26 January – Alexander Springs to Juniper Springs

In the morning we hired a canoe for a couple of hours and explored the river. The canoe hire is pretty laid back, they give you a canoe, paddles and life jackets and point you in the direction of the boat ramp.

We managed to launch without getting wet, and headed downstream at a leisurely pace. The wind and the current were going the same way, so it just took a bit of steering and gentle paddling to keep us underway. As we left the spring basin the river was shallow and sandy bottomed, with water lilies lining the banks.

We saw lots of wildlife – diving birds that bob their heads up for air, herons wading in the lilies, turtles sunning on the logs, and a big alligator. It was around 5 feet long, big bellied, grey, and lying on a log with its feet dangling lazily. We paddled as close as we felt safe to get pics and admire from a distance. It ignored us completely. The locals had told us that alligators are mainly scared of people and will run away, not like big salty crocs that hunt you down for dinner. Just as well, cos we imagine that the alligator could swim a lot faster that we could possibly paddle.

The canoe was pretty easy to handle and we made good speed to the bridge, where we had been told to turn around. The lilies were budding, big yellow buds, they would probably be spectacular in flower. It was beautifully peaceful, just the splash of the paddles and the ripples of the canoe cutting across the water, with bird sounds and the breeze.

The return trip was harder work as we were paddling against the current. Mr Gator was still at ease on his log, with his mouth open this time in a big grin. We kept to the other bank.

We passed several other canoes and kayaks heading downstream, seems like a popular place.

When we got back the canoe hire people were surprised that we weren’t wet. It’s supposed to be very easy to tip a canoe over.

We decamped and headed up the road to Juniper Springs. We decided to take an easy afternoon, reading and resting in the warm weather.