# Rainbow River



## Turtlepete (Sep 6, 2015)

My knee and I are having an argument as to my activity level for the day, so the optimal thing to do seems to be to sit inside and post pictures. 

I went to Rainbow River in central FL a few weeks ago. By far my favorite river I've been too. I've done Weeki Wachee and the current is too strong, and Chassahowitzka has poor visibility and just really isn't optimal for turtles. Rainbow River however is perfect. I've never seen more turtles on a river or more perfect conditions to catch them.

In the first 15 minutes on the river, me and my kayak buddy got super excited over a huge female cooter cruising by, and a little bit of miscommunication resulted in the both of us rolling off the kayak after her at the same time. Turtle got away, kayak flipped, all belongings went down the river, including my underwater camera into two feet of thick reeds (I was too thick-headed to strap the




thing in). So, 45 minutes of snorkeling against the current later, we managed to retrieve it, to realize the battery was about to die and there was no point in having brought it. Therefore, the absence of cool underwater footage….Next time...

So….Some turtles! The amount of Pseudemys on this river is staggering. We came up on close to 30 basking on various logs in close proximity once. Catching them is pretty easy, if you like chasing turtles. I caught a lot simply by jumping off the kayak 10 yards out, staying underwater the whole way in and masking my approach by staying behind logs. The turtles aren't quite so aware as you might imagine and if they don't see you coming are fairly easy to snatch off of a log from behind.






Fairly big turtles!






I have to say, these guys are by far my favorite sight. We found two 4-5 footers basking on the floating mats of vegetation. I was unfortunately unsuccessful in getting any in the water to have a swim with. They just high-tailed it toward the shore, and even I'm not stupid enough to approach one when its cornered and angry. The cool thing about the floating mats like this in the photo is they are held together by underwater logs and sunken trees, and you can swim right under them. It is quite dark under them however, and the gators give you something to think about...






Tons of pseudemys was a pretty easy prediction, and I was overjoyed to find gators but not particularly surprised. What I was surprised to find is these guys….






This big male loggerhead musk. Gorgeous turtle, and the first one I've ever found. They have the perfect habitat in some areas on the river. Sandy shore with plenty of roots to cling to that drops off sharply into the rocky and reedy areas they seem to prefer. We found this one and another smaller male within the same 50 feet of shoreline.






This guy was the cause of our kayak flipping, yet again, and the loss of my dear friends beloved hat. (RIP gopher tortoise baseball cap, you will be missed). Bit smaller juvenile but gorgeous none-the-less. Somehow my kayak buddy managed to spot him 7-8 feet under picking amongst the reeds when we were paddling back against the current. Lost him twice in a row before he popped up in front of me again. Somehow he was still sticking around after we managed to collect all of our belongings that were heading downstream. 

I really think the springs in central FL are the gems of our state. I've been to the keys, air boating in the glades, Universal studios and all the tourist traps up there, but I don't think there is a single greater joy to be had or natural beauty to be seen than taking a kayak out onto the springs. Anyone who makes a visit to Florida should make a trip out there. You won't regret it.


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## ZEROPILOT (Sep 6, 2015)

Cool. Thanks Pete


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## Merrick (Sep 6, 2015)

Awesome


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## ZEROPILOT (Sep 6, 2015)

I've never heard of the place.
I'll have to look it up.


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## Tom (Sep 6, 2015)

Very cool Pete. Thanks for sharing this adventure with us!


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## leigti (Sep 6, 2015)

I think the turtles were all laughing at you guys.


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## Turtlepete (Sep 6, 2015)

leigti said:


> I think the turtles were all laughing at you guys.



Probably.

At my face.

Notice its cropped out.

Theres a reason for that.


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## Turtlepete (Sep 7, 2015)

ZEROPILOT said:


> I've never heard of the place.
> I'll have to look it up.



If you like swimming, kayaking and turtles, I promise you it's worth the trip. A little over 4 hours from us though, so the optimal thing to do would be to head up early one day, spend a day on the river and rent a hotel in neighboring Brooksville for the night. I stay with some friends in Webster. I might be heading back up there mid-October, if I get the opportunity again.


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## AnimalLady (Sep 10, 2015)

Oh cool! I need to take a trip there.. but let me clarify something. You were swimming in the same water as the gators? Holy [email protected]*

Not scared at all?


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## Turtlepete (Sep 10, 2015)

AnimalLady said:


> Oh cool! I need to take a trip there.. but let me clarify something. You were swimming in the same water as the gators? Holy [email protected]*
> 
> Not scared at all?



If you are in Florida I highly recommend it. Lots of others springs in the area to check out as well. About an hour and a half north there is the Devil's Den springs, which is basically an underground spring with the roof caved in to form an awesome underground diving location. Last trip I took I was not yet 18 so unfortunately couldn't sign the waiver to go there, but will be going next time I'm up north. I hear its awesome.

I've been seeking out gators to take a nice snorkel with in some clear water. As long as you exercise respect and the proper amount of caution, there is little to fear from any animal….Same applies to any large predator, venomous snakes, etc.. Of course a different amount of caution and different behavior is required around all different predators and "dangerous" (I cringe to apply this word to animals) animals. If you know the behavior of the common gators down here there is very little to fear from them. I am absolutely no expert in this field, but familiar enough with them to know when I am in danger and am not….They are, for the most part, unaggressive. For one, gators are surface predators, so that is something to account in when around them. Similarly to sharks, you are in the greatest danger on the surface, but much safer underwater alongside them. For example, if I saw a gator cruising along the bottom of a clear spring I would absolutely get in to have a swim with them. Would I swim up and pull on its tail? Absolutely not. But if I treat the animal with respect and an appropriate amount of caution, I am in no danger. You just have to know what scenario you can approach the animal in and always exercise caution, and foremost treat the animal with respect. Watch this video:




Diving with nile crocodiles, the king of crocodilians. The divers know exactly how to behave around the animals and the mannerisms the animal will display to warn them it is feeling threatened.

Or maybe I'm just stupid. But if I was ever injured by a gator, or any animal, the most tragic outcome would not be the loss of my limb and/or life, but the murder of the animal involved for doing what nature intended for it to do….Few animals are murderers or kill for fun, they kill for a purpose. Know that purpose and take the proper precautions.

As far as simply being in the water, there are dozens of people on the river on any given day, just floating through on a tube, legs dangling….Never heard of an attack on rainbow river. Probably the only gators are the little 4-5 foots who pose no threat to us. There was an orlando woman who lost her arm to a gator on nearby Wekiwa springs though. I am unfamiliar with what she was doing and if she caused or provoked the attack.


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## AnimalLady (Sep 10, 2015)

I have much respect for ya man. I do not have what it takes to swim with gators. Nah uh. I'm a chicken sh!t and not afraid to admit it.


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## divemtt (Sep 11, 2015)

Very nice! Those loggerhead musks look very interesting.


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