Botany Bay Plantation, Edisto, SC. Part I

Fairly alarming health problems have tethered me to the home computer for the past few weeks. So, why not use the time to present a few interesting places visited in the past?

(Click on photos below for larger images)

Though I was able a few days ago to spend a couple of hours kayaking on Sesquicentennial State Park’s small lake. Featured earlier in the month. Click here for a peek. It’s just across the road, after all! Here’s a photo of a great blue heron fishing there. Just as I snapped the photo a large cautious turtle sunning on a nearby log flopped into the water. Didn’t bother the heron one bit. He just continued his stilt-based quest for lunch, ignoring his hard-shelled companion’s warning of approaching danger. Now, Botany Bay Plantation on Edisto Island, South Carolina, has to be placed near the top of any list of interesting destinations. It’s a magical place, well beyond my descriptive abilities. You really will have to visit and experience the atmosphere yourself. I wrote about Edisto Beach State Park during a camping trip there back in February. And about the Edisto area. If you’ve visited the South Carolina Coast and haven’t stopped at Edisto, you’ve missed a treat. It’s an experience quite different from Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach, or even nearby Beaufort.

And Botany Bay Plantation, at least for me, represents the very best of Edisto Island’s natural scenery. Driving toward the beach on Route 174 it’s easy to miss the left-hand turn onto Botany Bay Road. There are signs. But they’re unobtrusive, to say the least.

Here’s a map that may help. Start to watch for the turn not long after you pass the Old Post Office Restaurant and Gift Shop. They’re on the left-hand side of 174. Can’t miss ‘em. You’ll soon see the Allen AME Church set well back from the road on the left. And if you slow down, you can see the celebrated “Mystery Tree” out in the marshy field on the right. Click here for a photo and explanation of that Edisto phenomenon. After puzzling over the latest decorations on the Mystery Tree, make a sharp left onto Botany Bay Road, and follow the signs.

The majestic arbor of live oaks you see in the photo above begins to prepare you for the Plantation itself. The dirt road is well graded. But drive slowly, taking your time, so you don’t miss any of those magnificent trees. Each one has a shape and character all its own.

Too soon, it seems, you’ll arrive at the entrance to Botany Bay Plantation. Sign in at the kiosk on the right, and begin your adventure! Stay tuned for more photos of this enchanting place.

Click here to see Botany Bay: Part II