Trip to Cumberland Island (August 2006)

Built in 1721 by the British to defend the southern frontier from Spanish and French intrusion, Fort King George was the southernmost fortification of the British Colonial Empire, and a monumental step towards the establishment of Georgia. Today, it stands reconstructed in the town of Darien, Georgia.

A word of warning: This park has very bad painful biting flies. When they bite, it feels like you are getting pinched by sharp tweezers. Bring bug spray, and wear long sleeves/pants. Ouch.

If you go to Cumberland Island, be sure to make reservations on the ferry, which takes about 45 minutes to get from St. Marys to Cumberland Island. There are limited spaces, and some parts of the year are fully booked, well in advance.
Bug spray and long pants are a necessity in the warmer, buggier months. (There is a reason we had the island almost all to ourselves.)

Here is an interesting web site including an old map with some different trails/roads, and a detailed timeline of Cumberland Island. Here are some more photos of Cumberland Island.

Items we missed on this trip: (a) visiting 'Goliath' the gator in Lake Whitney on the north end, (b) Greyfield Inn, just north of Sea Camp, and (c) touring the interior of Plum Orchard.

If you have time, take a day to see the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. It is definitely worth it to take a canal ride in a swamp boat.