Island Packers (Ventura, CA): Day Trip for 2 to Anacapa or Santa Cruz Island> Code: 0414


Item Number: 227

Time Left: CLOSED

Value: $110

Online Close: Apr 21, 2013 11:59 PM PDT

Bid History: 1 bid - Item Sold!

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www.islandpackers.com


Experience Santa Cruz Island part of the  Channel Islands National Park with Island Packers!


About Island Packers:


Cruising the California Channel Islands for education, recreation, and research since 1968. Let your island adventure begin with the experienced crew from Island Packers. Providing first rate transportation services for island hiking, camping, kayaking, whale watching, school field trips, sightseeing and harbor cruises. 

Leaving from Ventura Harbor, travel time is one hour on our catamarans to East Santa Cruz Island, Scorpion Anchorage and an hour and a half to Prisoners Harbor- Mid Santa Cruz.

About Santa Cruz Island:

Santa Cruz Island is located about 20 miles from the California mainland coast. At over 96 square miles in size the island is a miniature of the California mainland.

The eastern 24% of the island is National Park Service (NPS) property. The western 76% is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC). On the eastern end we offer trips to Scorpion Cove. At mid Santa Cruz we offer trips to Prisoners Harbor where the border of the NPS property and TNC property is located.

Scorpion Cove on the eastern end is primarily grass lands while Mid Santa Cruz at Prisoners Harbor is a forrested area with many forms of plant life.

Santa Cruz Island is the largest of the Channel Islands it is also the most diverse with plant communities from marshes and grasslands to chaparral and pine forests.  There are over 600 plant species, 120 species of land birds, including the endemic Santa Cruz Island Scrub Jay. 


 














Anacapa is the closest island to the mainland, just 12 miles from the Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard. Most of Island Packers departures to East Anacapa Island are from our location in the Channel Islands Harbor.

As the spring bloom fades the island comes alive with the cry of Western Gulls guarding their nests of eggs. 

From February through April, Anacapa is a rainbow of color created by the bloom of native wildflowers. Intensity and duration of the bloom differs a bit each year due to varied rainfall and temperature. 

Chicks usually hatch at about 5 weeks after being laid and fledge the nest at about 6 to 7 weeks of age.

The middle islet and most of the western islet remain a wilderness area set aside for nesting seabirds, like the endangered California Brown Pelican. 

Anacapa is comprised of three small islets; East, Middle, and West. Exploration is permitted on the east islet, accessed via the Landing Cove, and a small beach on the west islet called Frenchys Cove. 

Just as the chicks leave the nest, park rangers begin the "Anacapa Live" video program. Visitors can experience a live virtual tour of the kelp forest when they watch the video program. Images are beamed up to the Landing Cove's video monitors. The program is interactive so visitors can listen to, and talk with the divers via a special underwater communication link. This year there will also be some live guided hikes on Anacapa you can view online. 

Special Instructions

Expires 4/13/14


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