Adventures in the Alligator River Refuge
Jan 11, 2022
A funny story I heard second-hand is that of a kayak guide leading a tour in Alligator River. This tour mostly goes through protected canals in wooded areas. Guides will lead you on a quiet, relaxing trip, stopping occasionally to talk about the history, flora, and fauna. This particular guide was leading his convoy of kayaking tourists down one of the canals when, directly in front of him, out of the bushes, storms a black bear. The bear plows in to the canal, swims to the other side, climbs out, and keeps running. The whole event probably lasted just a few seconds. Here's the thing, I've done quite a bit of kayaking, including Alligator River. There's not a lot of room to hide in a kayak. You're in a slow moving vessel and while you're paddling down these little canals you can't go left, can't go right, and, with ten kayaks behind you, you can't go backwards. You can only stop or go forward. If I'm the tour guide I'm probably in the same situation as Austin Powers in the video clip below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP08RMumatI
Fortunately, this bear had no interest or intention of interacting with the tourists. I should also mention that this event is an enormous outlier, the only one I've ever heard like it.
Several companies offer kayak tours of Alligator River and the chances of seeing an alligator are very high (sorry, no good alligator stories). Coastal Kayaks https://www.outerbankskayaktours.com/ is a company that does a great job talking about, not just the habitat, but also the historical logging and moonshine businesses that used to be prevalent n the area. You'll be surprised to hear there used to be a community there called Buffalo City.
Fortunately, you don't have to get in a kayak to see all the wildlife. An often overlooked place to visit near the Outer Banks is the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. This should be a go-to destination when the ocean or weather conditions reduce your activities to eating and shopping. You can drive around the country roads of the Refuge in your car (ideally at dawn or dusk) and look for animals from the climate-controlled comfort of your vehicle. Besides the alligators (which you can occasionally see from the road), there are excellent chances of spotting bear and a small chance of seeing red wolves. You could also see deer, coyote, mink, otter, and birds of prey.
Here's a link to the park's web site where you can find addresses, maps, and ideas. https://www.fws.gov/refuge/alligaotr_river/visit/plan_your_visit.html
If you enjoy a little murder mystery, this story from Outside Magazine is about an interesting lady who use to live near Alligator River. You'll get a peak behind the curtain as to the environment and culture in this area. https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/exploration-survival/what-killed-bear-lady/
I hope this helps you to find a little adventure on the Outer Banks.
Best Wishes, John Van Lunen
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