Day 1 - Joining the National Geographic Venture
We joined the ship at San Pedro, near Los Angeles, assembling first at the Crowne Plaza
hotel where the National Geographic Lindblad team welcomed guests, issued name badges,
and our expedition leader Mary-Lou gave a compelling presentation on the Channel Islands
National Park - immediately setting the tone for what was to come. This wasn't a cruise
briefing about lifeboat drill and dinner sittings. It was a naturalist lecture about one
of California's great wild places.
The National Geographic Venture is a genuinely small ship - intimate, unpretentious, and
purpose-built for exactly this kind of work. After the briefest of formalities from the
captain and crew, we were welcomed aboard with warm towels and shown to our cabin. What
struck me immediately was the atmosphere: open, curious, expedition-minded. Fellow guests
were scientists, photographers, retired teachers, and seasoned travellers - all there
for the wildlife and the experience, not the entertainment.
The nightly cocktail hour - a Lindblad ritual featuring a specialty drink, charcuterie
and canapés - proved to be one of the unexpected highlights of every evening. Open
seating at dinner encouraged conversation with different people each night, and the
expedition staff introduced themselves and their specialties. Before I'd even unpacked
properly, I already felt completely absorbed into the experience.
National Geographic Venture
Nightly Cocktail Hour
Life Aboard the Venture
Day 2 - Anacapa Island and Santa Cruz Island
Waking early to find the ship at anchor, the world outside cloaked in coastal fog and
alive with the sound of barking sea lions, was one of those moments that stays with you.
As the sun rose through the mist over Anacapa Island, it felt genuinely otherworldly.
While waiting for our Zodiac group to be called, I joined an iPhone photography
workshop led by the onboard National Geographic certified photography instructor,
Rich Reid - picking up techniques for light and focus I'll use on every expedition
I do from now on. This is what separates Lindblad from other operators: the level
of expertise embedded into every hour of the day.
Our Zodiac cruise along Anacapa's shoreline revealed sea lions on the rocks, seabirds
wheeling overhead, and - when our naturalist Kim hauled a strand of giant kelp from
the water - a reminder of just how productive this marine environment is. Giant kelp
can grow up to two feet a day and forms the backbone of one of the most biodiverse
coastal ecosystems on the Pacific coast of North America.
The afternoon brought a strenuous five-mile hike on Santa Cruz Island in 26-degree
heat, where we encountered two of the Channel Islands' most famous endemic species -
the tiny Island Fox and the vivid blue Scrub Jay, found nowhere else on earth.
Island Fox - Found Nowhere Else on Earth
Strenuous Hike - Santa Cruz Island
Day 3 - Santa Rosa Island and the Wildlife of the Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are often called "America's Galapagos" - and spending a full day
on Santa Rosa, one of the most remote and least-visited islands in the group, makes
clear why that comparison has merit. The landscape is rugged, windswept, and
extraordinarily wild for somewhere just 30 miles from the California coast.
The afternoon Zodiac cruise along Santa Rosa's eastern coast, led by photographer
Rich Reid, was among the most exhilarating two hours I've spent on the water.
Sea lions hauled out on rocks. Cormorants patrolled the kelp beds. A bald eagle
circled above the ancient Torrey Pines. And then - the moment that had the whole
Zodiac holding their breath - a suspected great white shark, estimated at seven or
eight feet, circling below us. No photographs. We moved on quickly. The adrenaline
was very real.
"A bald eagle circling above the Torrey Pines. Sea lions. A great white shark
below the Zodiac. In two hours on the water, more wildlife encounters than most
people see in a lifetime of holidays."
The evening brought a sunset deck party - the crew had set up a bar on the sundeck,
canapés appeared, and everyone gathered to share photographs and stories from the day.
With the Channel Islands glowing in the late light and the Pacific completely flat
around us, it was one of those expedition moments that defies easy description.
Day 4 - Catalina Island: Two Harbors and Avalon
Our final full day brought a complete change of character. Catalina Island - reachable
by ferry from Long Beach in 90 minutes - is the most accessible island in the group
and feels it. Two Harbors in the morning offered more of the expedition spirit: a hike
through the campground rewarded us with Catalina Island Foxes at every turn, smaller
than their Santa Cruz cousins and almost cartoon-like in their tameness, before
kayaking and paddleboarding among the sea kelp with orange Garibaldi fish visible
through the clear water below.
Kayaking & SUP - Catalina Island
Catalina Island Fox
The Community Aboard
The Channel Islands Wildlife - What Makes This Region Special
The California Channel Islands are one of North America's most significant wildlife
habitats, yet they remain almost unknown outside the United States. The combination
of the cold, nutrient-rich California Current from the north and the warmer Davidson
Current from the south creates an upwelling that makes these waters extraordinarily
productive. The result is a marine food chain that supports everything from giant kelp
forests and Garibaldi fish to California sea lions, Pacific harbour seals, bottlenose
dolphins, blue whales, and great white sharks.
On land, the isolation of the islands over millions of years has produced species found
nowhere else on the planet. The Island Fox - a scaled-down version of the mainland grey
fox - exists in six distinct subspecies across the six largest islands, each having
evolved independently. The Island Scrub Jay on Santa Cruz is the only place on earth
where this species lives. Bald eagles, which were reintroduced to the islands in the
1980s after being eliminated by DDT contamination, now nest here again and are
regularly visible from the water.
What makes the Channel Islands expedition experience unique is the access. Without a
small ship, the outer islands are essentially unreachable for most visitors - the
National Park Service permits are tightly controlled, ferries only reach Santa Cruz
and Catalina, and camping is the only accommodation on any of the islands. The
National Geographic Venture is one of the very few ways to experience all the islands
properly, landing on each one with expert naturalists to interpret what you're seeing.
The Ship - National Geographic Venture
The Venture is a small ship - 62 guests maximum - and that intimacy is entirely
intentional. There is no sense of being managed or processed. The expedition team
of naturalists, photographers, and specialists are present at every meal, every
briefing, every Zodiac landing. The evening presentations - typically 15 to 20
minutes of focused, genuinely interesting content from an expert - are the perfect
way to close each day.
The onboard National Geographic certified photography instructor is one of Lindblad's
most distinctive offerings. Every guest has access to daily workshops, one-to-one
advice, and the use of specialist equipment. For anyone who takes photography seriously
- or who wants to - this alone justifies the choice of Lindblad over other operators.
My Verdict
Four nights felt exactly right for this destination. The Channel Islands reward the
curious traveller with encounters that are completely out of proportion to the distance
from Los Angeles - island foxes, sea lions, dolphins, bald eagles, giant kelp forests,
and one very large shark. The National Geographic Venture delivered everything I look
for in an expedition: genuine expertise, real wildlife encounters, and the kind of
community that forms naturally when a small group of curious people share an
extraordinary experience.
If you are considering a National Geographic Lindblad expedition - whether to the
Channel Islands, the Galapagos, Alaska, or Antarctica - I would be delighted to
talk it through with you. This is an operator I know well and recommend with
complete confidence.
