LITTLE ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Walking along the graveled path on Little St. Simons Island, I could hear the rhythm of the rumbling surf of the Atlantic long before I could see it. Just over the windswept dunes whipped to softness by sugary sands, I crossed the beach and stepped into the waves.
To my left, flocks of fat-beaked pelicans and laughing seagulls fluttered along a shoreline so long that I imagined I could see the curvature of the earth. To my right, a blue heron glided over more sand, more surf and more shells than anyone could ever possibly count. In front of me, the ocean stretched all the way to Africa with nothing in between.
The beach on Little St. Simons Island, one of Georgia's necklace of barrier islands that creates a protective line of defense against the tumultuous Atlantic, meanders on for seven glorious miles, broken only by the spill of freshwater creeks and tidal pools.
On this day, all seven miles were mine and mine alone.
There is something extraordinarily spellbinding and even slightly primitive about having miles of the vast Atlantic coastline all to yourself with nary another soul around, just skittering crabs, oodles of shorebirds and an occasional loggerhead turtle.
This sense of isolation is the secret ingredient of the 10,000-acre Little St. Simons Island. Reached only by boat from a nearby marina, the island — just six miles long and three miles wide — is one of those rare places that is perfectly secluded, serene and absolutely unspoiled.
The Lodge on St. Simons Island provides comfortable accommodations in a Hemingway-esque rustic hunting cabin, historic cottages and cedar-sided lodges for a mere 30 guests at a time. That means each person has roughly 300 acres to herself.
"One of the greatest reasons to visit is to really experience a barrier island the way it was hundreds of years ago," general manager Joel Meyer says. "While we have all of the comforts of an eco-lodge in the developed 'compound area,' that's only 20 acres that have been developed out of the 10,000 pristinely natural acres of the island."
You'll find no intrusive phones, televisions, or electronic contraptions of any kind, so entertainment is all natural. Evening skies are lit only by the constellations and lightning bugs, and music comes from choruses and crackles of frogs, crickets, birds and wood-burning fireplaces.
You explore the island by foot or "safari-style" on the back of a pickup truck. traveling with naturalists who explain the different ecosystems of maritime forest, salt marsh, wetlands and coast, as well as the history of this unique place.
The island's history dates to the Guale Indians, and then came a few Europeans. Pierce and Fanny Kemble Butler and the plantation era followed, but in 1908 the Eagle Pencil Company bought the island with intentions of harvesting cedar trees for pencil production.
When the wind- and salt-damaged trees proved too stressed for quality pencils, Philip Berolzheimer, the company's owner, transformed the island into a private retreat for him and his buddies for hunting, fishing and getting away from it all. In 1979, his descendants opened the lodge to the public. Little St. Simons Island is now owned by the Berolzheimer family and Henry Paulson, former secretary of the U.S. Treasury.
As the truck bumps along sandy paths underneath an unbroken canopy of trees, you catch glimpses of critters like raccoons, armadillos, swift-footed European fallow deer and nearly 300 bird species, including the fabulously pink roseate spoonbill and the indisputable queen of the island: the brilliantly plumaged painted bunting.
"The No. 1 reason guests first visit the island is for nature," Meyer says. "When they make their plans for return visits, they say the reasons are, and in this order, the staff, the food It hasn't changed much, so it's great to see how much the guests appreciate the overall experience."
Other outdoor adventures are kayaking, fishing, canoeing, swimming and hiking or biking more than twenty miles of forested trails.
Mealtime is announced by the clanging of a cast-iron dinner bell and then served family-style on long tables, where you never know with whom you'll be sitting. Former presidents Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush have popped in, and so has Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Call the food Southern gourmet. For breakfast, expect fare like thick stone-ground grits, real country ham and biscuits and gravy. Fried chicken, steaks and seafood are on the table for lunch and dinner, as are the occasional oyster roast and Low Country boil. Whatever fish you catch that day may very well be on the dinner table that evening.
When you visit, leave your watch at home. You'll know when it's time to get up by the sunrise scattering iridescent light across the marsh, when it's time to eat by the peals of the dinner bell and when it's time to sleep as evening shadows grow long.
Nature is pretty raw here, so it's not for everyone. There is a fair population of bugs, diamondbacks, cottonmouths, and alligators, all of which merely add to the adventure.
Meyer sort of sums that up, too. "My favorite question I've had from a guest is 'You have so many incredible animals on the island, but where are the cages that you keep the alligators in at night?' Some had never experienced animals in the wild, so they really thought we kept everything in cages at night. It was great to show them that nature has a much better way of housing animals."
If you go ...
Little St. Simons Island, accessible only by boat from a marina on St. Simons Island, is located just off the Georgia coast, approximately halfway between Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla. Both cities have international airports served by most major carriers. Brunswick, Ga., the closest airport, is served only by Delta.
ates for the Green Globe 21-certified resort are about $600 to $1,200 per night and are all-inclusive, including three meals per day and snacks and some beverages; deluxe accommodations for up to 30 people per day in 16 guestrooms and cottages; and all recreation and activities like biking, kayaking, boating and canoeing. Even sunscreen and bug repellent are included. Full island rentals start at $8,000 per night. Awards among many include Conde Nast Traveler World's Best Places to Stay Gold List, Conde Nast Traveler Best in the World Readers Choice Awards for No. 1 U.S. Mainland Resort, Robb Report's "The World's Ten Great Escapes," and the Fine Living Chanel's "One of the Ten Most Romantic Places in the World."
For reservations and additional information, visit www.LittleStSimonsIsland.com or call 888-733-5774.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.