Lake Martin, La. - There are some mornings in certain places that are more special than others.
Imagine a day on a cypress tree-filled lake, where a perfectly full moon is setting in the west at the same time that day breaks in the opposite sky. It’s a wonderful moment in nature that most of us sleep through.
As the soft glow of our celestial neighbor slips behind the moss-covered tree line, the eastern sky turns pastel. This moment on Lake Martin is when the birds begin their early morning chorus and take flight. One of south Louisiana’s natural treasures slowly comes to life.
"A lot of people don’t see what we seen this morning or other mornings. Just to sit here and absorb the nature of it. It’s a beautiful place all on its own. It’s paradise," said Bryan Champagne, a local tour guide.
Champagne, who owns Champagne’s Swamp Tours, was born a few miles away from Lake Martin near Breaux Bridge. Champagne used to work as a sewing machine mechanic until the nearby Fruit of the Loom plant shut down. Then he ran airboats for oil companies. Now, he supports his family doing swamp tours on the lake where he grew up.
"Doing swamp tours for a living and bringing people from all over the world was something that was probably the furthest away thing from my mind so to speak.
"And that’s what made me realize how beautiful this place is after I started doing swamp tours. Hey, look, this is something people want to see and it’s here today and it could be gone tomorrow so cherish it while it’s here and show people as much as you can."
And Champagne knows that much of this cypress forest did vanish with the logging industry in the 1890’s and early 20th century. Some trees bear the fatal scars of the lumberjack.
"You can still see the ring cut or girder cut we call it around that kills the tree because that’s the life of it. But they also took off the tops and the branches and then they were left to die, dry up and become light."
The tourists who come to Lake Martin all want to see alligators. The large reptiles thrive there where they are protected from hunting. From babies only inches long to giant adults, perhaps the mother, 50 yards away from her young.
"I just tell people to look for something that looks like an old tire. They eat at night and sun themselves during the day, all day long - so no worries in the world."
A century ago, this area was bottom land hardwood swamp that would flood seasonally. But a levee built in the early 1950’s has turned it into a permanent lake. And Lake Martin has become a magnet for migratory birds.
In fact, the lake has one of the largest collections of wading and migratory birds in the country. You can hear the whistle of a giant osprey and see the noble beauty of a great blue heron.
"And sometimes we just go in the swamp and after I talk about things we just sit there and be quiet. Just listen to the sounds of the birds, the wind, the leaves and stuff like that. And if you’re always in a rush and what not, you’ll never hear that. And that’s just sounds that make you realize that hey, this is special here"
You can’t help being absorbed by the wildness, the beauty, and the peaceful nature of Lake Martin.
