SANIBEL CAPTIVA ACTIVITIES

West Coast Florida: In Search of Natural Florida Preserved

Mesmerized by an anhinga bird spearing small fish with its beak, we let our kayaks drift down the headwaters of the Hillsborough River, near Tampa.

Gar fish lounged in the clear springs that formed the river. Turtles dozed on logs as we passed. Great blue herons lifted off majestically before us.

While kayaking, we pondered the popular notion that Florida is all man-made theme parks, urban congestion, and development out of control.

Maybe it wasn't so, after all.

Kayaking the Hillsborough River

On this trip, our personal quest was to find natural Florida preserved. We decided to start at Tampa, searching for what satisfying eco-encounters we could find close to an urban area. Using Tampa as our fly-in gateway, we planned to start our nature activities with a tour of the Florida Aquarium, and then kayak two special environments, the Hillsborough River and the Gulf barrier islands near the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

After Tampa, we planned to drive 1-1/2 hours north to Citrus County, which we understood was one of the best-preserved areas of the state. With its enormous oak trees and wilderness waterways, Citrus resembles what most of Florida must have been like 50 or even 100 years ago. Even more impressive are the steps being taken to protect these natural resources in Citrus County. Nearly half of the county has been designated as public parks and preserves destined to remain untouched.

Citrus boasts a healthy 157-mile wilderness river ecosystem, the Withlacoochee, which forms the eastern and northern boundaries of the county. The state's largest herd of endangered Florida manatees makes its annual migration to the county's Homosassa and Crystal rivers. These large mammals can survive comfortably during the winter months in the natural warm springs that originate here and flow into the Gulf of Mexico. Citrus is a premier region for Florida ecotourism travel of any kind. Watching wildlife, from the huge and gentle "sea cow" manatees to the native and migrating birds, is a major nature-based activity. Hiking, biking, kayaking and canoeing are also popular.

With much anticipation, we started our trip in Tampa, as a prelude to further outdoor adventures in Citrus County.

The Florida Aquarium proved to be an excellent introduction to the state's water-rich ecosystems. At the Aquarium we followed the life of a Florida river from its first formative bubbles, emerging as springs from the aquifers. Rivers in Florida then make circuitous treks through relatively flat terrain to the ocean. The Aquarium showcases the birds, fish, and reptiles of the state, many occupying its glass-domed aviary. We delighted in a close-up view of a roseate spoonbill bird, whose wide snout allows it to feed in the shallows, shoveling back and forth.

Canoe Escape, run by the Faulk family, organizes kayak and canoe trips along pristine sections of the Hillsborough River. Trips range from a few hours to all-day, and transportation to and from the riverbanks is provided. The area is easy to explore alone or with a guide. We enjoyed the company of young Brian Faulk as we kayaked the first stretch of the Hillsborough River, starting at the springs that are the river’s source. The primitive surroundings provided an agreeable paddle, showing us abundant wildlife. Remarkably, we were only minutes away from crowded highways and congested commercial developments while we watched the anhinga bird spear its dinner.

Kayaking Offshore Clearwater, Florida

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium offers another type of kayak experience--a biologist-led trek across open-ocean water to observe a bird rookery. Stopping at a nearby barrier island, everyone came ashore to assist with water-quality tests and participate in a coastal clean-up, collecting trash while pondering man's effect on the environment. We saw numerous osprey and pelicans that nest here successfully in increasing numbers, a hopeful sign that these fish-rich waters are relatively healthy. We delighted in dolphins disporting themselves before us. We gathered trash, especially plastic bags that pollute the island beaches and are often mistaken by sea turtles for jellyfish and consumed, with lethal effect.

After these interludes, we headed for Citrus County. A rental car is necessary for this exploration because no public transportation was available. We took a scenic route (48-41-480), driving north and then west across the county, savoring the pine forests and rolling grasslands, as well as the lovely oak-lined streets of the small town of Floral Park.

We lodged in the town of Homosassa, immediately adjacent to the county's main eco-attraction, the Homosassa State Wildlife Park. The joyous encounter possible here for any traveler is an up-close look at nine rehabilitated manatees, who were brought here with severe injuries, usually caused by boat collisions. Fully recovered manatees are returned to the wilds, but if the injuries make survival in the wilds chancy, the mammals are kept here for public education, display, and reproduction if possible. Outside the gated area of the wildlife park we spotted a dozen wild manatees. The calm, warm waters of this protected area attract manatees inland. It is also possible to snorkel with the manatees here on the Homosassa and on the adjacent Crystal River, something we enjoyed on an earlier trip. Organizers of the manatee snorkel trips instruct participants to remain still and not harass the animals.

Kayaking the Homosassa, Citrus County

Stabilizing the wild manatee population at roughly 2,500 animals constitutes a major environmental success story, though the fate of the manatees remains tenuous. If public education of boaters can reduce collisions withmanatees, the large, gentle vegetarians should survive.

The next major environmental undertaking of the Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park will be to establish a whooping crane colony. Crane populations have climbed to about 200 individuals, up from the critically small number of only three reproducing females in the 1940s. Whooping cranes are the largest birds in North America. Schemes to establish this whooping colony are truly incredible and necessary. The plan calls for an ultra-light pilot to fly with a few of the cranes from the Midwest to Florida, leading them on a route that is an alternative to their Texas wintering grounds. The merit of the plan is that the greater number of habitats the cranes have, the less likely they are to be wiped out by a catastrophe. Imprinting the flight route on the cranes is critical.

