Georgia's coastline offers visitors plenty to discover

Savannah, Georgia - It's not long before the first seagulls and pelicans appear. As Clifford Credle drops his net over the stern of the Lady Jane, the gulls immediately form an escort behind his prawn boat.

"They know exactly that in 15 minutes they'll have some lunch to eat," says Clifford's father, Larry.

Larry Credle is skipper of the Lady Jane which only puts to sea thanks to the tourists.

Prawn fishing is no longer a lucrative business and there's hardly any money to be earned along this part of the Georgia coastline.

Larry's boat is an example of how important tourism has become to the people who live between Savannah and the border to Florida.

The Lady Jane's home port is Brunswick, a small city in the southeast of Georgia that calls itself the Gateway to the Golden Isles.

The isles in question are St. Simons Island, its neighbour Jekyll Island, Little St. Simons Island and the exclusive luxury Sea Island, all of which are accessible to tourists and are part of the route followed by Credle's prawn boat.

"Five years ago, there were more than 400 fishing licenses in the state of Georgia. Today there are about 60," says Larry with one hand on the rudder and his eyes fixed on the depth gauge. "In another five years there will be no more commercial fishing left here."

Thankfully there are tourists who want to know how a prawn fisherman goes about his business.

The passengers aboard the Lady Jane are planning to spend a few days relaxing on one of the Golden Isles.

Most of them are staying on St. Simons Island which is easily reached from the mainland by a bridge.

Little St. Simons Island on the other hand is only accessible by boat for the passengers who are staying on the island's only ecologically friendly lodge.

Sea Island is the exclusive domain of guests booked into the luxury hotel The Cloisters. Jekyll Island also has a modest number of places to stay.

It's also the location for the former exclusive Jekyll Island Club, a one-time hang out for millionaires.

A centre for the protection of sea turtles was built in the club's old electricity generator house in summer 2007.

Visitors to the centre find out about the turtles' habitat and how the number of nests they build on Georgia's beaches vary wildly each year. Between 360 and over 1,500 nests are recorded annually.

The island has a 32-kilometre cycle path. Driftwood Beach at the most northerly point is a perfect spot to stroll along the sand.

Dolphins can be seen swimming close to shore and the lighthouse built in 1872 on St. Simons Island to the north appears almost within touching distance.

In stark contrast to this tranquillity is Savannah, the Queen of the Coast.

This port city close to the estuary of the Savannah River has retained its old southern flair, glorious architecture, cast iron balcony railings and oak trees draped with Spanish moss.

Savannah was built during the cotton trade, but the days when the fibre was loaded onto the ships in the port are bygone. The last trading house on the river front closed in
1956.

Tourism, which takes place against the backdrop of brick store house on the river front, plays a major role in the city's economic life today.

Steep steps lead down to the water where trolley buses wait for passengers and boat tours begin. It's also a good place to stop off for a quick drink.

Percussionists, guitarists and saxophonists supply the score and bars advertise themselves as having the "Cheapest and Coldest Beer in the City".

Savannah also has an industrial side but the city still has places where visitors can relax such as Fort Pulaski at the mouth of the Savannah River.

The fort was built between 1829 and 1847 and played a significant role in the American Civil War.

Today it's a good place to watch passing container ships from its thick walls.

Tybee Island offers a similar atmosphere. The beach on the island is 11 kilometres in lenght and in the off-season when anglers drop their lines from the promenade a deep silence grips the place.

Meanwhile, about 100 kilometres to the south the crew of the Lady Jane are about to finish work for the day. The tour took almost two hours during which Clifford Credle pulled his net from the sea three times.

He caught many prawns and other fish which he immediately threw back into the sea.

The prawns of course also landed in water, but this time it was boiling salted water. "There's nothing fresher than this," says Skipper Larry.

Internet: www. georgia. org/Travel/, www. visitcoastalgeorgia. com. (dpa)