 "Turtle
Bob" Walker
has been leading trips in the
Panhandle of Florida for over twenty years. He treasures the Tallahassee
local rivers and knows the slow, spring fed river, the Wacissa, like the
back of his hand. Joining Turtle Bob on a trip guarantees an adventure
that will you will never forget. It will touch you and leave you with an
appreciation of Florida waterways and wildlife. Turtle Bob's greatest
passion is for turtles and earned him the nickname "Turtle Bob" Bob
Walker has worked for decades on the preservation and propagation of
turtles. Turtle Bob is our local "Crocodile Hunter" and is likely, on
any given trip, to pull a small gator from the weeds, just to provide a
little educational opportunity for our guests.
Elizete
Velado, Guide Elizete has been
 enthusiastically kayaking Florida's rivers and coasts
for 6 years. She began paddling in high
school while working at a Jacksonville-area
outfitter. Before relocating to Tallahassee for college,
she served as a guide and shop manager there. She’s
paddled miles of rivers and coast between Jacksonville
and Daytona, and is now working her way through the
waterways of the panhandle. Elizete sets her sights
high. In fact, you can usually catch her gazing up to
the tree tops searching for birds of prey. She enjoys
spotting those raptors!
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Micheal Taber, Guide
You
can usually find Micheal a bove or below
the waters in northwest Florida. As an
avid scuba diver and paddler, he is a
true watersports enthusiast. Recently
relocated here from the beaches of
Destin and Ft Walton Beach, Micheal is
attending FSU. He brings years of
outdoor product knowledge to The
Wilderness Way. His favorite
kayaking areas are along the coast in
blue water touring alongside the
dolphins and turtles of the panhandle.
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Dom Coscia, Guide and
"Everglades Survivor" Dom is a former kayak outfitter
and interpretive backcountry guide from Brooklyn, NY. With a paddling
resume spanning over twenty years Dom has spent the past fifteen leading
tours throughout the wilderness areas of South and Central Florida ,
Costa Rica , and Alaska .
He has led countless Everglades expeditions.
Dom also established paddling programs for the Broward county’s parks
while working as a canoe and kayak instructor and interpretive
backcountry guide. When he relocated to Tallahassee in 2005 he brought
his love of nature and desire to explore. He values his time on the
water as an opportunity to provide a memorable trip pointing out
wildlife and discussing history. He’s always open to offer advice on
paddling techniques and field questions about the differences in boat
designs and paddling equipment.
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 Martha Haynes, Guide
Martha has
been running, biking, hiking and camping for
much of her life
and paddling in the Big Bend
area since she and her family moved to the
Wakulla River in 2001. She has led multi-night
camping trips in the Okefenokee Swamp, paddled
most of the Apalachicola Paddling Trails, and
paddled and camped on much of the Suwannee from
Fargo to the Gulf.
Martha is an ACA Essentials
of Kayak Touring certified instructor, a
graduate of the TCC Ecotourism Institute Green
Guide program, and a Leave No Trace trainer. |
Mike Mendez, Guide
Mike has
been paddling in the Big Bend area for
the last 30 years. He enjoys the
serenity of the outdoors and the beauty
that this area has to offer. Although he
loves open water kayaking with the
dolphins and an occasional Orca ( Alaska
), his favorite place to paddle is the
quiet Wacissa river . Mike loves to talk
about boats and paddling styles.
While not on the water he can be found
home schooling his seven year old
daughter Tekla.
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Patrick Buerkle, Guide
Patrick brings a combination of decades of
teaching and
 outdoor
recreation experience to The Wilderness Way.
Previously with the National Park Service,
Patrick spent seven years as a Ranger guiding in
Parks throughout the country including such
awesome places as Bryce Canyon NP, Death Valley
NP and Everglades NP. During his years as a
Ranger in the Everglades , Patrick was inspired
by the uniqueness of Florida ’s animal and plant
life. He particularly enjoys teaching and
learning about birds along our beautiful rivers
and coasts; all the while having big fun!
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Dawn Peffer, Guide
You’ll usually see Dawn on the
river with camera, binoculars,
and a field guide in hand to
spot & photograph Florida’s
spectacular wildlife at every
quiet twist and bend in the
river. Dawn is a wildlife
artist and uses the
photographs and paddling
experiences as inspiration for
her paintings. When paddling,
she prefers to go off the beaten
path of the river to explore the
narrow passages in search of all
things feathered and furry.
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Georgia Ackerman and Rick
Zelznak, Owners, The
Wilderness Way Georgia took
 up kayak paddling as an
alternative sport to the couple’s favorite pastime of desert camping
more than a decade ago in Arizona . She was quickly hooked as a paddling
student after her first formal instructional roll class in a community
wave pool. Desert lake camping trips evolved into coastal drives to San
Diego to paddle the Pacific. Eventually, Georgia and Rick migrated
back to the warm waters of North Florida to paddle the panhandle
waterways filled with alligators, turtles, fish and manatee. Georgia ’s
current favorite paddle is St. Marks Wildlife Refuge where she can
quietly admire scores of birds resting on oyster bars and rays and crabs
bustling below her kayak. Georgia is an ACA (American Canoe Association)
Essentials of Kayak Touring certified instructor.
Rick, instructor
and guide, can
 usually
be found paddling rapidly upstream on the Wakulla River in a touring
kayak to meet a downstream group of guests on a manatee watch. Rick is
also an active camper and cyclist who enjoys open water paddling
especially the coastal area of St. George Island. He enjoys the solitude
and scenery of paddling through gulf coastal waves spotted with schools
of dolphins, fish and pelicans. When they’re not at the shop or on the
water with guests, Rick and Georgia can usually be found out paddling
tandem with their two children, Cole and Karly. Rick is an ACA
(American Canoe Association) Essentials of Kayak Touring certified
instructor. |
