Traditionally, getting lost on the water isn’t a good idea. However, we’ve found a sunset ecotour that educates, while keeping people out well after dark.
"Has anyone never been kayaking before?" Danny Lippi from Ripple Effect Ecotours asked the group.
Before the sun sets over Flagler County, folks grab a paddle and settle in for a different type of tour.
Lippi takes the adventurous out on 40,000 acres of conservation land along the Matanzas River for a lesson on the water.
"This ecosystem is called a salt marsh estuary," Lippi explained.
Ninety percent of this area is accessible by kayak, since the water is six inches deep.
"You realize the shallow depths and the intricacy of the twisty, title creeks, and the maze which we operate," said Chris Kelley, the owner of Ripple Effects.
"It's kinda like a little hidden secret,” said Lauren Hadeed from Palm Coast. “I didn't know something was like that in the town where I grew up in."
Folks like Lauren and her father Al watched the sunset together away from the pressures of life.
"Absolutely necessary for everyone in order to decompress, get away from all of the distractions, and the pressures of life to escape the intrusion of electronics," Al said.
As it becomes dark, the kayaks begin to glow, like red lanterns on the water.
"We call them the glowing firefly kayaks," Kelley said.
Tour guides with Ripple Effect Ecotours are certified with the University of Florida as Master Naturalist instructors.
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