Lafayette, Louisiana Swamp Tours

 

Summertime tours is in full swing in the Louisiana swamps,

and swamp people are looking for alligators!

 

 

 

 

And we have alligators at Lake Martin!

 

 

 

 

But, this time of the year the water is so warm alligators mostly stay in the water,

 

 

 

 

and as you can see below, they make me work to get close to them.

 

 

 

And speaking of warm, it is the time of year when the tropical flowers emerge from the swamp mud,

and as you can see below, the American Lotus now being in full bloom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is something else brought to my attention by the guests in the photo below.

 

 

They came to me after getting out of one of the other boats at Lake Martin because they refused to be

 

 

 

 

 

 packed in like sardines in a boat that operates like the tourists traps around New Orleans.

 

 

I like for my guests to have leg room to stretch out as you can see below.

 

 

 

 

 

And my smaller boat can go where other larger barge type tourist traps could never pass

as you can see below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because I go where other boats cannot go, you never know what we may see,

such as the Wood Storks below

 

 

Right on schedule they arrived in June as they do every year to nest in the area.

 

 

 

 

So if you would like to join me, I am Marcus de la Houssaye,

I was swamp people before Swamp People was cool!

 

 

I am a native Cajun, a native American, and an American Sovereign.

 

 

 I will be the man driving the boat,

as I am a one man, one boat operation, and most importantly,

 I keep my groups small, so we can get to know one another.

 

I am located near Lafayette, Louisiana and launch my tours from Lake Martin landing.

You can get directions by clicking on the link above, and going to the bottom of the page,

and click on the link to Directions.

 

 

If you would like more information, I can be reached by cell phone at 337 298 2630.

 

 

A New Book by Anne Butler

Louisiana Swamp Tours come in many forms and Anne details them all in her new book. 'Louisiana Swamp Tours, The Definative Guide' has just been published by Pelican Publishing Company. It is written by Anne Butler and I highly recommend you get it if you are thinking about doing a swamp tour. She includes some very useful educational info and a great history of the industry, as well describing the variety and style of many of the small Louisiana tour companies operating from Lafayette to New Orleans.



You can click the link above to go to Amazon and buy it now.


Introduction to
Louisiana Swamp Tours
The Definitive Guide:
Think if you've been on one swamp tour, you've seen them all? Think again. Louisiana has a huge diversity of swamps and wetlands, and the tours through these areas vary enormously according to focus---bird roosts, alligators, big cypress and tupelo gum trees, plenty of wildlife. Many of the guides have spent lifetimes learning the secrets of the swamps as professional fishermen, alligator hunters, trappers, guides, or lumbermen, and they share with passengers their love of the areas and their deep concerns over the fragility of the environments. Illustrated with dozens of fine nature images by award-winning photographer Henry Cancienne, this book contains everything you need to know about every swamp tour in the state. Available from Pelican Publishing and bookstores or from the author.

A Louisiana Swamp Tour Guide

After 25 years of doing my Louisiana swamp tour, I have been able to share the things about the Louisiana wetlands that I love with many people who truly appreciated them. The people who came on my Louisiana swamp tours taught me ways to experience nature I had never known, such as bird watching and photography. In time, due to my Louisiana swamp tour business, I have come to recognize the importance of Louisiana tourism as a means of protecting the environment, through education and the experience of being on Louisiana swamp tours in these wonderful wild places.


To preserve and restore coastal Louisiana we must first understand what it was before we began logging the cypress forests, building roads and bridges, digging canals for navigation and drainage, dredging the barrier reef, and worst of all constructing levees to “protect” the delta from flooding.

More recently, in observation of some of the projects being installed to fight coastal erosion, one must consider if we are doing more harm than good. To quote writer Wendell Berry; “We cannot know what we are doing until we know what nature would be doing if we were doing nothing.” We will not preserve what we do not love and we cannot restore what we do not understand from a historical perspective.

I grew up in coastal Louisiana hunting and fishing the swamps and marshlands with my father and never imagined that in my lifetime I could witness the loss or collapse of this immense ecosystem. We lived off the land eating fish, frogs, turtle, alligator, shrimp, crab, crawfish, oyster, deer, rabbit, squirrel, duck, and goose. The abundance of seafood and game was so great in the wetlands that we always had a freezer full of seafood and meat, and a surplus to share with family and friends.

Before I ever did Louisiana swamp tours, or had built my houseboat and moved into the Atchafalaya basin swamp to live full-time, I thought I would share that experience with family and friends. After I got there, nobody came unless they hunted or fished. And too many of those “consumers” in my opinion did not really appreciate what we had, and therefore made no contribution to care for or guard the resources therein.

To truly love the vast wetlands you need to go out into it and explore the swamps and marshlands, experience the sunrises, eat the fish, photograph the flowers, hunt the game, watch the birds, smell the salt air, feel the wind, and hear the sound of silence.

If you love the swamps and marshlands like we do, then you will enjoy the content and pictures in this website for their entertainment, research, and educational value. Use the public facilities and support the commercial businesses listed here for your outdoor pleasure, and make every effort to educate our youth regarding responsible use and stewardship of these fine recreational, natural resources available in Louisiana.

This website has been created to help visitors coming to Louisiana understand what a swamp and marsh is and find quality tour attractions that present educational and entertaining services without destroying the environment or threatening the wildlife that live in those environs.

I will give a list of businesses and locations that are my favorites and qualify to be mentioned. That list will evolve and be updated as quickly as I can evaluate new attractions and locations that I discover. This website is not now nor will it ever be a finished or complete list of locations or attractions. If you are a seasoned tourist or a newcomer to Louisiana, I encourage you to leave your comments and questions on the blog and assist in the creation and maintenance of this guide to Louisiana swamp tours in the wilderness wetlands in Louisiana.

Marcus de la Houssaye
www.delahoussayes.com