One of the perks of my ‘real” job as a vacation specialist is we get to do fun stuff! This summer our group has kayaked on Back Bay courtesy of Surf & Adventure, taken flight at iFLY, an indoor skydiving experience and this past weekend to enjoy the beauty of the Outer Banks of NC via guided tour. It’s 9:30 Sunday morning and our water taxi (skiff) has just arrived at Pearl’s Bay Villa Marina to carry us across the Knotts Island Bay to Carova. Carova is located at the extreme northeast corner of North Carolina and is accessible only by 4-wheel drive vehicles. Our host for this part of the adventure is Capt. Jay Bender whose family owns Corolla Outback Adventures. The ride across the bay normally takes about 10 minutes but because of the winds which affect the depth of the water, we have to take it slow because it’s pretty shallow today. Once across the bay, we are greeted by our second guide, Capt. Rick Romano, who is also a local artist and author who resides in Corolla. There is nothing more enjoyable than an early morning 4 X 4 drive on the beach with the sunshine in your face, the wind blowing your air and the salt spray kissing your skin. The mimosas we drank earlier probably contributed to the overall euphoric feeling as well. It wasn’t long before we made it to the Village of Corolla where the “official” tour began. Twiddy & Company, a local realtor, has been instrumental in restoring many of the historic buildings in the Village. In our safari type vehicle, we visited several refuge areas and sanctuary sites including the Wild Horse Estates Conservation easement. We saw the second largest sand dune on the East Coast (Jockey’s Ridge being #1) and the beautiful Currituck beach lighthouse. Along the tour we also saw a variety of shore birds and of course the Colonial Spanish Mustangs; probably 6-8 of them. We learned about the Cattle Egrets that perch on the backs of the wild horses to feast on bugs, horseflies, ticks and anything that will land close to the horses.
Our guide mentioned that cottonmouth moccasins are plentiful this year but thank goodness we didn’t encounter any of them along the way. Our very experienced guide shared some of the history and local lore that makes this wild part of the Outer Banks unlike any other place on earth. What a Sunday Funday! If you have the opportunity, you should definitely check it out whether you’re already vacationing in the Outer Banks or decide to make the trip across Knotts Island Bay.
https://www.surfandadventure.com/
https://virginiabeach.iflyworld.com/
corollaoutback.com/
Very good and informative article Sandy thank you for sharing.
Very nice article Sandy- makes me want to do the same tour! What fun! I am sure Rick Romano was a great guide, as he is such a local’s local kind of guy! Fun!
Thanks Lisa:-)