Manatees are my favorite animal, and they have been since I was an elementary-aged kid. One year, my parents blessed me with a backstage tour of SeaWorld where we could meet a rehabilitated manatee up close. Instant love. Manatees are the most gentle and massive of God's creatures, only threatened by man himself. I had learned that manatees tend to flock the Florida springs in the winter to seek out the year-round 72* temperatures and have always wanted to experience them in the wild. I learned about the where and how too late last year and promised myself that when the opportunity came along (and in Florida it happens quickly) I wouldn't let it pass me up! Our cold snap was going to hit the next day, so I had high hopes, grabbed my husband and our boys, threw in our Sea Eagle kayaks and PFDs, and we headed up the road an hour!
Because of the manatee refuge, Blue Springs State Park does not allow water activity during the winter months. Because of this, the early cold weekends in January usually promise large numbers of the mammals. The day before our paddle, there were a record 350+ manatees in the water!! Because I wanted to be see them up-close, the deck from the state park wouldn't do...so I contacted Google Earth.to search for public access to the St. Johns River, of which Blue Springs joins. Low and behold, I found a local boat ramp just up the river!
To access this boat ramp, travel straight toward Blue Springs State Park on French Road, but when you are to turn left into the park, stay straight onto the dirt road. This will take you about a half mile and around a bend toward the river. You will dead end into the ramp area. There's no facilities, electricity, etc...only a ramp, picnic table that some people put in the water, and dirt space to park. It was perfect.
 | |||
| Blue Star: Blue Springs Run Observation Deck Red Star: Blue Springs State Park entrance ($5 fee) Yellow Star: Free public boat ramp |
Once we inflated our kayaks, geared up, and put in, we turned left only had to paddle for about a minute before we were immediately greeted by a herd! I was giddy beyond all get-out...shaking and about to burst into tears with excitement. A calf was with them, about five feet long. The others were massive, the largest about as long as my big kayak...about 9 feet long. I noticed his flipper had been cut by a propeller long ago. Bless his heart. When they finally moved on, we paddled up to the line that separates the river to Blue Springs Run. Manatees can cross but humans are not allowed. So, we sat and watched, but didn't see much activity. My little one and I paddled over to some vegetation hoping to find some feeding, but we only caught glimpse of a two-foot baby alligator. We didn't stay long because where there's a baby, there's a momma.
We caught back up with Kev and Taylor, only to have them hush us with beaming smiles on their face. They whispered to us that the large manatee had returned and was swimming figure 8s around them, approaching their kayak, and popping his snout above water to them. When we approached, it was as if he had another friend to visit and he did the same with us. He swam under us, around us, popped up his snout, and finally flipped up his tail and curled it as if to wave goodbye. Then he paddled away. He was the last one we saw that day, and while I didn't get to experience the record number of gentle giants, one special gentle giant made my first manatee experience one I'll never ever forget. I only hope others get the opportunity to appreciate these beautiful animals!
 |
| The view from our put-in spot. The Run is just to the left. |
 |
| My heart just melts!! |
 |
| So massive, yet gentle |
 |
| To the left of my son and husband's kayak is the manatee...the light spot in the water |
 |
| Sniff sniff! |
No comments:
Post a Comment