If you had told me a few months ago I’d be writing a post about the Channel Islands, I would’ve expected it to fall under my Bucket List category. But I am happy to report on this destination with first-hand experience and a plethora of photos!

I’ll write more about our voyage to the islands (via Island Packers Ferry) and camping and hiking in later posts. Right now I’m most excited to share the highlight of our trip and a top tier reason to visit the Channel Islands: kayaking in sea caves.

There are several kayak companies to pick from. We chose Channel Islands Outfitters and signed up for their Caves & Coves tour. Our guides Phil and Ben are truly stellar. In addition to their depth of knowledge about marine life and the islands’ history, they exude a relaxed and confident energy that makes us feel safe and well taken care of. These guys love their job and it shows.

Once our ferry has docked (you can see a glimpse of it in the distance below), we follow Phil and Ben to the other side of the beach for a kayak paddle and safety lesson. We also get decked out in wet suits — what they lack in fashion they make up for in function, as the suits keep us warm and cozy all day.

My sister Bethany and I are pumped for sea kayaking!

After the lesson we select our kayaks and head to the water’s edge. We can choose either a tandem kayak (which is twice as easy to paddle because you’re sharing the workload with another person) or a single kayak. Beth and I each pick single kayaks so that we’ll have the freedom to paddle around as we please. To be entirely honest, I just want the flexibility to stop and snap photos on a whim without having to coordinate with someone else. (As it turns out, the wind ends up working mostly in our favor that day so the paddling is relatively easy.)

The guy in the white helmet is Phil. He rocks.

And this is Ben, our other guide. Also a very cool dude. I am a little envious of his hair.

We start kayaking north towards Cavern Point. You can see several caves in the photo below — the guides point out that this formation looks somewhat like an elephant. See the trunk?

If the color of the water appears inconsistent in these photos (sometimes washed out, sometimes colorful), it’s partially dependent on whether or not I used a flash. Clouds are also a factor. The deep turquoise in the photo below is more accurate to real life than the flat color in the photo above.

Check out the kelp below. It’s quite prevalent in the Channel Islands in part because it grows at such a rapid rate.

And it’s edible! Ben and Phil encourage us to snap off a leaf and chew, so I give it a go. It tastes like a salty apple peel.

Check out this ginormous… sea object? I’m not sure how to classify some of the underwater plant life our guides pull up. Phil actually rips off the stem attached to this bulbous shape and blows into it like a makeshift musical instrument. It emits a low, baritone note, perhaps akin to the sound a tuba might produce. So THAT was how the sea creatures in The Little Mermaid played along to “Under the Sea”! (The Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney movie of all time. OF ALL TIME.)

Here I am with my trusty GoPro camera. It’s my favorite adventure accessory.

My sister is wearing a waterproof windbreaker provided by Channel Islands Outfitters. They offer them free of charge to anyone signed up for their kayak tours. Beth reports it kept her warm and she’s glad she wore it.

We duck in and out of several caves, encountering a few sea lions (we keep a distance of at least 20 feet so they don’t feel threatened). Our guides instruct us on how to go through each cave: some we go in small groups and come back out the way we entered, some we circle through in train formation, and others we have to navigate with extra careful paddling.

After about an hour we turn around and head south, passing the beach where we started. We continue further south towards Scorpion Rock and explore more caves.

The “paddle up” sign means gather ’round, because our guides have something to tell us.

Here we are about to explore another cave. Ben hangs out at the entrance and calls us forward one by one. Phil waits inside the cave to give us paddling instructions (“Hard on your left! Watch the rock!”) as we zoom through.

And here is the other side of that cave.

The water below is so clear. A few times I plunge my hand down to capture the intense colors and undersea life.

Phil and Ben pull up these purple spiny sea urchins. He circulates some around so we can take turns holding one… and when it’s in my hand I realize it moves! The pointy spikes are like little legs that want to march back into the water. I get squeemish and pass it off to my sister.

Here’s Phil providing more background on the marine biology of the Channel Islands.

Humans are not normally permitted on Scorpion Rock, but the people walking below are part of a plant restoration project. Ben explains about another program that uses mp3 players run by solar power to emit bird sounds that encourage mating. Maybe they play a little Marvin Gaye? Note the large bird perched on the right side of the rock below.

This cave on Scorpion Rock is the last one of our tour. It’s also the best one.

We wait inside as one by one Phil sends us deeper into the cave to meet Ben. Each kayaker returns with big smiles proclaiming, “That was SO cool!” I’m one of the last to go and can’t wait to see what all the fuss is about.

When I reach Ben, I understand — we’re in a narrow section of the cave where the water level rises and falls several feet every few seconds. It’s like being on an elevator. And the cave walls underwater open up to the outside, so sunlight floods in underneath bathing the cavernous walls in aqua light. It’s ethereal. The lighting is too dark for still photos (and I’m too distracted by the beauty to snap shots) but I hope that my GoPro is working properly so that I can watch it back later.

Here is a “necklace” I found. Ariel would be proud.

More birds! I do not hear any iPod mating music.

With kayak time over, we reluctantly head back to shore.

But it’s not over yet. This next part is what separates Channel Islands Outfitters from other tour companies: they include snorkeling as part of the kayak experience. Umm, yes please! We have about an hour to either snorkel, hike, or relax on the beach. Bethany and I grab snorkel gear and jump in the ocean. Luckily we don’t have to swim far, as there’s plenty to see right in the harbor area. The first thing that catches my eye is this gigantic sea plant. Doesn’t it look like a huge tail of a Lockness-like creature?

And here are the obligatory snorkel photos of me and then Bethany. I dare you to don a snorkel mask and try to look attractive. It’s just not possible.

Starfish! We see several colorful ones while kayaking but they are difficult to photograph with the waves.

And here’s a stingray! So cool.

I swim further to the kelp forrest by the ferry dock. It’s crazy that this underwater world was mere feet from our kayaks earlier and we had no idea. Fish dart around the golden kelp as I chase them with my camera.

Finally, I’d like to share this video I put together from our kayaking experience. I shot it on my GoPro helmet camera and used music from Jamendo (a great source for royalty-free tunes so that Youtube doesn’t take down your videos). The song is called “Summer” by the band Silence is Sexy.

And that wraps up our kayaking (and snorkeling) trip! If you are considering an excursion to explore the caves and waters of the Channel Islands, it’s very doable as a day trip from the Los Angeles area.

Many thanks to Channel Islands Outfitters for a fantastic kayak experience, and for sponsoring this post by providing a 50% media discount. All opinions are my own.