Backwoods Florida 2

Leaving the shores of the Suwannee, we hopped onto Interstate 10 westbound and made tracks for Tallahassee. Circling Florida's capital city on the ring road, we saw no point in pulling over and instead headed 15 miles south from here to Wakulla Springs State Park.

Somewhere underneath the Florida pines, it's as if someone has walked off and left the taps running. An astonishing quarter of a million gallons of fresh water bubble out of 25 miles of underwater caves here, making Wakulla one of the world's deepest and most productive natural springs.

A placid lake marks the mouth of the springs, which is the source of the 9-mile Wakulla River. The first few miles of the river is a pristine wildnerness with no fishing, hunting or hiking. The only access is with a park ranger aboard one of their boats.

The place is no backwoods backwater, though. In the 1930s a luxurious lodge was built nearby and the surrounding forests served as the African jungle for a number of Tarzan movies. These days the movie cameras are long gone, but the lodge still offers fine food in its ballroom restaurant, as well as overnight accommodation.

We had a light lunch and enjoyed a view of the gardens which teemed with sparrows, mockingbirds and red cardinals.

Far more exotic wildlife awaited us on our boat safari. For an extra $8 there are regular ranger tours which last an hour and cruise about a mile along the river. Alligator sightings are guaranteed!

Almost immediately after pulling away from the dock, the ranger cut the engine and pointed at a brown blob beneath the water - a manatee! It dove deeper and disappeared, quite unconcerned by us. The park's boats are the only ones allowed on the water and none of the animals took a blind bit of notice as we cruised past.

Our ranger guide pointed out an osprey in the trees tearing into a fish for lunch. A diving bird popped its head up from the water like a periscope to catch its breath. Moorhens sat amongst waterlilies, fish jumped out of the water and alligators sunned themselves on logs.

We spotted several varieties of herons, cormorants and ducks amongst the reeds and cypress trees. The ranger explained some of their habits, like how an anhinga needs to dry its feathers after each dive (good luck, it was overcast today).

Right when we thought the show was over and the dock was in sight, we floated past an entire family of manatees, including a baby that broke the surface for a breath of air.

I don't see how these sea cows inspired the mermaid legends, but then we had only been on the boat for an hour...

By the way, the Friends of Wakulla Springs are raising money to refurbish the fleet of boats that ferry visitors around the springs. It only takes a couple clicks to make a donation with your PayPal account and they deserve every cent you can afford!

Leaving Wakulla Springs, we took the coastal road to Bald Point where we pulled over to stretch our legs. The sky glowered and threatened rain, the sea was brown and churning.

The shoreline was littered with the shells of horseshoe crabs, then we spotted this live pair in the surf.
Still heading west, we found ourselves on the bulge of Florida's panhandle, called the 'Forgotten Coast' fpr its empty beaches. The road went through thick forests and past gorgeous strands of sand which would have been magnificent in the sun, but instead were hidden in rain and mist. At least there were no condos or casino hotels marring the view.

This made for an atmospheric journey to the small town of Apalachicola, which is approached along a long straight causeway. Following the road are a string of pylons on which perched hundreds of birds. There was nowhere to pull over for a look, so here's a terrible out-of-focus shot taken from inside the car.

Dropping down into Apalachicola, the town looked quite inviting with its working port, a thriving downtown district and lots of independent eateries. We could have easily spent a day or two here, but it was getting dark and starting to rain even more, plus we had another 80 miles to drive before reaching our hotel.

Perhaps not the best time to mention that backwoods Florida is where they filmed Jeepers Creepers...

Coming up, we watch The Descent at the hotel and decide against a trip to Florida Caverns State Park. Luckily there is plenty more to see as we continue to head west, including the state's highest waterfall and a small town built around a perfect circle of a lake.