It is home to alligators, crocodiles, lizards, snakes and the most amazing range of bird life that you can imagine. The whole region is a National Park and there are a number of entry-points. We entered by way of Florida City (which is a city in the sense that Archer City where they filmed The Last Picture Show is a city) and found a well-appointed camp-site with facilities for canoeing, guided boat-trips and an excellent on-site tourist center and food-store. Camping in the Everglades is civilized and problem-free, except for the local mosquitoes who give visitors the opportunity to contribute to the food-chain that ultimately supports the ten-thousand alligators and three-to-four hundred highly-endangered American crocodiles. It's only fair really.

Baby alligators are little yellow-and-brown striped things, entirely different from their parents. Both crocodiles and alligators care for their young, and often carry them around tenderely in their mouths. It's a good idea not to approach them while they're doing this. We were able to see an alligator's nest from above by looking down from a specially constructed walkway.