KAYAK & STAND UP PADDLEBOARD (SUP) RENTALS & TOURS ARE IN GULFPORT FLORIDA!

PHONE OR TEXT RESERVATIONS REQUIRED!      727-418-9728

When you arrive at the launch site in Clam Bayou we’ll have your reserved eqpt on the water’s edge and ready for launch!  A map will be provided along with a suggested route, points of interest and instruction if necessary.    After paddling the route thru 165 acres of narrow channels, shallow lagoons and bayou mangroves (approx 2hrs) you have the option to slip down the shoreline to historic Gulfport Florida beach (1 mile) where you can pull the boats ashore, go for a walk or swim, have a picnic or visit one of the great restaurants and/or shops!  For the paddlers looking for the tropical outting, a small island awaits just beyond (30 minutes) Gulfport!   Plan accordingly and you’ll have a day you won’t soon forget!

ALL AGES AND SKILL LEVELS WELCOME!

Please feel free to peruse our HUGE VIDEO collection and stories on the WHAT’S NEW ON THE BAYOU link

“Every day is like a brand new mission to us, because the rovers move. And so we are in different locations, there is different terrain, there is different geology, there is something new to explore. We’re like Lewis and Clark going upriver and every day there’s new phenomena to see.”  – Callas

Please take a moment to tour our websites video & photo archives as well as the Habitat Florida Manatee & Bring Back the Bayou story series. We hope you enjoy what you see.

ALL KAYAK RESERVATIONS ARE BY PHONE APPT ONLY

THE BAYOU PADDLE.  Our most popular shuttle trip! Launch  a kayak from Clam Bayou Nature park and follow the map through the 160 acre mangrove estuary to see a bounty of birds, fish and marine life. Then just a short 30 minute paddle along the natural shoreline -through the fish and over the grass lies the Gulfport Waterfront district. Pull the kayak or paddleboard onto the beach and leave your shoes behind for the steps into Omaddy’s Beachfront Grille for lunch, dinner, or refreshments! (see menu here http://omaddys.com/01-2010_Menu.pdf )   * PADDLE TIME  = 2hrs

BEACH PADDLE = Launch right off Gulfport Beach and head into the rising sun and Summer breeze. Jumping mullet, soaring rays, and occasional dolphin or manatee encounters occur on this 30 minute paddle into Clam Bayou Nature Park where birds, fish, flora & fauna flourish!  Landing at the designated kayak launch site is a breeze and within yards of the Gulfport City Marina’s ship store and bath area.  * PADDLE TIME  2hrs.

EGAN PARK ISLAND HOPPER.  Egan Park on St Pete Beach is a great place to start an adventure with us! Paddling through the inner waterways of St Pete Beach, S Pasadena & Gulfport on Boca Ciega Bay offer the best experience in the area.  Pack a picnic and stop on 1 of 2 uninhabited islands for some quiet time in the sun-n-sand! * PADDLE TIME  3hrs +  (but likely longer as the islands are timeless)

* FREE SHUTTLE SERVICE  is available (upon request)  every hour on the hour back to your car.

Single kayak = $30
Double kayak = $45

Reservations necessary and space is limited so reserve today!  (727) 418-9728

With the fall bird migration well underway reservations for kayak rental/stand up paddleboard (sup) rental is required.    Come visit and kayak nature today!

KAYAK NATURE ADVENTURES OFFERS GUIDED KAYAK TOURS!

Just minutes from St Petersburg, St Pete Beach & Clearwater Beaches!

Kurt Zuelsdorf

by Kurt Zuelsdorf

“A 40 degree thermometer reading and  the flow of the Withlacoochee  make no sound!”

The phone rang early and often with paddlers wondering if the paddle trip was a “go”, but it was the call from Abby, the camper at Hog Island that got my attention. “Kurt, it’s 34 degrees here…are you coming…are we going?”  My smile stretched the already chapped lips and I assured her we were on the way.

The bumpy road leading to Iron Bridge Recreational area was trampled with deer tracks and scarce on traffic. My enthusiasm soared when four deer crossed in front of the truck.  There’s something about a wildlife encounters that tugs at my heart-strings and renews my relationship with the outdoors, don’t you agree?

 Upon arrival the paddlers emerged from their cars like butterflies from a cocoon… a stretch, a yawn and a smile! The sun was already reflecting off the tannin tinged waters sending slivers of light through  the  swamp and across the shoulders of so many colorful warm jackets and fun hats! 

Twelve  kayakers posed for a picture then lit up the river with vibrant colors of pink, orange, red and gold. Water dripping from the wing-like paddles rippled into the wake toward a shore lined with fist-sized snail shells. The cypress knees always remind me of wizards…faces, hats and gowns galore here. Fresh earth turned over by the feral hogs are a sign of intrusion &  destruction but Bob, while picking trash from the tangled branch  reminded me of something Paul Erlich once said – “The fluttering of a butterfly’s wings can affect climate changes on the other side of the planet.”    It’s the little efforts (ongoing)  that make a difference… one wing beat at a time.

