Matanzas River Paddle

May 1, 2016

We had one more day in Florida before we went home.  Time to get out on the kayaks.  We decided to head out to the Matanzas inlet, a place she used to paddle and explore years ago.  The inlet can be an amazing location for all sorts of marine life.  I was excited to see an area of the world that is near and dear to her heart.  A place full of great memories before I met her, a chance to glimpse a portion of her past.

We decided that we would put in at the State Route 206 bridge, then paddle down the Matanzas River, 3 miles to the inlet.  West from A1A onto 206, take the first left, this is an immediate left, and the only road before the bridge.  Turn right onto Coastal, which ends at a sand parking area at the river.  We parked in the shade under the bridge with several other cars.  This area is popular with shore fishermen.  You can also park on the west end of the bridge in similar fashion, and would actually be launching into some salt flats which were fun to explore and you wouldn't have to cross the Matanzas river to get to them.



Tide was coming in, and coming in strong.  We were also faced with a strong head wind.  Needless to say it was slow going.  If you plan to do this paddle, take note of the tides and plan accordingly.  The Matanzas River is part of the Intercoastal  Waterway System.  It was 2 in the afternoon on a perfect, sunny, not too hot Sunday.  The Intercoastal might as well been I 95 interstate highway.  Boat traffic was high, Big boats with big wakes, little boats, heck even jet skis towing tubers.  We quickly realized we were not going to make the inlet.  In reality that was okay, because when we passed the inlet on A1A, it was packed.  I mean every parking lot was full and the both sides of the road for a half mile of the inlet was parked with cars.  People everywhere on the inlet.  She was actually amazed, when she was hanging out there 15 years ago, she always had the place pretty much to herself.  Seems like the secret has been leaked.

Knowing the inlet was out of reach, we crossed the river and entered the salt flats/salt marsh on the west side of the river.  There were birds galore, but I unfortunately forgot my binoculars, so I could not identify the small white, swallow-esque bird that was swooping and diving in to the water. Egrets and herons abound.  The tide was low (but rising) and the numerous oyster beds were exposed.   Highlight of the paddle was a quick glimpse of a sea turtle sticking its head ever so briefly above the water.





 

After we were done and the kayaks were loaded back on the jeep, we were going to drive to the inlet and check out the beach.  It was still super crowded so we opted for Washington Oaks beach instead, On the short trail to the beach we encountered a small gopher tortoise munching on some grass.  Brought back a ton of memories from my time at the Joesph Jones Ecological Research Center during the gopher tortoise study.  I showed her how you can get an estimate on the tortoises age by counting the rings on the scutes of the palasteron.    The beach and ocean never disappoint.  We walked down the beach, my flip flops in one hand and hers in the other.  Ruddy turnstones in full breeding plumage were walking along with us, foraging the beach along the way.  They were accompanied by the ever present dunlin.

 

 

We headed back to the house to pick up her mother and headed back out.  This time in search of birds.  We drove the loop through the salt marshes and didn't see much.  We went through Gamble Rodgers State Park  and North Peninsula Park.  Still nothing, at least bird wise.  But I did get some photos of a crab climbing up a tree.  We called a night with a seafood dinner at The Anchor in Flagler Beach.  A little pricey for what you get, but good none the less.

Another Florida trip in the books.  Head back north, with my head still in the sand.