Funnily enough one of my first blog posts will not take place in Queensland, but on the opposite side of the world in Florida. While I was in Florida I had the privilege of exploring some of its natural beauty, the springs.
Weeki Wachee Springs is located approximately an hour north of Tarpon Springs. It was my girlfriend's, Steph, idea to rent a canoe out for the afternoon. We got directions from the store and launched around 11. The trip was about 5.5 miles downstream and required a minimum of 2 hours. We stretched it to about 3.5.
The start was in a gorgeous state park, so though the crystal clear 22C water called to us, we couldn't swim just yet. We kept our eyes out for the Florida wildlife although Steph told me it was unlikely I would see an alligator in these cooler waters. I attached my GoPro to one of my paddles and filmed some of the silver fish.
Once we left the state park, something caught my eye that I had to do. Rope swings. So we paddled the canoe against some cypress roots and used a life jacket to tie it up. I scampered up the bank and grabbed the wooden handle in my hand. Without even taking a moment to consider, I swung forward, let go and back-flipped into the water. The water was surprisingly warm for the winter. Steph took a shot next but hesitated in letting go in the handle so she simply plopped into the cold water.
After each of us taking a few more turns, we continued on our way. There was a point where there was a grassy area to our left and houses to our right. That's when I saw. There was something submerged in the water floating along. It took me a moment to place it as one of the manatees Steph mentioned we would be seeing and beside it was a smaller version, a baby. We drifted over it and I was shocked at the amount of scars on its back.
It wasn't long after that when we entered a maze of canals. Our directions were to stay to the left. The water became a murky brown and not very appealing to swim in anymore. But Steph said there was one more spot to see.
It was called the Hospital Hole. The murkiness of the water kept us from seeing to the bottom, but I didn't much care for that. What I cared for was watched the manatees surface around our canoe. I again placed my GoPro on the paddle and into the water to film. We remained there for a while before finishing up our trip.
I posted the edited video of that day underneath. It was all filmed with my GoPro and edited on
Final Cut Pro 7.
Weeki Wachee Springs is located approximately an hour north of Tarpon Springs. It was my girlfriend's, Steph, idea to rent a canoe out for the afternoon. We got directions from the store and launched around 11. The trip was about 5.5 miles downstream and required a minimum of 2 hours. We stretched it to about 3.5.
The start was in a gorgeous state park, so though the crystal clear 22C water called to us, we couldn't swim just yet. We kept our eyes out for the Florida wildlife although Steph told me it was unlikely I would see an alligator in these cooler waters. I attached my GoPro to one of my paddles and filmed some of the silver fish.
Once we left the state park, something caught my eye that I had to do. Rope swings. So we paddled the canoe against some cypress roots and used a life jacket to tie it up. I scampered up the bank and grabbed the wooden handle in my hand. Without even taking a moment to consider, I swung forward, let go and back-flipped into the water. The water was surprisingly warm for the winter. Steph took a shot next but hesitated in letting go in the handle so she simply plopped into the cold water.
After each of us taking a few more turns, we continued on our way. There was a point where there was a grassy area to our left and houses to our right. That's when I saw. There was something submerged in the water floating along. It took me a moment to place it as one of the manatees Steph mentioned we would be seeing and beside it was a smaller version, a baby. We drifted over it and I was shocked at the amount of scars on its back.
It wasn't long after that when we entered a maze of canals. Our directions were to stay to the left. The water became a murky brown and not very appealing to swim in anymore. But Steph said there was one more spot to see.
It was called the Hospital Hole. The murkiness of the water kept us from seeing to the bottom, but I didn't much care for that. What I cared for was watched the manatees surface around our canoe. I again placed my GoPro on the paddle and into the water to film. We remained there for a while before finishing up our trip.
I posted the edited video of that day underneath. It was all filmed with my GoPro and edited on
Final Cut Pro 7.
Ichetucknee Springs is located much farther north outside of the small town of Fort White. Steph had been kayaking down the Ichetucknee River before but decided this time to just visit the two swimming holes available. I saw Head Springs first. It was massive and quite crowded, so we decided to veer off onto the trail that would take us to Blue Hole Spring. We passed an information sign on the way, warning of stronger currents as well as an incomplete map of the intricate underwater cave system.
Blue Hole Spring is exactly what it sounds like, a deep spring with plenty of growth and right near the middle was a gaping dark blue hole.
Thankfully not as many people had made the 1/3 mile walk. I slowly started down the steps trying to acclimate to the cooler water. Two steps down I decided to screw it and jumped in. It wasn't too warm of a day, so the water chilled me. I swam straight to the hole, took a deep breath, and than went straight down. The water was much deeper than it seemed. I was unable to reach the lip of the hole on my first try, but I was determined. The current in the spring was definitely stronger than I expected and continued to try to push me back to the surface and then to the river.
It took me three tries before I found myself at the entrance of the hole. It was amazing how clear the water was. I could see straight to the bottom and if I looked sideways to the start of the cave system. I truly wished I could have scuba dived there. `
We switched to Head Springs for a while and did some swimming there. But I was enthralled with the Blue Spring, so we headed back. I did some filming there as well, with some assistance from Steph, and the video is posted below.
Blue Hole Spring is exactly what it sounds like, a deep spring with plenty of growth and right near the middle was a gaping dark blue hole.
Thankfully not as many people had made the 1/3 mile walk. I slowly started down the steps trying to acclimate to the cooler water. Two steps down I decided to screw it and jumped in. It wasn't too warm of a day, so the water chilled me. I swam straight to the hole, took a deep breath, and than went straight down. The water was much deeper than it seemed. I was unable to reach the lip of the hole on my first try, but I was determined. The current in the spring was definitely stronger than I expected and continued to try to push me back to the surface and then to the river.
It took me three tries before I found myself at the entrance of the hole. It was amazing how clear the water was. I could see straight to the bottom and if I looked sideways to the start of the cave system. I truly wished I could have scuba dived there. `
We switched to Head Springs for a while and did some swimming there. But I was enthralled with the Blue Spring, so we headed back. I did some filming there as well, with some assistance from Steph, and the video is posted below.