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FLORIDA - MANATEES AND MORE  Think of Florida diving and a number of things might come to mind. The Keys of course, for coral and wrecks; next you might think of the area around Fort Lauderdale for more adventurous wreck diving; then central Florida for caves. But move west and north a bit to Citrus County and something different is on offer. The Gulf waters here are shallow - 30 to 60 miles from shore you might just be able to stand head above the waves (OK, not quite), so sea diving is limited but inland there are some attractions along two rivers, the Crystal and the Homosassa. Crystal River is about 80 miles north of Tampa. These rivers are warm in the colder winter months, with the inflow of vast quantities of spring water, and this warmth attracts manatees. Manatees, if you don't know them, are the large, friendly and endangered marine mammals also known as sea cows (they are herbivores!,) and just possibly the largest marine mammal you could ever have a chance to interact with. This area of Citrus County may be the only place you can do that interacting. In most areas where manatees occur any interaction is strictly forbidden. Here years of strict conservation measures and enforcement of regulations on interactions have found no detrimental problems with personal interaction. So snorkelling / swimming with them is acceptable as an educational (to us humans) endeavour. * When: November to April is best. As coastal waters warm, manatees return to the marine world and disperse, but even in mid April some will be found in the river systems. * Requirements: Swimwear. Snorkel and fins useful, light wetsuit suggested. Nearly anyone can participate (no need to even swim, so open to the whole family). Water temperature is 25°C but you can be in the water a long time, hence a 3 to 5 mm wetsuit. 
* What happens: The manatees are free-roaming, looking for food over many miles of waterways which meander through both built up and "natural" areas. In the evenings, as it becomes cooler, they congregate at known warm spring heads for the nights. The tour and other boats will try and find them at these locations in the early morning before they again disperse to feed. If not found, or if a bit late, the boats go looking in other likely areas. I was late in the year, mid April, so did more of the looking. Once seen, anyone on the boat was welcome to quietly slip into the water at a short distance away and quietly swim near to them. Then it became the manatees option to come and inspect us, which usually they did. Interactions were personal and very real! A manatee, maybe all 3 m and 1000 + kg, would come and nuzzle up wanting to be scratched. If you obliged and gave them a good scratch, particularly under the front flippers, they would want more and more, moving a metre away then back, rolling over on their side or back, nudging you from the other side. Its almost embarrassing how a 1 ton animal can be so graceful and controlled in the water compared to us, but you'll see it and feel it as they stop next to you, on their side, and lift a flipper for one final scratch before heading back to feeding. 
This might be a point to make a comment about the boats generally used for the manatee watching and for at least some of the diving. If you're used to British style RIBs or Red Sea style vessels, the boats used here on calm shallow rivers are a bit different, more like flat pontoons with an outboard. Easy to board, just not elegant! The "fun" boats are the fan ones. One of these (a private one I talked to the owner about) can be quick, he had a LARGE aircraft engine powering it and said it would do 75 mph, many would do 50 mph it seems. Yes this was great fun and educational. Everyone I talked to enjoyed it tremendously. * With whom: I was with American Pro Divers who offered a variety of such encounters. Crystal River has many boats all touting for this tourist trade of manatee watching, but many will only have this, while American Pro goes on to offer diving after. DIVING But you want to go diving - that's not left out. The rivers are used for some shallow drift dives or snorkelling and it's also an area with springs and cave systems. Locally springs bubbling up through the river bottom make for something interesting, such as tiny holes spurting water with some force or areas of sand bubbling and dancing. Sink holes can lead to Florida's extensive underground cave systems and, at novice diver level of experience, the entrance to some of these can be dived.  Another day and a drift dive along the Rainbow River. All shallow, my deepest was 5.5m, while some snorkelled along above us with diving gear, but it offered good visibility except when going through the eel grass beds. Small fish and interesting terrain. I met up with some locals to dive in shallows along the Crystal River. This added an unusual element to my dive logs, such as being in less than 2 metres, swimming among dense strands of green algae which looked like pond scum from the surface. It was actually fascinating looking at the plant growth and tiny juvenile fish. Worth trying if you can engineer the chance. 
* Cavern: American Pro don't do cave diving but they train cavern diving, which always keeps depths and distances low and daylight visible. The Crystal River area can be a reasonable staging post to explore this further."Manatee Springs" and the "Catfish Hotel" in the Manatee Springs State Park were relatively local and gave good examples of this type of cavern diving. The springs spew out vast quantities of water and narrow spring orifices produce some exciting high velocity water flows. Moving further afield, a couple of hours drive, American Pro will go to places like Paradise Springs which offered a large cavern before extending into the realms of real cave diving. Many other organisations throughout this region offer both cavern and full cave diving tuition and use Blue Grotto and Ginnie Springs, and many other locations. My personal diving interest is more the biological world than caves or caverns, but I found this a lot more fun than I would have guessed. The caverns can offer something akin to a kids play castle with chambers to explore, narrow passages to glide through. It's certainly something that can be worth experiencing. 
NON-DIVING ACTIVITIESThe manatees are on the borderline between diving and non-diving and open to both. It has great potential for a mixed family activity. In the Crystal River area it's also well worth visiting the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. Other parks and trails offer hiking, fishing, horseback riding, bird watching, boating, museum and historical things of interest locally while the wider Florida area offers more to tourists than maybe any other area of the world. Locally people are less prevalent than animals (though I only saw one crocodile in the wild) and most of the land is in State Parks. Useful Information * Getting there: I flew direct from Heathrow into Tampa, but Orlando is equally close. Its about an hour and a half's drive. You will need a car! * Flights: Very seasonal prices and special offers. Baggage weight limits are much better than to non-north American destinations. * Car hire: Watch for hidden costs not quoted such as insurance and taxes, and hire companies are likely to try and push you up to a more expensive vehicle, but prices can be reasonable. Return the car with a full tank if possible as the hire company will bill your credit card later at way over the odds. Yes, you will have to have a credit card for car hire. * Accommodation: I stayed at American's River Rendezvous organised by the dive centre, it's a 6 mile drive away. Other possibilities are plentiful. * Eating out: Watch your waist line, this is America. Food to most tastes is readily available and often less expensive than the UK. I had self catering so did eat some meals in. * Other notes: The Crystal River area is a bit off the main tourist trail, it's not going to be as crowded as the Florida East Coast and some amenities will mean a drive. To have slide film developed it meant a 40 mile drive which the locals mentioned as just down the road a bit. * Costs: Seasonal variation and special deals will abound. Manatee half day trip about $30, two tank dive about $50 to $60, park entrance fees maybe $10, some of the cavern / cave sites inland will charge $30 to $40 for a days diving if you have managed to hire cylinders. * Diving: Certification cards / book necessary, no problem being BSAC. Cylinders all "A" clamp. Kit of all sorts can be hired but easier with your own. 
FURTHER INFORMATION:American Pro Diving: www.americanprodiving.com tel: 001 352 563 0041 Plantation Dive Shop: www.crystalriverdivers.com tel: 001 352 795 5797 Crystal River Manatee Dive & Tour: www.manateetouranddive.com tel: 001 352 795 1333 American's River Rendezvous: www.americansriverrendezvous.com Good general info: http://floridafisheries.com/nongame/links.html Return to FLORIDA | ||||
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