Today was one of the good ones. I drove 20 miles to Palatka to meet Bruce and Jim, 2 different outfitters from St. Augustine and 2 of their buddies, Morris and Joe. They led the way 30 more miles to the take out where we dropped one of the trucks off. I then followed them another 20 miles to Silver Springs to the put in for our trip down part of the Ocklawaha River.
The Ocklawaha River averages about 50 feet wide and 3-4 feet deep, at least for the part we paddled. Palms, cypress, live oak and maple trees lined the banks the entire way and clusters of large lily pads popped up frequently. The 68 degree water was not quite crystal clear, but pretty close to it. Most of the bottom is sandy. This made it easy to spot schools of large bass, many gar in the 2.0-2.5 foot range and even a few 3.0 foot or more.
Many small 2-3 foot alligators watched with curiosity as we passed by. I got within 5 feet of one and got a good picture. Two of the guys in the lead claimed to have spotted one 8-10 feet long but it was gone by the time the rest of us caught up. I told them they should have claimed 18-19 feet. Although they were talking seriously about a 15 foot alligator in the area (shudder).
They did all the spotting and I even had trouble seeing some of them when they were pointed out to me. I felt kinda disappointed I didn't spot anything first but there was so much to watch, the shore, logs in the water, plus I was watching in the water for fish and in the trees for birds. I guess I ain't no Crocodile Dundee yet.
A fair number of birds were scattered along the trip. A good number of blue and Ward's herons, great egrets, one flock of about a dozen Ibises and several hawks of some sort. The egrets would land on top of tall trees in the bend of the river so you could see them up ahead.
We spotted one snake, sunning itself on a branch hanging out over the water. Speculation indicated it was probably a cotton mouth.
And then there were the monkeys. Monkeys? In Florida? Hey, would I kid you? I'm talking about those screeching, sh** slinging little buggers. A half dozen juveniles scampered up and down trees extending out over the water while an older (probably female) and a teenager (also probably female) kept watch. With a half a dozen (or more) youngsters visible, I'd guess at least another 10 pairs of adults back in the trees eating, sleeping, making more little ones or whatever.
I got a couple of pictures (to back up my claim). I aimed at one little guy that was facing me and as I got him in the frame he turned around and all I could see was his butt. And he wouldn't move. Deliberate? No, I didn't take that picture.
Silver Springs is where they made the original Tarzan movies and I think one or two others. Jungle animals had to be imported to the area to support the movies. The monkeys either got loose or were let loose. In any case, there's 3-4 different troops ranging along different parts of the river. Sightings are supposed to be comparatively rare so I was blessed on this day. Let's hope there's no lions or hippopotamuses loose in the area.
A 1-2 knot current pushed us along at a brisk pace. The other guys all had 17-18 foot sea kayaks (including a John Winters design). For the most part they cruised along quite well with just a few strokes here and there. With my little 14 foot Acadia, I had to paddle twice as hard as they did just to keep up. I felt like a little kid with stubby little legs running to keep up with the adults walking down the street.