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Wild Lime Adventures

Wild Lime Adventures

Book Now OR 954.673.6647
  • Home
  • Shared Day Tours
    • #1 – Part Day: One Hour Air Boat Ride and Nature Walk with a Naturalist in Everglades National Park Tour
    • #2 – Full Day: Everglades Adventure Tour w/ Dry Hike Led by an Experienced Naturalist
    • #3 – Full Day: Everglades Adventure Tour w/ wet walk led by an experienced naturalist
    • #4 – Florida Keys Marine Eco Adventure
    • #5 – Full Day: Southern Everglades National Park: Dry hikes and kayak adventure!
  • Other Tours
    • #6 – One Hour Air Boat Ride and Little Havana Walking and Driving Tour w/ time for lunch
    • #7 – Full Day: Taste of the Tropics: Tantalizing Flavors and Cultural History of Homestead and Florida City
    • #8 – Part Day or Full Day: Birding and Photography Tour
    • #9 – Part or Full Day: Dynamic Group Team Building Tours / Events
    • #10 – Blue to Green Tour
    • #11 – Full Day: Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Snorkel and Lunch
    • #12 – Part or Full Day: Big Big Cypress: 3-Hour Swamp Buggy Tour and Scenic Eco and Cultural Experience
    • #13 – Part Day: Miami 4 Neighborhood Tour
    • #14 – Part Day: Fort Lauderdale’s Intimate and Eerie History along the New River
    • #15 – Full Day: Key West Personalized Tour
    • #16 – Part to Full Day: Special Event – Islamorada Snorkel and Sunset Sail w/ Food and Drink
    • #17: Multi-Day Tour 1: Off the Beaten Path in the Real Everglades and Florida Keys, and More!
    • #18: Multi-Day Tour 2: Islands in the Stream – Seaplane to Bimini, Old Key West, and the Dry Tortugas; in the Eyes of Hemingway
    • #19: Multi-Day Tour 3: The Fab Four: 3 National Parks and 1 National Preserve with an Experienced Naturalist Guide, plus Key West
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About Us

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

People ask us, “How did you come up with your company name Wild Lime Adventures?”

Here’s the story:

Because our tours focus on exploring the Florida that is off the beaten path from other typical Floridian tourist destinations, we wanted a representative species that would be emblematic of “Old Florida”. The wild lime tree (Zanthoxylum fagara) is a small, pretty tree native to South Florida and other parts of the Caribbean.

The wild lime tree grows as an understory tree in hammocks and coastal upland plant communities and tends to be found mainly on the leeward side of the coastal dune areas of South Florida.  The tree has some interesting ethnobotany: The Seminole Indians used the wood to make bows and arrows and it is prized for furniture making.

The leaves and bark can be crushed to make a pungent condiment. The fruit is edible (but requires great effort to collect since the fruit is quite tiny) and the fruit can be used as a numbing agent.

The aromatic flowers and fruits attract bees and other pollinators but the best visitor to the wild lime tree is the giant swallowtail (Papillo cresphontes) butterfly. The giant swallowtail is the largest butterfly in North America and it is quite striking!

The giant swallowtail females lay their eggs on the newly formed leaves which serve as food for the emerging caterpillars.   

This complex interdependence between the indigenous flora and fauna inspired our company name and logo.

We encourage you to come along with us as we “Find the Real Florida”

OUR PASSION: TO PRESERVE THE PLANET ONE ADVENTURE-TOUR AT A TIME!  We invite you to join us on one of our tours – to share in our passion – and to find the REAL Florida.

WHAT WE DO: Wild Lime Adventures is an eco-tour and cultural tour company, providing round-trip day-tours and multi-day tours from anywhere in South Florida to places like the Florida Keys, Everglades National Park, and Big Cypress National Preserve - and other locations in South Florida.

OUR MISSION: We take our guests beyond the regular touristic type activities – so they learn about the natural ecology of the places they visit and have fun while becoming immersed in authentic nature and cultural adventures. Our guests bond with family and friends through each adventure and create memories that will last a lifetime. These personalized experiences are led by experienced naturalists, marine biologists, and local expert guides.

