All about the tours offered for online booking.
Kayak or Bust
Complex currents sweep through ocean Inlets, tidal rivers, and vast wetlands in St. Augustine like no other place. The protected and pristine Estuary System in St. Johns County create a dynamic playground for adventure. Kayaks take you out there safer with more flexibility than any other craft can; not even a paddle board. Maybe a Helicopter could drop you in… but then what?
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Most tour companies in the St. Augustine area provide world class Eco Tours. GeoTours are an EcoExperience! Not a run of the mill ‘EcoTour’ with their ‘this is this and that is that’. Instead, GeoTrippin’ creates fun, interesting, and memorable adventures. Learn through experience. Explore and discuss diverse and dynamic GeoConcepts and EcoSystems. Who wants to sit through a lecture on the weekend or vacation? For that… you gotta book a tour elsewhere.
Be Prepared
A Local Kayaking Guide is critical if you are unsure of your kayaking skills. Avoid confusing, strong, and turbulent tidal currents when kayaking in St. Augustine, FL.
Vibe on These Dynamics
We insist on small groups to minimize impacts on the delicate Ecosystems and Biospheres being explored. To maintain small group dynamics, large groups are broken up into waves. GeoTrippin’Sightseeing Tours and epic GeoAdventures navigate much tighter terrain than your average commercial Eco Tour outfitter in St. Augustine. Close groups travel at the perfect speed. Get deep in a swamp, tight under a camouflaged tunnel, go further up a creek, trek to hidden GeoTreasures, or lounge on deserted shores. Your world has limitless GeoTrip options to experience. Complete your Kayaking Bucket List or browse our website for ideas. Custom trips are our specialty! GeoTrip Regularly.
Kiss Mother Nature.
Background Information Paddling
Paddling has played a role in human history for at least 6,000 – 8,000 years. Early canoes and kayaks were used for transportation, survival (hunting and fishing), and trade. The earliest canoes were likely dugouts. They were made through an extensive process of carving and burning trees into a hollow craft. Dugouts were used by people throughout the world, from the West Indies, Africa, and the Middle East to North and South America. Native Americans in the northern region of the continent created birchbark canoes. Bark from white birch trees composed the structure of the canoe. Roots from white pines were used to sew the birch together. The seams were sealed with pine resin. Wood from white cedars was used for the internal frame. The design and materials were lighter and more maneuverable than dugout canoes. The birchbark canoe quickly became the chosen means of transportation for Native Americans. As French explorers and fur traders arrived in North America during the 17th century, they too adopted it to navigate rivers and lakes. Marquette, Joliet, and Lewis and Clark used this style of canoe while traveling. Until the late 19th century, the birchbark canoe was the fastest way to cross the continent.
Kayaks were created by native people of North America. Eskimos used kayaks for centuries to hunt and fish. They were made by attaching seal skins over frames of wood and/or bone until they were almost completely covered. This made the kayak light and streamlined. The British brought the kayak design to Europe in the late 19th century. A few people used it for recreation, but popularity increased after John MacGregor made a lighter and smaller version that was more maneuverable on white water rivers. Canoeing, like bicycling, reached its height of popularity at the turn of the 20th century. Since style often mattered more than performance, recreational canoes were often elaborately decorated, with wide beams and long ornate decks. Canoeing and kayaking first were included in the Olympics in the 1936 Berlin Games. After World War II, Grumman Aircraft Corporation began making aluminum canoes. Fiberglass canoes followed in the 1950s. The low cost and functionality of these new crafts swept the market and they became the most popular types sold. Fiberglass kayaks became the norm around the same time, but remained less popular than canoes in America. Paddling Now… Modern kayaks and canoes share the same basic design as the birchbark ones Eskimos used. Although today’s canoes and kayaks are made differently, their popularity remains. In 2002, 20.6 million Americans paddled in canoes.
The popularity of paddling has risen 50 percent in the past seven years. Kayaking is now one of the fastest growing outdoor sports in the country. In a 2001-2003 survey, 10.2 million Americans paddled in kayaks. There are many reasons for the popularity of these sports. Many people live hectic lives and want to get away for passive recreation. Paddling allows participants to see wildlife/nature from a different perspective than hiking, biking, or motorboating. Canoeing and kayaking are family sports that can be done on a nearby lake for an hour or on a river camping at various sites along the way. The relatively low cost and ease of care for equipment are other reasons people enjoy paddling.
Gettin’, Gettin’, Gettin’, Kinda Epic.