Great Loop: Jungle Cruise - Hontoon State Park

March 24, 2022

Cruising Dead River near Hontoon State Park

Great Loop: Hontoon State Park – Jungle Cruise
March 22^nd, 2022

It all began with a conversation on the dock. We stopped to talk with a fellow on a Rosborough trailerable trawler. He is retired and volunteering for a couple of months at Hontoon State Park on the St. John’s River. As we always do, we made his acquaintance and inquired about what fun or interesting things there are to do locally.

Mast is in the Down Position

The conversation ended with “Can you get your air draft down to 10’ or less, I’m taking family out for a cruise around Hontoon Island tomorrow, would you are welcome to follow along?” “We’ll be following a dead branch of the St. John’s River and it’s full of wildlife.”

Why a 10’ air draft I asked. Well for the overhanging trees was the reply. Our Ranger Tug, being trailerable, has a fold down mast. We can reduce our air draft to 9’. We were in!

We followed this Rosborough on our Jungle Cruise

Amy Marie enjoyed exploring the bayous and swamps

We headed out early the next morning. The agenda was to head roughly south on the dead branch of the St. John river, turn east into Birdhouse Canal, rejoin the St. John’s River, head north to Blue Springs State Park. Anchor there, see the springs, which are a classic cenote. Admire the Manatees which gather there, and then return to our slip at Hontoon. Little did we know what adventures were to come….

An Alligator Relaxing

We idled out of the marina and fell in line behind the Rosborough. The skies were blue with puffy cumulus clouds floating overhead. Winds were light and radios were tuned to channel 68 so we could talk between the two boats. After travelling north for less than a half a mile we turned left into the dead branch of the St. Johns.

This Gator was grinning at us

Almost immediately we started to see gators along the shore. Also egrets, ibis, limpkins, roseate spoonbills, white pelicans, osprey, bald eagles, night herons, and others we did not recognize. It was so special to see the density and variety of wildlife.

The dead-end branch of the river continued to wind it’s way south. It was a challenge to divide my attention between skippering, watching, enjoying and taking pictures. Occasionally, I’d find myself in shallow water, too close to shore, or headed for a snag because I was distracted by the sights.

The “pièce de resistance” was traversing the Birdhouse Canal back to the St. John’s River. It was a tunnel of trees. Hence the need for the low air draft. It the late 1800’s the cypress trees in this area were logged. Canals were cut through the swamps so the logs could be floated out to the main river, formed into rafts, and towed to mills for processing. We were traversing one of those canals. It was an Indiana Jones and Jungle Cruise moment rolled into one.

Beth on the Bow in Birdhouse Canal

Beth was stationed on the bow to provide guidance. I was engaged in ensuring we didn’t hit anything in the water, along the edges, or overhead. It was a bit intense. Amy Marie also stepped up to the challenge. Her water draft of 2 ½’ and air draft of 9’ allowed us to pull off this little maneuver.

A Video of Birdhouse Canal

Birdhouses adorn the trees along the Canal

Photos of transiting Birdhouse Canal

After exiting the canal, we were again on the main branch of the St. Johns. We motored to Blue Springs State Park, anchored, dropped the dinghy and rowed ashore.

Mike met a cute little Manatee

Here we visited a natural cenote. A Cenote is a location were an underground river surfaces. The clear water was such a contract to the dark coffee colored water of the swamps and St. John’s River. It also attracted a large variety of fish. We were amazed by the large gar fish, catfish and manatees that called the fresh water of the cenote home.