CHARITABLE GIVING: Wild Lime Adventures is proud to support Free Our Seas in its mission to raise awareness for protecting our oceans and Moraes, a non-profit organization that supports local marine ecologists in scientific research and conservation. We are pleased to donate a small portion from each paid tour to these vital organizations. Visit http://www.freeourseas.org and https://www.soflomoraes.com for more information.

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Contact Us

Drop Us A Line

Address
Hollywood, FL
Phone
954.673.6647
Email
ben@wildlimeadventures.com



    Meet the Team

    Stacy – Lead Biologist & Interpretive Guide

    Stacy was born and raised in Southeastern Ohio, where she spent a lot of her time exploring nearby woods and streams. Stacy received a B.S. in Biology from Marietta College, and worked as a naturalist for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. She always dreamed of being a mermaid so she moved to Florida to pursue her passion – marine biology. She has a double M.S. degree in Marine Biology and Coastal Zone Management. Her doctoral degree focused on getting people out in nature and curing what Richard Louv coined “nature deficit disorder.” She is a certified Florida Master Naturalist and Florida Master Naturalist Instructor. She has led hundreds of tours to the Everglades, Florida Keys and state parks. Stacy is most at peace alone in nature or snorkeling and scuba diving with her family. Stacy agrees with H.J. Brown Jr.: That “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than the ones you did do.”

    Ben – Director of Tours & Interpretive Guide

    Ben is a South Florida native. Growing up, he spent a good amount of time outdoors: enjoying the beach and playing sports. However, it wasn’t until he began scuba diving in his twenties that he developed a passion for ocean ecology and nature. As a child, Ben dreamed of playing in the NBA, but when that never came close to materializing, he worked as a college professor instead. He has led hundreds of tours to the Everglades, the Florida Keys, and other places of interest. Ben holds a B.A. in Economics, a M.A. in English Literature, and a doctorate degree in Leadership. He loves spending time with his wife and two kids; and greatly enjoys traveling, reading, gardening, and drinking Flor de Cana rum. Ben is a scholar of the writer Joseph Conrad; and he lives by the motto: “When you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing,” by Dr. Seuss.

    Mike – Naturalist & Interpretive Guide

    Mike is a multi-generation Florida native. He grew up on the water – out in the Atlantic Ocean off Palm Beach and the Florida Keys, and out in the Gulf of Mexico off southwest Florida. You could say Mike inherited his passion for the outdoors and the ocean from his father and grandfather, who started a family business along the Miami River over 75 years ago.  Mike earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida. He played some football there too, but when his dreams of making it to the NFL didn’t pan out, he returned to his other love – the outdoors. The Florida wilds and waterways run deep in his veins, certainly evident when he trades in some of the lore of Old Florida. Mike has led hundreds of trips through the real Everglades and down in the Keys. His hobbies include fishing, diving, kayaking and hiking through the Glades. Possessing the true spirit of exploration, he embodies the words of Jimmy Buffet: “As the son of the son of a sailor, I went out on the sea of adventure.”

    Darren – Naturalist & Interpretive Guide

    Darren grew up in central California where he fostered a love for the natural environment while camping and hiking in the High Sierra. After earning a B.S. in Biological Sciences at San Diego State University, Darren moved to coastal Georgia where he developed his skills as a naturalist while working in an ecological research lab that focused on large reptiles in urban environments. He enjoyed research, but he also discovered he had a passion for environmental education; teaching others how to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts and conserve vital ecosystems. Darren enjoys gardening, walking his dogs, spending time with his wife, and trying not to fall off while paddle boarding, a new sport for him. In the face of the enormous environmental challenges we face, Darren loves being able to share his incredible knowledge and passion for conservation with others one adventure tour at a time. On each trek through nature, Darren contemplates the wisdom of renowned High Sierra conservationist, John Muir, who believed that “in every walk in nature one receives far more than he seeks.”

