March 4, 2015    Correction:  In a previous post, I stated that the movies The Creature from the Black Lagoon and African Queen (add to them some Tarzan movies,  Ester Williams movies, Sea Hunt … the list goes on and on)  were filmed on the Ocklawaha River.  It was the Silver River not the Ocklawaha.  The Silver River water is crystal, crystal clear at the springs.   Where it reaches the Ocklawaha the water can be murky. The very first underwater camera was made in the area and the clean, clear water conditions here are ideal for underwater filming.  There are areas where you look into the water and can see down 50 feet or more and see the bottom.

Now that I’ve said that … Put this tour on your bucket list.  But do it soon, Captain Tom has been doing this for thirty one years.  The business is up for sale.

Captain  Tom’s Custom Charters …  Tours of All Kinds  … 352-236-0872

We got the Deal of the Day!  It was Captain Tom, David, E T and I on his pontoon boat that holds six passengers (Coast Guard regulations).  He generally gets $120 a trip.  He had a full boat for the afternoon and said he had to be there anyway, so he’d take David and I for $24 each.  He wouldn’t charge for E T because he likes dogs better than people.  They got along fabulously.

The only boat E T has been on is our inflatable kayak.  We had no idea how  she would do.  She jumped on the boat ahead of David and I.  We boarded at 9:30 a.m.  The earlier you get out on any river the better chance you have of seeing wildlife.  Did we see WILDLIFE!!!

When I tell you that we got lucky when we met the nice gentleman that recommended Captain Tom I am not exaggerating!  We had a ball. Captain Tom is a character.  He was VERY informative and funny.   He would stop the boat or maneuver it around to get me in for some great close ups.  He got me in a little closer than I wanted to be for the snake photo.

My favorite part of the trip were the MONKEYS!!!  They were so entertaining and photogenic.  They chased each other,  wrestled,   jumped from branch to branch, even scratched each others backs.   They were hysterical to watch.   I was clapping my hands and laughing out loud.   What great fun!

I’ve included two photos of my favorite bird, the Anhinga.  I was very disappointed  this year that we were not able to make it to Everglades National Park and walk my favorite trail there, The Anhinga Trail.   Our stop was cancelled when the RV broke down.  This tour was ten times better.  There were so many sightings and my favorite of all was two trees loaded with nests and nesting Anhingas.

After awhile I stopped taking photos.  There was no way that any photo was going to capture the beauty of the river.  I didn’t want to miss a thing looking through a camera lens.  It was not only fun but very relaxing.  Leave the driving to the Captain.  Had we kayaked ourselves we would never have seen half of what we saw, or known what a lot of what we were looking at was.  This was the best three hours on the water I’ve spent in a very, very long time.

I’ve included a photo of the glass bottom boats that the park offers tours on.  Captain Tom recommended going on one of them as well.  He said they offer a different “view”. They have been in service over 50 years and still have some of the original Captains.   We’ve put them on our list for “next time”.  Three hours on the water was a lot in this heat. It is VERY hot here.  We went out for a nice relaxing “air conditioned” lunch and then took E T for a walk.  We haven’t stopped talking about the great time we had on the river.

The only negative to the whole trip was seeing chemical spraying, that was going on out on the river.   I couldn’t believe that a State Park would condone this  action.  I mention it,  because it bothered me so much to see it.   Hasn’t the government learned enough about the negative effects that chemicals have had and are having on every living organism on our planet?   It was a sad awareness.