New-found friends in the back of the pack whispered, fluttered and floated quietly as the river grew thin and shallow. Just ahead paddlers resorted to a walk/drag technique that made me smile.  ”When you follow the flow to the outside bend, things be deeper”.    The wizardly cypress knees kindly point the way, can you see them?

A limpkin, a hawk and a flock of white ibis and a few others escorted us during the 3 mile journey downstream. Not a boat, a canoe or a person to be seen, we were all alone… and we loved it!   The view  down the channel to Hog Island was striking!  I the sunlight the wing-like paddles of vibrant colors beamed against the clear blue sky  and reflected off the shimmy surface of the flow until the hulls  whispered softly on the sandy shore .

“The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare to let go. Our true work is this voyage, this adventure” – R Bach

During lunch some animated conversations, a few intrusive questions and suggestions for future trips was shared, then  another stretch, another yawn, another smile and we took flight back into the lazy current. Colors fluttering beyond the next corner, sunlight warming my face as we pressed on through the shallows and across the sand to the deeper, darker depths of the flow.   “Everything looks like a gator ya know…’til you see one!”

Something about actually seeing the destination relaxes the soul and eases the mind. A day on the Withlacoochee River is a fine day indeed!    The colorful kayaks lazily drifted….’til next time. 

“I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man.”  ~Chuang Tzu

by Kurt Zuelsdorf

A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease.  – John Muir

  Modern day flip-flops plopped and slapped down the brick street of the old town and with every step I could hear subtle voices. When I stopped to touch a rough stone wall built by the elders I heard them there too. Porches of the older homes tilting sharply and lacking paint still hold precarious space for a cat in an old cedar rocking chair, I could hear them there. But it wasn’t until I saw children’s deer hide shoes, as some of the only remnants recovered from the hurricane of 1852, did the voices became louder. I traversed the cemetery where the original warmth of cedar plank headstones have long been removed and replaced with cold marble. Woodsmen, carvers & fishermen alike lay side by side on the hill overlooking an endless sea of grassy wilderness. Whitman “The Shell Man” is buried here too. He must have heard them for he had one of the largest collections of artifacts ever seen. Some arrowhead and spear tips were dated to be 20,000 years old….shhhhhh. Their spirits mingled even as the clam shell coffins cover their faces and I hear them… through time and in the breeze they speak in native tongue. I followed their voices to pass through the shadows that pointed me down a path deeper into the history of Cedar Key.

  The brilliant white plumes of the egret flash amidst the canopy covering the abandoned railroad built by Faber in 1855. No longer can you hear his old locomotive…but you can hear them. Images of the Temucuan natives who piled shells from oysters, conch, mussel, & green turtle into a huge mound that towers 28ft above the mud flats….it took 6000 years to build! Standing atop the remains now covered in palm and cedar I wondered “Why here? Why this spot so far from anything and plagued by biting deer flies?” My questions, asked aloud into the cooling summer breeze, were heard but left unanswered until the children running through the marsh grass flushed scores of egret, ibis and laughter into the timeless sky….I heard them.

  Standing alone on the center-line of Hwy 24 I bonded with the swallow tail kite and we both heard them. I would have liked to see this landscape through the native’s eyes. John Muir on his thousand-mile walk to the Gulf in 1867 heard them. “The traces of war,” he wrote, “are not only apparent on the broken fields, mills, and woods ruthlessly slaughtered, but also on the countenances of the people.” Ancestors of the great cedar tree still twist in the breeze and drop scented blue seeds to the rich earth…maybe again someday, but for now “savaged” he said, unfinished vine and scrub for miles. “A watery and vine-tied land!” said he.

  The view of the island and the Seahorse Key lighthouse from my condo is civilized, but civilization does not appear to be welcome here and I heard them. Not the electricity, nor the air boats, or the golf carts, restaurants or tour boats. Remnants of history remain: Giant cast iron pots used to make salt and hulls of old clam boats litter the rugged landscape. I’d not regret the loss of the pier to the west or the famous “Guest House” that is disappearing with every tidal change just like modern-day locals.

“Atsena Otie” from the Muskogean language “acheno ota” or cedar island…the only Native American words that I can speak and understand. I’ll likely not return to this place of cloudy water and clams, but will never forget what I heard.

alligator beach bird BIRDER birding birds boca ciega clam bayou clean up conservation eagle eco-tour elnor island environment florida ft desoto Green gulfport kayak kayaking kayak rental kayak st pete beach kayak tour Kurt Zuelsdorf manatee nature omaddy’s osprey otter paddleboard picnic snook south pasadena Spoonbill stand up board stand up paddleboard st pete st pete beach st pete kayak tour st petersburg summer sup trash WATER MONKEY withlacoochee