CALLAWAY OFFERS NATURE EXPERIENCE
By Kathie Farnell
Photos by Jack Purser Jr.

Every Spring, Callaway--a 14,000 acre luxury resort complex in southwest Georgia-- offers visitors a chance to see a spectacular display of azaleas, dogwood and other blooms in a woodland setting. This year is the 50th anniversary of the complex, which includes gardens, a resort, and an 11,000 acre preserve dedicated to environmental education.

Perhaps the most popular year-round feature at Callaway is the Day Butterfly Center in which more than a thousand tropical butterflies lead the good life amid luxuriant vegetation that also shelters tropical birds. Visitors who remain still may find themselves pressed into service as a butterfly perch-recently I saw one kid wandering around with a huge Owl butterfly (named for the false "eye" on its wings) resting contentedly on his finger. Prominent among the Center's inhabitants are the big blue Morphos, black and white Paper Kites, and the colorful Scarlet Mormons. Things can get crowded-if you want to commune, come early in the morning.

The popular Birds of Prey shows, put on near the Virginia Hand Callaway Discovery Center, feature raptors who can't be released into the wild and who live here under the auspices of Earthquest, Inc. The birds fly in over the heads of the audience and sit more or less contentedly on a perch while a guide presents information about their lifestyle and habits. Casper, a barn owl, is under the mistaken impression that he is a human. In his case, this translates into whining incessantly. Woodward, an immature bald eagle, was born with a deformed beak. Still a powerful, impressive bird, he soars away back to his roost on command.

Flowers take center stage at Callaway this time of year. The Callaway Brothers Azalea Bowl, forty acres of azaleas in every conceivable shade, was in full bloom during my visit. Nearly five thousand azalea bushes fill the Bowl, along with tulips, daffodils and rhododendrons. The plantings were planned to take advantage of the lakes dotted throughout the gardens-the reflection of the flowers in the water is part of the design concept.

Vegetables for the Callaway restaurants are grown in Mr. Cason's Vegetable Garden, open to the public and the setting for the Southern edition of the public television program The Victory Garden. In addition to huge bounteous displays of everything you can think of, the garden features an interactive sundial-stand on the spot indicated and raise your arm, and your shadow falls on a numeral indicating the correct time.

Callaway has long been famous for golf-its Mountain View golf course was ranked among the nation's best by Golf Digest. Tennis is also available on ten outdoor lighted courts; the complex has been ranked in its top 50 by Tennis magazine. A 175-acre lake draws anglers, and everything from tackle to professional guides is available.

Accommodations include the Callaway Inn (also home to the excellent Georgia Room restaurant), the luxurious Mountain Creek Villas and the Country Cottages. The cottages feature one or two bedrooms, full kitchen, fireplaces, screened porches and open decks with grills. The cottage complex includes a heated indoor-outdoor pool.

Restaurants on the premises include the Gardens Restaurant, which overlooks Mountain Creek lake, and the Country Kitchen which offers down home food (including, of course, grits-the speckled heart grits specially milled for Callaway were designated the Official Grits of the 1996 Olympics).

This September, Callaway will open its new 54000 square foot Southern Pine conference center. The facility, located near the Country Cottages, will incorporate environmentally-friendly features including maximum use of natural daylight for lighting, low-density parking, and use of native plants in landscaping. 

Accommodations at Callaway start at $139 double for a room at the Callaway Inn. The Country Cottages start at $223 for a one-bedroom cottage ($347 for two bedroom.) Mountain Creek Villas start at $251 for a one-bedroom villa. Special packages are available throughout the year.

Admission to the Gardens is $12 for adults, $6 for children 6-12. Events are scheduled throughout 2002 in honor of the Gardens' 50th anniversary.

Callaway is located on Georgia Highway 18 at Pine Mountain, Georgia, sixty minutes southwest of Atlanta. For more information, visit the website at www.callawaygardens.com or call 1-800-CALLAWAY.