LAFAYETTE, La. (InvestigateTV) — Before sunrise, Lake Martin is almost silent.
Lake Martin is home to a significant number of species including the great blue heron, the great egret, and of course alligators.
The lake is a short drive from Lafayette and was created in the 1950s when a five-mile levee was built around an area that already had an existing swamp.
A small lake like this in Louisiana offers an enormous amount of beauty.
A thin veil of fog floats just above the water as photographers from Europe quietly launch their kayaks into a south Louisiana cypress swamp.
For this international tour group, the early morning light and a lingering full moon turn Lake Martin into something magical.
“It’s completely different to our landscape in Switzerland. So, uh, yeah, we have the mountains, we have the Alps, but we don’t have such nice lakes with the cypress,” said Thomas Heitmar, a tourist from Switzerland.
Heitmar organizes photography tours around the world. This stop is the climax of a trip to Louisiana.
“This is our highlight here, Lake Martin and then Lake Fausse Pointe this afternoon. And then we are heading back to New Orleans,” Heitmar said.
Spotting a bald eagle high in a treetop adds to the excitement.
Natasha Marxer, along with her husband Dieter, are visiting from Liechtenstein.
“We have always been told that it’s a nice place for nature wildlife. So, and we like that,” Dieter Marxer said.
Mike VanEtten of Lafayette, who assists as a local guide, said Lake Martin is a favorite.
“I get people, a mixture of locals outta state and international visitors,” VanEtten said. “The combination of the wildlife, the cypress trees with the Spanish moss, maybe a little mist, and then the sun shining through. That’s pretty much what’s getting a lot of the photographers coming here this time of year.”
Robert Meniconi is also visiting from Switzerland. For him, it was the different environment and to meet people across the pond.
“The nice people in USA. There were a lot of things. The music culture, fun nature, photography,” Meniconi said.
There is one more stop for these photographers. They’re back on the water for a late afternoon paddle on Lake Fausse Pointe. It’s home to some of Louisiana’s largest old growth cypress trees. The age, some more than a thousand years old, shows in the large twisted cypress roots.
The setting sun and the return of a full moon provide an ending for a day surrounded by cypress giants, and the shimmering reflection of a world class landscape.
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