is an ecotourism venture that generates the funds that support the river conservation efforts of the Savannah Riverkeeper, Inc. Click here to see GPS' Georgia Outdoors episode of our Coastal Plain Meander.
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Savannah Riverkeeper will host 6th annual Coastal Plain Meander on the Savannah River October 3-6, 2008
The Savannah Riverkeeper is once again teaming up with Bull River Cruises for its 6th Annual Costal Plain Meander, a 4 day educational expedition down the Savannah River. On October 3rd, a 45 foot pontoon boat and her passengers will leave the historical Riverfront Marina and Warehouse, and embark on one of the most unique and educational trips around. The Island Explorer will carry her passengers down the beautiful Savannah River, where wildlife abounds and humans are few and far between. Passengers will have the opportunity to learn about the importance of the river, her inhabitants, past and present, and the challenges and dangers that she is currently facing.
This journey departs from Augusta’s Riverfront Marina on Friday October 3rd and concludes at the docks of Savannah’s River Street on Monday October 6th. Reservations for all four days are preferred, but other packages are available. All packages include meals, ground transportation, and either camping or cabin accommodations. Participants will be returned by ground transportation to their cars at the point they joined the trip. The Costal Plain Meander offers an opportunity to get to really know the river that we all depend on and to learn how she is used and sometimes abused, all in a truly relaxed setting. Space is limited. All deposits are due by September 26th.
Rates:
Four days on the river + 3 nights camping (you supply camping gear)..…...$700
+ 3 nights with bed, roof and AC…………………........................$975
Three days on the river + 2 nights camping (you supply camping gear)……$550
+ 2 nights with bed, roof and AC..........................................$750
Two days on the river + 1 night camping (you supply camping gear)..…......$400
+ 1 night with bed, roof and AC..……………………......................$525
One day on the river + 3 meals.……………………………………………......................$225
For boat reservations or for questions about the trip contact Frank Carl (706) 364-5253; frank.carl@savannahriverkeeper.org; or Tonya Bonitatibus (706) 755-4839; TonyaBonitatibus@Savannahriverkeeper.org
The Savannah Riverkeeper, Inc. is a non-profit organization committed to protecting the water quality of the Savannah River and promoting enlightened stewardship of her unique heritage.
Fuller Description:
The Savannah Riverkeeper announces its Sixth Annual Coastal Plain Meander. It will leave Augusta Friday morning October 3rd, 2008 and arrive in Savannah Monday afternoon October 6th, 2008. Preference will be given to those who want to join us for all four days but the Riverkeeper will also offer one, two and three day packages with directions to the appropriate landings to meet the boat. Reservations and deposits (20%) must be submitted to Frank Carl (see above) by 5:00 PM September 26.
The Savannah Riverkeeper is again teaming with Bull River Cruises of Savannah to offer a ride down the river on a 45-foot triple pontoon boat. Limited land transportation will be available at each landing. All meals will be provided from lunch on Friday to lunch on Monday. Primitive campsites are available at each of the landings free of charge and transportation to the nearest motels is provided as part of the non-camping package (see above). There will be room in the van for a tent, a sleeping bag, and a suitcase for each passenger, but passengers are asked to pack sparingly.
The purpose of the trip is primarily educational, but story telling, marshmallow roasts and sing-a-longs are encouraged. We will gather on Friday morning at the Riverfront Marina and Warehouse on Prep Phillips Drive, itself an historic site representing the time when the river was a hub of commercial transportation. We will start loading at 7:30 and shove off the dock at 8:30 am. Progressing down the river we will get an on-the-water view of the heart of industrial Augusta, pass through the lock at the New Savannah Bluffs Lock and Dam, and then proceed unhindered toward Savannah.
As we proceed down river our surroundings become more remote and we slip into a more primitive and pristine setting. We will experience abundant wildlife, particularly birds and probably alligators. We will pass Jackson Landing about noon and Shell Bluff, where seashells from an ancient time abound, about two hours later. Just beyond Shell Bluff we enter the world of nuclear materials, where the only signs of civilization are the regular postings on the South Carolina shore that warn of imminent dangers to those who dare trespass.
With remoteness increasing as we travel, the first sighting of the twin towers of Plant Vogtle is always a surprise. But in our case, a pleasant surprise because our first landing will be just around the bend. We will spend Friday night at Hancock Landing, a well-maintained private landing just upstream from Plant Vogtle and across the river from the Savannah River Site. We have been promised access to the home at the landing (bathrooms other than the one on the boat and beds for the crew), but there is plenty of camping space outside for the campers. Dinner and supplies will be imported from Waynesboro. About 7:30 those noncampers with reservations in Waynesboro will be taken by van to their motels.
