Wildlife at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park & Sweetwater Wetlands | Florida Van Life Travel Vlog

Ep. 83: In this series, we’re exploring as much of the state of Florida as possible in our self-converted campervan. We’re on a mission to find and share beauty, interesting locations, and a few laughs along the way - all on the lowest budget possible! Today, we’re going in search of wild horses and bison and migrating birds at two beautiful prairie and wetland parks in Central Florida just south of Gainesville. The weather has been a bit of a challenge with rain and cold temps but we're trying to make the best of it and spot some wildlife between the rain! These locations are great for birding and wildlife viewing!

SWEETWATER WETLANDS PARK: More than 125 acres of wetlands and ponds with 3.5 miles of crushed gravel and boardwalk trails. This is a thriving habitat filled with vast numbers of plants and animals, including birds, butterflies, alligators and Florida cracker horses. Admission is $5/car.

PAYNES PRAIRIE PRESERVE STATE PARK: A Florida treasure. It’s a 21,000-acre savanna just south of Gainesville, home to herds of wild horses and bison, nearly 300 species of birds, and many other animals. The park has 8 trails and a 50-foot-high observation tower. We hiked park of the Cone's Dike trail where there had been sightings already of the horses and bison. Admission is $6/car.

MICANOPY, FLORIDA: This cute little town is one square mile and has around 650 residents. According to the town’s website, it’s the oldest inland town in Florida, founded after Spain relinquished Florida to the United States in 1821. This "Old Florida" town is nestled among moss-draped live oaks and features historic buildings and several antique shops.

VIDEO SEGMENTS:
00:00 Florida Travel Series
00:50 Birding at Sweetwater Wetlands Park
07:07 Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park
15:11 Micanopy, Florida

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👉 ABOUT US: We're Steve and Audra, DIYers from South Florida who share a passion for cheap travel, nature, wildlife, and adventure! We've been working on converting our 2019 Ford Transit high roof cargo van into a campervan and are sharing our build and adventures along the way - all while trying to do everything on the lowest budget possible! While building out our van, we've been traveling the country as much as possible with our adventure cat in training, Lady Gray Gray Gillespie Pinkerton. We invite you to follow along on our journey! If you have any questions, we’re happy to answer! Comment below or send us a message on Facebook or Instagram and we’ll respond as soon as possible. And please don’t forget to subscribe to our channel!

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MUSIC CREDITS:
Ice Flow by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song...
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...

Some sound effects courtesy of www.freesound.org

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#vanlife #birding #cheaptravel #florida