Moment boaters are confronted by scores of alligators while sailing through Georgia state park

A couple rowing through a river in a Georgia state park were treated to a frightening, scaly surprise as they turned a corner in their boat.

Marty Welch and his wife spotted dozens of alligators ahead of them as they were boating in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

'Look at the gators. Man, there's a lot of them. Look at them right in front of you, probably 50 or 60,' Welch said as he recorded himself getting closer and closer to the dangerous predators.

His wife was heard offering to 'row forward,' so they could turn around and avoid the mass of alligators. But Welch was undeterred and chose to sail onward.

'I'm standing up now, so don't do anything stupid,' his wife told him when they were about twenty feet away from the herd of alligators. 

Dozens of alligators are seen in the water about twenty or so feet away from Marty Welch's boat

Welch then chuckled as an alligator swam directly underneath his phone camera and in front of his boat. Only the animal's head was visible.

Once the couple's boat got within feet of the beasts, they began diving down underneath the water, causing violent splashes on the surface. 

Welch also pointed out that even more alligators were on land along the river.

Near the end of Welch's video, a loud crash was heard and the boat appears to sway. 

It's unclear if this was an alligator ramming into their boat, but after this happened, his tone changed rather quickly from jovial to alert.

'Damn!' he shouted after the crash. 

'You might want to sit down,' Welch told his wife.

The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, where this brush with alligators happened, is a huge nature reserve located mostly in Georgia with bits of its land crossing over into North Florida. 

An alligator swims inches away from the couple's boat

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission posted an advisory Thursday warning boaters and swimmer alike that the warmer weather the entire country is experiencing right now means alligators are more active.

The state agency added that alligators 'are most active between dusk and dawn, so avoid swimming at night.'

The most recent alligator attack came just days ago near Tampa when a woman took a dip in a river near her home.

The alligator struck Rachel Thompson as she was getting out of the river. It bit down hard on her leg, and as the animal continued wrenching down on her flesh, she had the idea to pry the gator's jaw open. 

She was discovered by her son shortly after and brought to the hospital, where doctors discovered she was suffering from a broken leg and multiple serious lacerations. 

'I was not ready to leave my family,' Thompson said.