Catalina Island – The Channel Islands, 4/27/2023, National Geographic Quest
Aboard the
National Geographic Quest
California Coast
Today, we explored Catalina Island, first stopping at Little Harbor to hike and kayak. Next, we pulled up anchor and, as we enjoyed lunch, we made our way to Avalon! The morning began in fog but soon enough, the sun appeared, and blue skies graced us. This is our last night onboard National Geographic Quest and we are all quite sad. New friendships have been made and future explorations planned. Safe travels to all!
Kimberly A. Wood is a Hawaii based international marine researcher, photographer, filmmaker, boat captain and educator. Her research focus is often based in population distribution, diversity and habitat usage of cetacean species, however, she has al...
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Today the adventurers aboard National Geographic Venture embodied the true spirit and meaning of expedition mentality. After gusts of up to 40mph and swells of more than five feet, the backside of Catalina Island was too weather restricted to be a good spot to perform land operations. Guests, crew, and staff pivoted quickly to a plan of wildlife cruising while heading for safe harbor by the shores of Malibu. Little did everyone realize that the unexpected way the day would unfold would be all the more joyful due to our new plan. Cruising brought sightings of many seabirds such as, brown pelicans, fulmars, and shearwaters presumably making their way south away from the Santa Ana winds that were filling in quickly. Guests enjoyed expedition staff presentations and trivia games before being treated to one of the most spectacular wildlife encounters a ship can experience on the California coast. An hour before sunset the ship wide announcement was made that we were surrounded by a megapod of Common dolphins. A megapod or super pod of dolphins is usually considered to contain one thousand or more dolphins, so this was a special interaction. After our final dinner and slideshow, we were treated to another sighting of this same species of dolphin, but at night in waters filled with bioluminescent plankton lighting up when agitated by the movement of the dolphins that were chasing fish in front of the bow of the ship. Today really was a sight to see.
The only way to describe this morning was “sparkling”. Constant glittery sunshine greeted the hikers and Zodiac tours of Santa Cruz Island’s Prisoner’s Bay. All hikers were lucky enough to see the Santa Cruz Island scrub jay, endemic and larger than its mainland cousins. A few guests were also treated with views of the Santa Cruz Island endemic fox. The second photo in this report is the view of Prisoner’s Bay from sea. The white gatekeeper’s watchhouse can be seen on the hillside. When the Caire family lived here, the gatekeeper would alert the family, who lived three miles inland, of who was visiting. The keeper’s friends would sometimes stop by to say hello and bring him his favorite drink, a glass of cow’s milk. Our afternoon was spent at nearby Anacapa Island, cruising in Zodiacs viewing the craggy island and its animal life.
Our morning aboard National Geographic Venture began with a wonderful stretch class led by our onboard wellness specialist, Sabina. Following breakfast, guests embarked on hikes on Santa Rosa Island, ranging from casual meanders in search of birds, to a 8 mile hike where guests witnessed the endemic Torrey pine and Santa Rosa island fox. In the afternoon, guests embarked on Zodiacs to cruise around Santa Rosa, observing hundreds of seabirds while learning about kelp forests and the fascinating history behind the island.
