Exploring Turtle Creek

We pulled up anchor in the morning and started heading towards our next destination, New Providence Island. We were getting our butt kicked by the waves though and quickly decided to turn around and head back to our (mostly) protected anchorage. After some failed attempts at troubleshooting the water maker some more and unanswered phone calls for help, we decide to try to enjoy our afternoon by finding the elusive “Turtle Creek.”

We keep reading sly mentions of paddle boarding or kayaking Turtle Creek in Instagram posts, Active Captain reviews, and a very expense tour leaving from Nassau to come here. Yet there is absolutely no information on where Turtle Creek is or how to find it. Using our expert sleuthing skills, we believe we’ve identified the area which is a small offshoot from a shallow channel nearby. We load up the dinghy and head over – often turning off the motor and just paddling to better enjoy the serenity of this peaceful spot. It’s a small “creek” that runs through an area of mangroves with very protected, shallow water. These types of areas are known for being a sanctuary to small marine life until their large enough to venture out into the ocean.

As the name would suggest – this area is particularly known for turtles. They must have all been hiding, though, as we only saw two and neither stuck around even long enough for a photo. We did spot several small fish, including a few baby barracuda and needle fish. Mostly we just enjoyed being out in nature, looking through the crystal clear water. Monster kept a sharp watch the entire time, trying to judge if she thought she could jump off onto land (to which we kept telling her the answer is no).

On our way back from Turtle Creek, we stopped at a small beach that was just becoming exposed as the tide lowered. It was a really interesting area, as you could tell that some type of fire had scorched much of the beach and nearby mangroves. In fact, we think most of the area was previously mangroves as you could see many shoots starting to grow back. Dar black, scorched conch shells littered the area – but if you picked them up, the side that had been buried in the sand was still white.

We let Monster run around and roll in sand, while we inspected all the shells. Previously, we had said that we were not going to be “shell people” – those that pick up shells from every beach they visit but never do anything with them. As we began to spot small, nearly perfect spiral conch shells in the shallows though, we couldn’t resist. We searched and searched, collecting only the best and leaving ones behind as they were demoted in the ranks. As the sun began to set, we felt content with our collection and decided we should get going.

Little Monster had different plans though as she just realized there are crabs in the area – small, fast critters which can be chased. She’s really a squirrel hunting dog at heart, but while in the suburbs she learned to chase rabbits, in Florida it was lizards, and now in the Bahamas we’re expanding to crabs (still plenty of lizard chasing as well). The crabs add an interesting challenge for her, though, since they can go into the water and bury in the sand. Monster is not a swimmer, but she was almost willing to give it a shot for this silly crab. On her own accord, she was neck deep in the water fiercely patrolling the area. We were amused at her amusement for a quite a while before coaxing her to go back to the boat.

On the way back, we spotted two very large nurse sharks in the shallow channel area! I have seen more sharks from above water in these past couple weeks than I have under water (scuba diving) in the past couple years. It’s unreal.

Stay tuned to hear more about our next destination, New Providence (where Nassau is), and if we ever even the score with our water maker.