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 Cruising through Darien's Swamp Now I wouldn’t necessarily think of putting together the words kayaking and swamp into the same activity, but that’s exactly what I did today. The Believe It Tour team ventured deep into the Dairen, Georgia swamp via kayak on a quest for Darien’s legendary sea monster, Altamaha-ha or Altie.
We met up with Danny Grisette, who runs Altamaha Coastal Tours, who was our guide for our exciting adventure. We decided that a kayak trip through the various waterways around the area would be the best way to experience the natural habitat and see if we might have an Altie encounter.
The tour started out in Buffalo Swamp, which is considered a tidal forest. A tidal forest is an area with plants and trees that are tolerant of salt water and can withstand the rise and fall of tidal flows. The swamp was filled with amazing plants like swamp blackgum, tupelo, and cypress trees. As we paddled down the narrow waterways Danny regaled us with interesting facts about the plants we were seeing, the animals we were hearing, and the general ecology of the area.
As were moving from the Buffalo Swamp into the Cathead Creek area, Danny related his own story of Altie. A few years ago, when exploring the swamp alone, he saw something large, smooth, and mysterious looking in the water. He knew it wasn’t an alligator, but thought he must be seeing a monster of some sort. Was it Altie? Actually, about 10 minutes after thinking that Danny realized it was a wandering manatee and not Altie. However, he did say that other locals have had a number of supposed Altie encounters.
To read more about Altie and the folklore around the sea monster visit our earlier post on Darien’s sea monster at Altie or Altamaha-ha of Darien, Georgia
Once we entered the Cathead Creek area it seemed as though we were in a different land. The Cathead Creek waterway was formed from irrigation canals for old rice fields. The passageway we went down was narrow and difficult to pass in spots, but it was beautiful. However, I have to admit that I did have my own exciting encounter in this area. I was slowly navigating a narrow spot when I caught some movement to my left. It was an alligator sliding from the bank into the water right next to me. While it gave me a bit of an adrenaline rush I’m happy to report that was all there was to my encounter. Obviously, had something gone awry I wouldn’t be writing this right now! For people that kayak in the waters it’s a regular occurrence and no one really thinks twice about it according to our guide.
After about a three-hour trip through the swamp our journey finally came to a close. While we didn’t spot Altie or have any unexplained encounter we did have an absolutely amazing kayaking trip through the swamp that only strengthened our appreciation for the beauty of Georgia and Darien in particular.
 Raystown Lake in Pennsylvania Home to Ray Nessie may be the big name in the cryptozoology world when it comes to lake monsters, but we have many legends of our own right here in the United States. With all of the event promotions around Believe It Tour’s “Champ Camp – Weekend with a Lake Monster” I thought it would be fun to take a look at American lake monsters this 4th of July weekend.
Champ is the name given to the mysterious creature said to be lurking in the waters of Lake Champlain located between New York, Vermont, and Canada. There have been over 300 documented sighting of the lake monster with a mass sighting by 86 people during a lake cruise in July of 1984 on the Spirit of Ethan Allen. Sightings of Lake Champlain’s lake monster have been reported as far back as the 1600s.
In addition to Champ, Believe It Tour has explored several other famous areas where lake creature sightings have been reported. You might recall our previous report on the Flathead Lake Creature of Montana or the one on Tarpie, the Lake Tarpon Monster, in Florida from the 2008 Summer Tour. In 2009, during the Weird, Wacky, Wild California Tour, we were excited to meet the creator of Tahoe Tessie, Bob McCormick. Tahoe Tessie was a name Bob came up with so that his children and their friends wouldn’t be afraid to swim in the lake after reports of Lake Tahoe having a large, unknown monster hiding in the depths of the mountain lake.
This year, during a couple of road trips, we were able to make a few side stops to research different lakes and gather information for future exploration and investigations of lake monster sightings. One such stop was in Darien, Georgia where they have their own resident sea serpent, Altie or Altamaha-ha. After exploring the area and learning more about Altie, we decided to include further investigation into the sightings and legend of this river monster on the upcoming “Quest for Eternal Youth” trip.
The other spot we explored was in Pennsylvania with Raystown Ray, the lake monster that allegedly lives in Raystown Lake located in Huntingdon County. This lake monster was even featured in a recent production for the SYFY Channel. The first documented sighting of Ray was in 2006, but according to locals the sightings actually go back much further.
Other creatures that are on our list of upcoming cryptid adventures are South Bay Bessie, the lake monster swimming in the waters of Lake Erie, and a Chesapeake Bay monster named, Chessie.
Do you know of other lake monsters or sea serpents you we should look for on future adventures? We’d love to hear from you, so post your comments below.
During a recent road trip to Florida, on a research and information gathering journey, I came across an interesting Georgia cryptid. Altie, short for Altamaha-ha, appears to be the center of attention for the Darien Georgia Visitor Center. The story captured my attention and the people at the visitor center were more than happy to tell me their story.
According to their brochure, it was the Tama Indian tribe that in the early 17th century passed on stories of a giant snake-like creature that made its home in the marshes at the mouth of the Altmaha River. This was prior to the English settling along the same river, which was named after a Yamasee Indian Chief. There are even still sightings of the Darien Sea Monster being reported by locals. Recently, fisherman who were on the river say Altie hit their boat with its tail as it swam underneath. Others give details of a creature that has emerged just long enough to get air before submerging itself once again.
The main description of Altie is of a creature that moves in an up-and-down motion that looks like the classic Loch Ness Monster photograph. Its size ranges anywhere from 10 to 50 feet long. The creature also has a large snake-like head and coloring that ranges from grayish brown to green along the top with a lighter underbelly.
After hearing the stories about Altie it was then my turn to share my reason for stopping and why I was so interested in cryptids. To make a long story short, we exchanged contact information and, with the wonderful southern hospitality Georgia is known for, I can say that Believe It Tour plans on returning for a shrimp boat tour searching for Darien’s Sea Monster, Altamaha-ha (Altie). Stay tuned.
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