Wednesday 4th January – Rainbow Springs

Our arms were aching from our paddling yesterday, but my morning enquiries revealed that we were staying alongside some of the clearest and best freshwater snorkelling available in the land.  So it was back in the boat again!  And I am so glad that we did.  This is the most beautiful Spring with such a vast array of wildlife, especially waterfowl and turtles. 

Just from this picture you can see how clear the water was

A cormorant perching above the water

Like yesterday, the first part of the paddle was against the tide.  It was 1.5 miles up to the source of the spring.  Even above the water it was clear enough to see fish and turtles swimming below us.  When we turned around we took it in turns again to snorkel or paddle, both activities taking very little effort with a strong current carrying us back towards our launching point.  I had the joy of watching a cormorant hunting for fish amongst the river grass.  This bird was totally at ease with my presence, maybe even using me as a distraction technique for the fish that it was seeking. It kept following me along my route.

The water was cool but you only really felt it back in the open air of the boat.  It was late afternoon by the time we reached our starting point and despite having lost the sensation in the ends of my fingers I refused to get out of the water until the last minute.  What a beautiful place!

To warm ourselves back up it was time for hot drinks in front of a campfire with a steak BBQ dinner.