We were driving from Charleston to Savannah in the afternoon so I really had limited time to visit a swamp. We had talked of visiting other swamp locations like Beidler Forest ( http://sc.audubon.org/audubon-center-sanctuary-francis-beidler-forest ) or Cypress Gardens (http://www.cypressgardens.info/ ) but for the sake of time chose to visit the one at Magnolia since we were there already.
We paid an additional $8 to tour the Audubon swamp at Magnolia Plantation. Most of the large gators are already in the shade for the day and there were only a few turtles out sunning in the heat.
We arrived around 11:30 which is kind of late to be touring a swamp. (Husband hitting his head took a bit of time. He had to clean up and stop the bleeding. And then I hit the gift shop for a few minutes after the gardens. ) For a Saturday there were not many visitors on the swamp trail. We only ran in to a couple of photographers.
There is an old grave yard to the right of the rookery.
This cute little guy was bobbing on a stick.
This guy swimming in the water is about 6 foot, I have heard there are larger gators here that are 10-12 foot. We did not see any that large.
There is a large shaded parking lot and air conditioned bathrooms for the trail. I would like to do this earlier in the morning next time.
The Audubon Swamp Garden is open 365 days a year until 5:30pm. Allow an hour for a self guided walk.
http://www.magnoliaplantation.com/swamp_garden.html