Cole Watkins Tours

06/16/2026

What an amazing shot by Milledge Austin on Sunday’s tour to Stallings Island.

I’ve always wondered why the hissing trees have a population of juvenile skinks on it. Seems like the last place they would thrive but turns out that water snakes prefer aquatic prey and only eat skinks in rare occasions. Makes me wonder if they know how close they are to each other or if the snake is really doing that great of a job camouflaging.

Speaking of Skinks🦎 Ever wonder why baby skinks have bright blue tails? That vibrant blue is actually a survival superpower! It draws predators’ attention away from their vital organs. If attacked, the skink can drop its tail, leaving it behind to wiggle and distract the predator while the lizard safely escapes.As skinks grow into adulthood, this bright blue naturally fades away into shades of gray, brown, or olive. Nature is pretty amazing, isn’t it?

06/16/2026

We had a great paddle on Sunday, and we were excited that two in our group (Cathy and Alicia) decided to celebrate their birthdays with us! While it was hot out, it was a great time on the water. We saw a little blue heron, an egret, several osprey, a few turtles, a sand piper, and a few snakes, including what looked like a young water moccasin catching its lunch.

06/07/2026

Saturday’s second of two tours.

We had a great afternoon tour to Stallings Island! With a good bit of kids, we made sure to have a swim stop and Whale Rock jump. We also saw a good variety of birds, muskrat, turtles and snakes. Thank you to all that came out!

06/07/2026

Saturday’s first of two tours.

We had a great morning tour to Stallings Island! There were many folks on the river this morning so the donkeys were getting a lot of attention. We also saw heron, osprey, hawk, mallard, turtles and snakes. Thank you to all that came out!

05/27/2026

15 years. 8,000+ paddlers. Countless memories on the water.

What started in 2011 with a college business project and a few kayaks has grown into something I’m truly proud of.

Thank you to every person who has supported us, recommended us to a friend, or shared a day on the water with us. Huge shout out to my guides over the years and of course my supportive family. From early morning launches to rope swings, wildlife encounters, family adventures, and peaceful floats through the CSRA, this business has been one of the greatest blessings of my life.

Here’s to 15 years of local roots and lasting adventures.

Thank you for paddling with us!

05/26/2026

We had a great mid-day paddle to Stallings Island on Sunday and were able to dodge the weather. The donkeys were extremely happy to see us, and met us on the South Carolina side where we had plenty of room to spread out and let them go from boat to boat to boat. The water snakes were out taking advantage of the brief glimpse of the sun we were afforded, and we saw 13 on one of the Hissing Trees, alone. On the return portion, we were treated to even more wildlife as a family of 3 or 4 otters were playing between Otter Landing and Stallings Island on the Georgia side, and then we saw a muskrat swimming up river. To cap it off, we saw a large group of barn swallows, a pair of Canada geese with 4 goslings in tow, and then an adult white ibis and what we believe is a Limpkin (the brown speckled bird). It's never a bad day on the water, but this made the extra day of waiting even better.

📸: MA4 Productions/Milledge Austin Photography

05/10/2026

Stallings Island Saturday Afternoon Tour

Round two Saturday was just as fun as around one. We were happy the rain held off on this tour. We had a group of young girls coming out to paddle for their first time. It was fun watching them point out the wildlife and feed the donkeys thanks to all that came out on Saturday.

05/10/2026

Stallings Island Saturday Morning Tour

All week we were worried about rain coming in on Saturday and screwing up our two tours luckily that changed we were able to get on the water with some overcast. We enjoyed feeding the donkeys and seeing a large amount of birds and snakes.

05/08/2026

🫏🌎 Happy World Donkey Day! 🌎🫏

One of the best parts of paddling out to Stallings Island is getting to visit the island’s famous donkeys. They’re curious, friendly, and always ready for a snack 🥕

Fun fact: Donkeys have an incredible memory and can recognize places and other donkeys they haven’t seen in years! They’re also known for being gentle, loyal, and surprisingly smart animals.

If you’ve joined us on a kayak trip before, you know the donkeys are usually everyone’s favorite part of the adventure 💙🚣‍♂️

05/04/2026

This is awesome!

A new pedestrian bridge will give walkers, cyclists and paddlers a new public access point to the Augusta Canal, linking the historic Augusta waterway with one of the city’s busiest shopping and living areas.

👉 Click to read the full story:� https://theaugustapress.com/pedestrian-bridge-to-create-new-access-to-augusta-canal/
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