KaYoa Island Day 3 - Island Tours Part 1

Before this post kicks off… I’m going to apologize in that the pics, videos and words shared here will more than likely not equate to the true beauty witnessed.

Also, because of all the pics and videos, we are breaking this day’s adventure into “parts”.

Ok… enough FYI biz…

Today was our private island tour with Alex @ 5 Star Marine. CC (that’s Canadian Chris - “retired and working for you”) did this tour with Alex, put his stamp of approval on it, and now 5 Star opened it up to the public. We’ve been looking forward to this tour and it 100% lives up to the hype. 5 Star Marine is top-notch and we would highly recommend them for any boat tour while in Thailand.

Link to CC video with 5 Star Marine and the tour we did:
https://youtu.be/MhE9D8Tg1-U?si=7jUklQbPKgPZQ1__

The day started about 12:30pm from Monah Pier. From there we zoomed to Hong Island where we kayaked through two caves (Bat Cave and Oyster Cave) to their respective lagoons, and then kayaked around the outside of this huge island under the limestone overhangs. The sights and sounds… untouched by humans. Perfectly balanced.

Barely squeezing out of the Bat Cave with the kayak (yes there were bats lining the ceiling in the middle of the cave - hence its name)… all three of us laid flat for an exit that will be forever etched into my mind. The cave ceiling was inches from our noses and I even wished I’d skipped breakfast to squeeze through. 😳 But success. We emerged into the lagoon and my breath escaped me. I’ve tuned into CC’s video but this…. This… I can see why Alex is passionate about what he does and sharing it with others.

Monkeys “fishing” for clams (they come down when the tide is out), birds chirping and then sometimes silence where you can hear yourself think (which is scary if you are me… working on Phra KK methods to quiet my inner “roommate” - Untethered Soul reference here).

Other tours traveled in to the lagoons after us but we got through first as Alex knew the exact time the tide would be out for us to slip through before anyone else. He said you can’t trust the apps and he knows how to read the tides on when it’s ok to enter and when it’s time to exit. Some people have gotten stuck in the lagoon when the tide comes back in… and I definitely didn’t sign up for an overnight lagoon trip. Needless to say, we made it safely out of each lagoon. Crazy how fast the tides go in and out…. 🌊

The exterior overhangs were equally impressive… and kept us intrigued as we kayaked around the perimeter of the island until we made our way to a small bay. We beached ourselves and Alex took us to an “upper” cave (a cave above the water?), where we climbed about to another viewpoint. 😍

From here, back to the boat for a little watermelon, pineapple and dragon fruit, and to the next stop!Leggi altro