The essence of an estate still in the texture of Old Florida is a harder and harder bill to fill these days, especially near the west coast of the state. While the beauty of the Everglades still has wide expanses in the Southern part of the state, there are still some untouched gems. It is hard to imagine a mixed ecosystem including some open area that looks like an African Savannah but this kind of beauty resides at Babcock Ranch Eco-Tours, occupying a former estate and lumber business from the early 1900s. Naturalist and tour guide Cheryl Dierken sat down with The Buzz to relate some history, and talk about the primal nature of the area and why its contents still hold a sense of magic.
The Buzz: Can you speak on the history of this land and its place in the folklore of “Old Florida”?
Cheryl Dierken: The Babcock family started a lumber business in 1887 up in Pennsylvania but in 1914, they chose to come to Florida. They chose this area because it had long leaf pine [which] have been here for over 100 years now. When the family started their business here, it was mostly lumber and then they moved into cattle. They became known throughout the whole world for the quality of their beef cattle.
The Buzz: Can you speak about the diversity of the ecosystems inside Babcock Ranch in terms of their geological and environmental structure?
CB: The tour itself is pretty unique because when Mr. Babcock planned it out, his friends suggested he needed to do a tour for people who couldn’t live out here. And he pretty much made sure people hit every ecosystem they possibly could in the smallest amount of space so they didn’t take over the whole ranch. So, on our tours, [guests] are going through what is called “prairier pasture”. We see fresh water marsh. We see the swamp. We go through the piney woods…[specifically] the pine flat wood. Now there are other areas on the ranch that are not included with the tours but we try to get as many as we can into it. And of course the swamp is absolutely breathtaking because we have right now because we have so much water.
Small gators like this make plenty of appearances during the tour. [Photo/Gray Lensman QX!-CC]
The Buzz: Can you talk about approach and viewing of your wildlife?
CB: We are in an old school bus with no windows or doors but we mainly go through water that’s about 2 ½ feet deep when we are out in the swamp. As we go about, we see whatever wildlife is roaming around. Some of the common things we see are white tailed deer. We have wild turkeys…the Osceola turkeys. Sometimes we’ll see wild hogs. [We have] all kinds of different birds…wading birds…hawks. We have eagles out here…of course fan tail cranes…great blue herons…just about anything you would see in Florida in this area…you can see out on our tour. Even some oddball things like a crested caracara which isn’t seen in too much of Florida except in this area. We also have a Florida Panther on the ranch that is wild. But we hardly get a chance to ever see him but we do have a Florida Panther in captivity that you can see up close and personal which is nice. We do have a couple exhibits. We have a red shouldered hawk that you can come visit. We have snakes and you are definitely going to see some gators. We have a gator actually on the buggy with us so you get to meet one up close and personal.
The Buzz: Can you speak about this area per se since Babcock is near Punta Gorda. Is there a certain essence of life?
CB: Well Punta Gorda is actually a little part of everything because it starts right down in Charlotte Harbor. You have the harbor and a little beach at the water there. But the further you get away…we are on the outer edge of Punta Gorda…you get into the “country”….we are nothing like being down in the city itself. [For example] Fisherman’s Village has all kind of unique shops in it. We are kind of one of the odd ball things here. We are trying to keep the history alive in the area. We like to see ourselves again as “Old Florida”. We are not all big stuff and rides. We are quiet…kicked back…it is actually really relaxing to come out here compared to Disney World where you are standing in lines.
The Buzz: Can you talk about the appeal to the outdoor enthusiast and the avid RVer?
CB: Our tour appeals to all ages because of the wildlife and because it is so beautiful. We do pull out a lot on the history of the ranch and of the area. I think all of us who do the tours love it. It is like telling our life story. This is my second home.
The Buzz: You also get to have unique experiences as a guide…
CB: It is really unique out here because the wildlife is used to the trucks and the buses going by. I’ll have animals walk right up to the bus sometimes just to check us out and see what we are all about. Yesterday when I was leaving I happened to look over and I saw a deer. So I of course stopped and got out my camera. Then I notice that there is something else [going on] here. She was giving birth to a fawn. It was like a little Chihuahua…they are so tiny down here. She allowed me to sit in my car and watch her clean her baby up. The baby stood up and looked around. I got his tail quivering because they will start stamping their foot to let you know you’re watching them. That is something you wouldn’t see, even if you had your own place. I have seen cattle giving birth…all kinds of baby birds hatching. [I get to see] some nests so up close that you can see what is going on. It is just much more close and personal than most places.
The Buzz: But there is a lot of history in these woods…
CB: Back in the 1920s, there was actually a town out here called Rueville and it was a lumber town. They had a train that would come in here. It would take out loads of lumber every week. We still have the old train trestle where the train would go across the water and then head down towards the ocean where they would load lumber onto the ships. If you read a lot about Florida history, you come across Punta Rassa, which is down near Sanibel. This is where the train went to the boat but it is also where the telegraph line ran to. From there though, [the line] went underwater all the way down to Cuba. We had trade with Cuba back then so that is how we communicated. You can still go down to Punta Rassa where it was sent but you can also see parts of the telegraph line on our tour. To top it off, it is also the exact [spot] where we heard about the start of the Spanish American war in 1898. Since we don’t have telegraphs anymore it is interesting to see people come out with their cell phones and take pictures of the telegraph line. It is way to touch back into the history. A lot has happened.
The Buzz: How would you describe this land?
CB: It is a little bit of all of it. You want to tell people that it has never been touched. But that is not true because this is where Babcock had his cattle but it was well taken care of. They have always done controlled burns and worked with the invasive plants. But they are trying to keep it “Good Florida”. To me especially, the swamp is my favorite place and when the water is in there, it is breathtaking. I had never seen a swamp before I came here…and when you go through with the reflection of all the trees and the birds flying through, it is gorgeous. When you have birds flying right along next to you, you go into a different world. We just have to remember to walk outside in today’s times because there is so much beauty around us. We tend to be in such a hurry most of the time so we can miss what’s there. Coming to this ranch, you can’t help but see the beauty.