Fear should have been a factor as I stared into the eyes of a wild, 4,500 lb. animal that was less than a yard away. His whiskers twitched as he sensed my warm blood. My life flashed before me like a good movie with a bad ending. I realized how helpless I was in his domain. Then the prehistoric monster rolled over and invited me to scratch his belly.

Swimming with manatee is one of hundreds of underexposed Florida experiences that have nothing to do with theme parks, sand, surf or oceanfront condos. Many casual tourists believe that if you take those attractions away all that is left of Florida is gator-filled swamp.

My view is that what is left is the best: pine forests, meandering rivers, warm burbling springs that form lakes, a coral reef, a wealth of oddball creatures such as the manatee, alligator, roseate spoonbill and armadillo, and enough water-based activities to keep kids and seniors occupied for at least a couple of weeks.

In search of the best of the rest my husband and I covered, by car, the complete Florida coast from Panhandle south to Keys and then north along the Atlantic coast to Jacksonville. Our first test of alternate adventures came immediately upon entering Florida from Mississippi: the Wolf River. Florida is as flat as an old bicycle tire so I questioned whether canoeing this serpentine waterway would amount to anything more than pushing a paddle through an overgrown marsh.

A driver from Adventures Unlimited helped us launch the rental canoe and then was gone, which was good as we would not have enjoyed his laughter as we tried to resurrect our rusty paddle skills and got pushed against a bridge that we eventually got through backwards. Propelled by recent rains and the force of a spring the river moved enthusiastically and actually had occasional burbling water that might be described by a novice as rapids. Neither condo nor cottage converged on the pristine, sandy shoreline and there was hardly a sound beyond nature and paddles. It was exactly what we were hoping for.
The nearby city of Pensacola is one of the cleanest in the south and that encouraged a seafood quest that included dinner at the Fish House and shrimp for the next day purchased at Joe Patti’s amazing market.

At Crystal River, half way down the Gulf coast, we joined Birds Underwater for a 6:15 a.m. swim with the manatee. This experience may be as endangered as the big sea cows as more and more tour boats clog the secluded springs where the mammals winter. Captain Chris, commander of the pontoon boat, instructed the snorkelling passengers to touch the manatee only if they invited it and warned us that the marked sanctuaries were off limits to terrestrials. We swan through a narrow channel to the transparent waters of Three Sisters Springs (a thrill in itself) and had our first sighting, but the meaty manatee kept their distance. Captain Chris took us to another spot where adults and calves frolicked (in their lumberous way) and rolled over, inviting us to stroke and scratch them. Rubbing the belly of a two ton feral sea creature was a trip highlight.

The next day we paddled with Kayaks and Beyond and amidst springs and mangroves saw from above what we had seen from below: a perfect combination.

Travelling south we stayed on Sanibel Island and, with some instruction from locals (walk in the water at low tide, not on the beach) went shelling.

Our catch wouldn’t complement a goldfish bowl: others had started earlier and nabbed the best collectibles. Still, it was fun, we got some personal souvenirs and we knew there was potential if we had more time. At the north end of the island Captiva Cruises gave us a preview of the bottlenose dolphin that we would later swim with. After an hour of distant sightings a pair of playful dolphins cavorted in the wake of our boat, diving and leaping just a few metres from appreciative passengers.

An introduction to Sanibel’s birdlife was a feature of Tarpon Bay Explorers’ kayak tour at the Darling Wildlife Refuge. Without binoculars we spotted roseate spoonbill, egret, bald eagles, ibis, anhinga and many type of heron.

Key Largo, nestled at the bottom of Florida, is a surf and sand oasis and here we confirmed our beliefs about an alternative Florida. Just offshore is an unheralded coral reef with a host of tropical fish, shell fish and reef activity that is almost as fantastic as Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and somewhat closer to home. Our boat left the dock at John Pennekamp underwater state park and within 30 minutes was anchored 50 metres from the reef. Using the supplied mask, fins and snorkel we spotted bull shark, jellyfish, rays, eels and an array of neon exotics that looked like they had jumped out of Disney’s Finding Nemo. The reef itself was a living mass of brightly hued plants and animals.

Just down the road from the state park we entered an entirely different aquatic world where we played with trained dolphin in huge tanks at Dolphins Plus. It was difficult to determine who was trained and who was trainer. An instructor told us to lie in the water, face down and two dolphins pressed their bottle noses against our soles and pushed us through the water with such power that our torsos rose up and emerged from the frothy liquid like the figurehead on and old sailing ship. The mammals pulled us through the water when we held their dorsal fins and when we held hoops they jumped through. They taught us that if we made the right motion they would engage in a water fight, kiss our cheeks and dance with us.

Thus far we had been both under the water and on the water and at Sebastian, a tiny town a few kilometres from the ocean, we skimmed above the water. Bob Montuoro Airboat Adventures are as quiet as a craft pushed by giant propellers can be and the captain (pilot!) goes out of his way to ensure that the environment he explores is untouched by his presence. Skimming over swamp and grass we got our fill of the favourite creature of Florida — the alligator. Several times we pulled up beside a mother who protected a dozen baby gators, each no longer than the foot of a woman. An hour later we were at Marsh Landing restaurant, in nearby Fellsmere, chowing down on chewy gater tail that did not taste at all like chicken. We completed the day with a sunset tour on the Indian River with Capt. Christy Casual Cruisin.

At the oldest continually inhabited spot in North America, St. Augustine, half-way up the Atlantic coast, we twice more took to the water. Here we helped hoist the staysail and mainsail on the schooner Freedom for a superb windblown sunset cruise that went close enough to the rolling, open ocean to give a sense of what it is like. On a small commercial boat we became crew members and hauled up traps to harvest stone crabs and blue crabs. The Alaska/Florida Crabbing Tour takes up to six on a small workboat while the two owners demonstrate their daily routine of baiting, sorting, and pulling heavy crab traps from the bay. Each trap was a surprise, yielding stone or blue crab, ugly bottom fish, nothing at all or, on two occasions, beer cans. They have even pulled up golf balls. We learned about regulations and the intricacies of trying to figure out where traps should be located and where other crab seekers will position their traps.

Our personal voyage of discovery ended with snorkelling in the huge, warm (21 degree) springs of Ocala National Forest (north of Orlando) and then exploring the nooks and crannies of Jacksonville’s Amelia Island where plantations and manor houses are found at the end of dirt roads.

When one tires of theme parks and crowded beaches it is good to know that an array of quiet, aquatic attractions on both fresh and salt water are waiting for adults and kids. There are no line-ups, everything is real and, for the most part, it will cost considerably less than visits to the un-natural attractions.

Along our journey we encountered some remarkable accommodation. Our infallible standard was the clean and accessible KOA campgrounds, but when we opted for more comfort than home we stayed at ResortQuest on Perdido Key, Pensacola, at Largo Lodge on Key Largo, Ferndale Lodge in Sebastian and at Cedar House Inn, a Victorian B&B in St. Augustine.
For additional information check www.visitflorida.com