or prefer to have it served to you in a restaurant, a local

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tuned in to the boat's regular schedule, often accompany the shrimpers, squawking and flying slightly behind the boat or alongside, hoping to benefit from the catch.

After the crew lowers the net into the ocean, the net stays under water for fifteen minutes. Many shrimpers use nets with a turtle exclusion device, a ring about the size of a garbage can that prevents the local reptiles from getting snagged in the net. When the crew winches up the catch, there may be other denizens of the deep among the shrimp, such as horseshoe crabs (not great eating), small stingrays, sea trout, blue crab, or spot frsh. A mate picks them out and

shows them

specialt;, that everyone should try is the low country boil-a simple, tasty dish that includes vegetables. seafood, and sausage, all cooked in one pot. The dish is a classic example of "low country cuisine," which combines southern-style cooking with flavors from the Caribbean. Similar t1-pes of boils are made all along the Atlantic Coast: for example, a New England boil also involves root vegetables and corn, and

to the kids, explaining what each one is,

sometimes even allowing some hands-on experience for the more curious. These "extras" are tossed back into the ocean, although some of them are grabbed in midair by opportunistic seabirds, which take theirjobs as escorts for the boat very seriously.

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Pfivate Luxury

Not far from St. Simon's Island lie Eagle Island and Little St. Simon's Island, two smaller, privately owned islands that are only accessible by boat. A stay on one of

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these islands provides a real escape from the outside world, as the accommodations there are more secluded than lodging quarters elsewhere in the area.

The Eagle Island Lodge is a "bring-your-own-food" type of getaway. With no phone lines on the island, there is nothing to distract you but the sound ofthe wind whispering through the pines and palms. You can take a kayak or boat out onto one of the local rivers (the Altamaha River is the third-largest contributor of freshwater to the Atlantic Ocean on North America's eastern shore), and you might see mullets and garfrsh jump briefly out of the water and into the air before disappearing with a splash. The plentiful fish provide food for egrets, herons, and grackles, and also for bigger beasts like alligators. If you're fortunate 42

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includes lobster and sometimes clams. Cooks often add a

variety of spices to a lolv country boil, and include other root vegetables like turnips, yams, and sweet potatoes.

While recipes may vary, a low country boil is always tasty, simple, and filling.

After a day spent crabbing, kayaking, cycling, fishing, or golfing, perhaps you just want to sit on a wraparound porch and do nothing more strenuous than watch the sun and the stars trade places. Don't fight that feeling of reiaxation. It's

almost certainly a sign that Georgia's Golden Isles are working their magic on you.

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