A stroll through the wildlife park acquainted us with many other Florida species, from alligators to deer. An underwater viewing area put us face-to-face with the many species of fish, such as jack caravelle, that inhabit the Homosassa River along with the manatees.

For a traveler, the wonderful reality of the Homosassa State Wildlife Park is that manatees can be seen year round. Wild manatees spend the warm summer in the shallow gulf coastal waters and enter the rivers only in the cooler winter months, when the ocean water turns chilly. The perpetual relative warmth of the springs that create the river is necessary for the manatee survival.

If our schedule allowed, we would surely have gone on a guided kayak excursion on the Homosassa River with Susan Davis of Homosassa Canoe & Kayak Expedition Company. Her trip takes travelers to the swamplands down river, where there is no human habitation, and where bird life is abundant. This is also where fly fishermen stalk their prey, such as the redfish, in the shallow salt water flats.

The county’s eastern borders features a long, flat bicycle ride along the Withlacoochee State Trail and an airboat excursion down the vast wild area known as the Withlacoochee River.

Biking the Withlacoochie Trail, Citrus County

With rentals from Suncoast Bicycles’ shop in Inverness, we enjoyed a half-day ride along the tree-lined, linear state park, the Withlacoochee Trail. The path is a rails-to-trails legacy, where the former rail bed has been paved over (with recycled tires) as part of the national conversion of obsolete rail right-of-way to recreational use. The entire Withlacoochee Trail is 47 miles, 30 miles of which are in Citrus. Bikers, joggers, and skaters can rest and relax at benches and picnic tables scattered along the route. The popular path offers engaging side-trip access to the small towns, such as Inverness and Floral Park, with their historic homes and small-town feeling. Suncoast Bicycles equipped us with maps and plenty of tips about the trail.

Paralleling the Withlacoochie Trail and slightly east is the Withlacoochie River and 22-mile-long Tsala Apopka Lake. Such a river must be seen to be believed if one thinks that Florida has been totally developed. This watery ecosystem remains relatively uncharted.

On the Withlacoochie River, Citrus County, Florida

Though we wished to avoid the noise of an airboat, plus the potential damage to plants and animals as the airboat skims across vegetation, we elected to do an outing with WildBill's Airboat Tours.

The airboat allowed us to see a large chunk of the river in a short time. We immersed ourselves in this lovely environment, inhabited by mature bald cypress trees, fecund number of alligators, and the full panorama of birds, from egrets to herons, for which Florida is noteworthy. Several rivers in Citrus have the special Florida legal designation of being "Outstanding Rivers", meaning that their natural environment is special and merits a higher level of preservation.

When the time came to leave Citrus County, we vowed to come back, perhaps to canoe or kayak on the Withlacoochie or to snorkel with the manatees again on the Homosassa River. We had only begun our meditation on Florida's natural legacy in Citrus. Ironically, we learned, much of the county had once been planted in citrus, but a frost in the 1890s killed most of the trees and diminished the will to continue citrus farming, allowing for preservation of the natural environment.

Though Citrus is wild, the accommodations and dining options here are not primitive. We stayed in Homosassa at the Ramada Inn, immediately adjacent to the Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park. We noted a range of other lodgings, from the all-inclusive country club atmosphere of Plantation House to the on-the-water feel of the Howard Johnson Riverside Inn Resort. Our enjoyable meals included the grilled salmon over Caesar salad at K. C. Crump, the lamb shank at Yanni's, the rare steak at Plantation Inn, and the blackened grouper at The Fisherman's.

The well-preserved natural environment of Citrus County pleasantly surprised us. With national news so focused on the destruction of the natural Florida environment, especially the threats to the Everglades at the southern end of Florida, it is encouraging to discover that at least one area--Citrus County--remains a pleasurable ecotourism option. Citrus County is relatively undeveloped, both for the benefit of the local flora and fauna and the delight of the discriminating traveler. This is Florida as it used to be, with Florida's natural environment as the theme park.

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FLORIDA'S CITRUS COUNTY AND TAMPA: IF YOU GO

Tampa is the fly-in access point. For further information, contact the Tampa/Hillsborough Convention and Visitors Association, Suite 1010, 400 North Tampa Street, Tampa, FL 33602-4706, 800/448-2672, 813/223-1111. The web site is www.gotampa.com.

Kayaking and canoeing on the Hillsborough River can be arranged through Canoe Escape, 9335 East Fowler Avenue, Thonotosassa, FL 33592, 813/986-2067 or 800/448-2672.

Kayaking in the gulf coastal waters with a biologist as guide is offered by the Clearwater Marina Aquarium, 249 Windward Passage, Clearwater, FL 33767, 888/239-9414, web site www.cmaaquarium.org.

The tourism information source for the natural area north of Tampa is Citrus County Tourist Development Council, 801 Southeast US Highway 19, Crystal River, FL 34429, 800/587-6667, 352/527-5223, web site www.visitcitrus.com.

The main ecotourism attraction and manatee viewing spot is the Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park, 4150 South Suncoast Boulevard, Homosassa, FL 34448, 352/628-5343, web site www.citrusdirectory.com/hsswp.

For bicycle rentals and information on the Withlacoochie State Trail, contact Suncoast Bicycles, 322 North Pine Street, Inverness, FL 34450, 352/637-5757.

Airboat rides on the Withlacoochie River are offered by Wild Bill's Airboat Tours, 12340 East Gulf to Lake Highway, Inverness, FL 34450, 352/726-6060.

One adequate, inexpensive lodging option, within walking distance of Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park, is the Ramada Inn, 4076 South Suncoast Boulevard, Homosassa Springs, FL 34446, 352/628-4311.

By Mary Lou Janson and Lee Foster