Kicker Rock was an amazingly interesting feature to kayak through and around, jutting perhaps a hundred feet or more out of the ocean, this rock towers over you. Passing though the vertical fissure of the rock is not for claustrophobic, nor can it be advised for those afraid of sharks. The water can be rough and fellow kayakers can disappear behind swells, then rise up again into view.
This was our first kayak where we did not launch from a beach, but instead from the boat. The crew was well practiced in putting the kayaks in the water from the bow and pulling them back with lines to the stern where we climbed down the stairs and gingerly stepped in, had them pull the kayak forward, and loaded up the next paddler.
Once we were all in kayaks we headed for the Rock. The first part of the course was to paddle though the gap in the rock, which depends greatly on the swells, but the water was good, so we committed and went. Looking up while in the crack can give one vertigo, or at least a huge grin.
Once through, our guide decided we should try a circumnavigation of the rock. All was fine, but the swells seemed to grow as we rounded the corner. An area that was rocky would shape itself into a huge whirlpool with water sides measured in feet. It would then fill up, drain, and reform its bowl like shape with sides from water. It is hard to explain, but it looked kind of scary, like the drawings of boats going into whirlpools swirled though my mind. I decided we should kayak way around that one!
On the other side, there was a cave that we had hoped to go into (the brochure mentioned cave exploration) but after watching a swell that was higher than our bodies were long, we decided that the tiny gap was a very bad idea. Completing the circumnavigation sounded much better. A photo above shows a sea lion on the rock where you can see the water line for the swells.
Overall, this was an excellent kayak. (we use the word kayak synonymous with paddle. There was very little in the way of closeups to wildlife with the exception of a lone sea lion; the birds were pretty distant, but the uniqueness of the rock feature, the ability to kayak though the fissure, and the fact that it was the second kayak of the day for us (thus a bonus) made this one pretty spectacular.