    Olena – Naturalist & Consultant

    Olena was born and raised in Ukraine. She grew up in the shadows of Chornobyl, and so began her journey of becoming a fierce advocate for the environment. As a child she loved to read the Adventures of Tom Sawyer; and saw herself as a modern-day Tom, a child with a similar unabashed enthusiasm for exploring and questioning the world around her. Olena earned a B.S. in Ecology and Environmental Protection at Khmelnytsky National University in Ukraine, and a M.S. in Geosciences from Florida Atlantic University. Her graduate research centered on solar energy systems and wildlife corridors of Florida. While becoming an expert on the movement and habitats of wildlife, she has learned it is impossible not to fall in love with the Everglades and other natural areas of Florida. She has led hundreds of trips through the Glades and other wildlife areas and is a Florida Master Naturalist. Olena currently is employed by the South Florida Water Management district and is a Ph.D. candidate at FAU. Olena also loves reading, gardening and traveling with her husband; and agrees with Henry David Thoreau: that “all good things are wild and free.”

    Lance – Educational Programs Consultant

    Lance grew in the beautiful mountains of Eastern Tennessee – Spending hours walking through the woods, observing wildlife and listening to the sounds of the forest. Lance is a trained wildlife biologist and has earned a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Management from Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee. On his 12th birthday, he decided to become a world-famous scientist. Impressed by his son’s conviction, Lance’s dad bought him SCUBA lessons so he could continue his love of exploring. He has never looked back. Years later when Lance moved to Florida, he continued his pursuit of marine sciences, and began to study environmental sustainability. Lance has completed the Wilderness Waterway canoe trail and many sections of the Florida Scenic Trail; and has led thousands of people through the Everglades and other natural areas of Florida. Lance is currently the Environmental Sustainability Manager at the Museum of Discovery and Science. Lance enjoys camping and spending time with his wife and two kids. As an environmental educator, Lance lives with the wisdom of Wendell Berry – that “the earth is what we all have in common.”

    Chris – Consultant, Naturalist & Interpretive Guide

    Chris is a Florida native. Growing up on the boundary of the Everglades, he spent much of his youth exploring the wild places near his home. That childhood sense of exploration at one point had Chris wanting to run away and join the circus. He never made a career under the big top, but his passion for nature and adventure did lead him to a career with the National Park Service. He has worked as a park ranger with Everglades National Park and Yosemite National Park; and has received certification as a Wildland Firefighter. He has also worked as an environmental educator and has developed a talent for imitating various animal sounds. An avid hiker, Chris has completed sections of the Appalachian, John Muir and Pacific Crest trails. He enjoys rock climbing, cycling, paddling and gardening. For Chris, fulfillment is all about perspective: He lives by the quote, “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see,” by Henry David Thoreau.

    GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE

    Details and Ideas: You may purchase several if you'd like. There is no expiration date. When you make the purchase, it will provide you with an email confirmation and a reward code, which you can then use to make any reservation in the future. You can decide at this time to make a reservation or decide some time down the road.

    Do you want to give it as a gift? You can gift it to a friend, colleague, loved one, or whomever! You can simply provide that person with the reward code you receive. Or we can also send you a gift certificate, so that you have something nice and tangible to give to that person. You will have the reward code too, but just let us know, by email or phone after making the purchase, if you would like us to also send you the gift certificate!

    We look forward to experiencing a wonderful adventure with you!

    Click Here!
    or call us 954.673.6647

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    About

    We are an eco-tour and cultural tour company in South Florida. At Wild Lime Adventures, we lead exciting round-trip day-tours and multi-day tours to places like Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, the Florida Keys, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale (and to other destinations). We specialize in personalized, small group shared tours; as well as immersive private and group tours. Please let us know if you have any questions about any of our existing tours, or if you would like to design the perfect private group or corporate group experience; or find out more about our one-of-a-kind corporate team building events. Thank you for contacting us. We look forward to going on an adventure with you!

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    954.673.6647
    Hollywood, FL
    ben@wildlimeadventures.com

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