Saturday morning non-camping passengers will be picked up at their motels in Waynesboro and transported, along with the day’s supply of ice, back to the landing where breakfast will be served. Since the drive from Waynesboro to the landing is 20-30 minutes, we will have to leave Waynesboro by 7:00 AM so that our passengers can participate in a hardy breakfast at 7:30.
On the boat on Saturday morning we will pass Plant Vogtle with its intake from the river and its hot water return to the river and then stop for lunch at Little Hell Landing, one of the nicest landings on the river with an ever-flowing artesian well. About ten miles below Little Hell Landing is the Topper Site, an archeological dig near the river that is setting the theories of human habitation in the Western Hemisphere back several thousands of years.
Early Saturday afternoon we will reach the 301 bridge and Burton’s Ferry Landing, where there is another artesian well. The 301 bridge is the first bridge that we will come to after the bridges at Beech Island, just below Augusta.
Then it is on to Cohen’s Bluff Landing where we will camp for the night. Cohen’s Bluff has a dock, an artesian well, and plenty of camping space. Non-campers will stay at Lakeview Plantation; they have a few private rooms but mostly dorm rooms (8 beds/room). They may have a trail ride booked for that weekend, so we will need to get our reservations in early. It is only 3.5 miles from the landing, so we will have dinner and breakfast there. Campers will be transported on the van to the plantation for dinner and breakfast.
Soon after we get on the water Sunday morning we will pass the mouth of Brier Creek, the largest tributary in the lower Savannah. In our Sunday stretch we will also see several of the places where the Corps created a more direct route for the river, eliminating some of the meander. Indeed, our trip would be at least 40 miles longer if the Corps had not “straightened” the river. With the three major (and one minor) Corps Dams upstream and the “straightening” project and the navigational weirs all along the lower river, the Savannah is severely impacted by human activities in spite of the remoteness of the river between Augusta and Savannah.
Depending whether we get an early start or not, we can stop for lunch at either Blue Springs Landing or Stokes’s Bluff Landing. If Sunday turns out to be a warm, sunny day we can expect to see several gators Sunday afternoon. Whether it is warm or not, we are likely to see many different species of birds, possibly even an eagle or two. Just below Stoke’s Bluff Landing we will pass under the Route 119 Bridge. In this stretch of the river we will begin to encounter a higher density of other boaters, a gradual reintroduction to civilization.
About 15 miles below the Route 119 Bridge we will stop at Ebenezer Landing, where we will spend Sunday night. Ebenezer Landing is private, but we have permission to land there and to camp there. There is water at the site, but campfires are not allowed. Non-campers can walk up the hill to the Ebenezer Retreat, where we have reserved two cabins with 12 beds each. We will contract with the Retreat to feed us, so that even the campers will have to walk up the bluff to eat. In addition, Ebenezer Creek is close by, and we will ask a vendor to bring in canoes for those who want to explore Ebenezer Creek late Sunday afternoon.
Monday will be a short day on the river to allow time for transport home. Soon after we leave Ebenezer we will enter the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, so that, in spite of the urbanization around us, we will continue in a relatively pristine environment for the next twenty miles. In the midst of this pristine beauty we will cross under the I-95 Bridge, and soon after that the river splits into the Front River and the Back River. At this point (still within the Refuge) we will lose the distinction between Georgia and South Carolina because the state line follows the Back River and we will take the Front River. About two miles after the split we will pass Mulberry Grove Plantation where Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. Another three miles down river we will come to the Houlihan Bridge, which introduces us to Port Wentworth and the industrial section of Savannah.
There is a public landing immediately below the Houlihan Bridge. Any passengers who have private arrangements for a return home can also disembark here, since it will be much easier to park vehicles here than on River Street, where the other disembarkment will occur. The vans to transport the passengers back to their cars will meet us on River Street in Savannah. We will need to know how many people will need a ride upstream and where each will be going so that we can obtain enough transportation back upstream. Transport back to the landing at which each passenger entered the Meander is part of the contract. Transport beyond that point is negotiable.
It is expected that most of the passengers will need a ride back upstream, but there are volunteers who are willing to transport cars downstream so that those vehicles will be in Savannah (or Port Wentworth) when we get there. We will need to know if you want your vehicle driven to Savannah by a volunteer.
For any other information contact:
Frank Carl
Executive Director
Savannah Riverkeeper
(706)364-5253
frank.carl@savannahriverkeeper.org
OR
Tonya Bonitatibus
Development Officer
Savannah Riverkeeper
(706)755-4839
TonyaBonitatibus@savannahriverkeeper.org
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