Kayaking Weeki Wachee Springs – Florida

If at any point you have driven between Clear Water and Orlando in Florida, you may well have spotted the rather retro looking sign for the Mermaid Park Weeki Wachee at the side of the road – it’s quite hard to miss.

Back in the fifties, this park was one of the most popular tourist attractions in the entirety of the US – home to a giant underwater theatre, and the masses of “mermaids” that frequented it.     It is still popular today, thanks mostly to the water park Buccaneer Bay, but also thanks to those that wish to revisit and reminisce.

If you would like to know more about the park, you will have to make the journey yourselves, as this is not the reason we usually head to the Springs…

The Seminole name Weeki Wachee means little Spring or Winding River.  I would probably go with the latter given that in my opinion it’s by no means little (the source of the Spring itself is so deep that the bottom has never been found, and it pumps out ridiculous amounts of crystal clear water from the depths of the caverns below), and it’s the most gorgeous place to admire a little bit of old and wild Florida from the (relative) comfort of a kayak for an afternoon (or a day, you could easily spend the whole day floating about)…

There is a boat hire place directly behind where the mermaids live, but be warned, it is best to call ahead and book enough kayaks for your party.   You should also be aware that the last boat launch of the day is typically 12.30 as you need to be back by 5.30pm, after that you risk a hefty fine.    As we needed a slightly different kayak arrangement thanks to the smallest of our group, we ended up heading up the road to Kayak Shack conveniently located next door to The Upper Deck which looks like a great place to refuel and have a drink afterwards (and watch those ungracefully getting out of the kayaks as they arrive back no doubt!).

Talking of drink, for those of you considering a picnic, you should be aware that absolutely no alcohol is allowed.  This is prime Floridian Wildlife habitat so they don’t want people coming to party here disturbing both the humans that live on the banks of the Spring and the masses of wildlife that also call it home.     Having said that, we did pass a floating cafe selling ice cream and soft drinks if you come unprepared.   Well at least I think we did, I could well have been hallucinating by then, given that I was sharing with the 12-year-old, and therefore doing much of the rowing.   I was rather thankful about this given that each time he attempted to row, his paddle was out of the water more often than in it, and he managed to periodically cover me in what felt like a rather large bucket of icy water.   For those of you that pick the “back seat” in a Kayak, be warned if your rowing partner isn’t up to much…

I will definitely know better for next time, and there will be a next time as we see something amazing each time we come here (this must be our fifth visit over the years!).  Sadly my personal record of kayaking alongside a surfacing manatee with her calf last visit was not to be repeated in the same extraordinary way, but we did see another mother and calf much further ahead.   Sadly the water was full of tannin thanks to heavy rains this time around so this made visibility quite difficult (believe it or not, the water is usually a very very light translucent blue!), but we saw a huge variety of birds, fish, and a teeny tiny baby turtle who stopped to have a good look at us as we paddled past.

If like us you start your journey by paddling upstream against the current (to get all of the hard work out of the way so you can enjoy a well deserved leisurely ride back downstream again afterwards!), do not be tempted to just sit back and enjoy the ride back without any input in the paddle department, as this will more than likely get you stuck on mangrove roots.    Whilst the 12 year old and I sat for quite some time trying to dislodge ourselves and  wondering whether we would have to call upon the help of an elderly bearded Floridian man (who had passed us at least twice wearing what looked scarily like a denim version of Kylie’s hot pants) to rescue us, especially when the 12-year-old started to panic at the idea of having to get into the water to push our kayak off the roots and get going again!

Luckily, my very own knight in shining armour (not hot pants) eventually heard my yells for help, and paddled back upstream to help pull us free, but not before they took a short cut under a bridge shaped tree trunk in the water that happened to be a maternity unit for a giant wolf spider (queue lots of yelling and screaming from his two passengers along with the screaming passenger in mine!).  I would like to apologise to wildlife, residents and visitors alike for that short but rather loud intrusion into your peaceful afternoons…

Overall though, as always tends to be the case, it was the most magical afternoon spent amongst Florida’s incredible wildlife, whilst getting a glimpse of Old Florida at the same time.   You pass many beautiful atmospheric spring side houses that must have been there for years and years.

The (then) Three Year Old was not at all happy about disembarking at the end of our voyage by the way, so have no qualms about taking small children along for the ride – there’s so much for them to see.  Just remember some water to drink, sunscreen, a few snacks for tiny hungry people, and in my case a spare set of dry clothes for afterwards…