I wanted to have a good day out, and based on the overwhelmingly positive reviews, I expected it actually. However, my thoughts mirror those of A.B on this site, who had a poor value for money experience. My main disappointments were the poor communication and advertised experiences falling through. In hindsight, we did book through a third party whose advertisement of the experience is different to what's on Capricorn Sea Kayaking's own website. Someone needs to fix this up. "Penguin feeding at the Discover Centre" did not happen. However, "Snorkelling gear" is advertised on the company's own website and "Snorkelling mask and fins" advertised on the third party website. We were only given a mask... no fins- fine, but no actual snorkel?? As it was, we didn't even realise that "snorkelling" was happening after our walk so that some of us didn't even bring our gear with us from the kayak. The communication was such that someone from the tour group had to ask "So is this Penguin Island?" while lunch was happening.
Here's a summary of our tour experience, so people might be better informed:
Third party website information tells us to arrive at 7:30 am for an 8:00 am start. Guide did not even show up until ~8:15am. We were fitted with life vests, sun hats and the snorkel mask without the snorkel (if you needed these), given kayak skirts, and signed our waivers. The group then helped carry all the kayaks from the carpark to the beach, where we had brief instructions on how to paddle, how to band our kayaks together and how to use the kayak rudder. After the talk and packing all our stuff into the kayak, it was well past 9am before we actually got out onto the water. Kayaking is nice, but don't expect a relaxing paddle- there were small waves and we were a little tired out by the end.
First is Seal Island and from quite a distance out in our kayak, we did see 4 or so sea lions laying about. Not much was said about them and we paddled away soon after. One sea lion did play in the water near us for a couple minutes, which was nice though brief. Next we landed on Penguin Island, which was not communicated. Just told to make sure we bring our covid masks and take out the lunch bags from our kayaks. We had lunch on a partially shaded grassed area- flat bread that you can stuff with cold meats (pork or turkey) and vegetables. Grapes were nice and there were tea bags that can be cold brewed. No information was given as to our schedule and we hung around until the guide said to move on. Next bit was a leisurely walk around the island with some information about the man who lived on the island for a time, and about the island's formations. We saw a colony of pelicans, but no penguins; only some of their little houses here and there. Finally we arrive at a quiet bay and was told we could do some swimming here if we wished. Confusion...and then someone overheard someone else mentioning this is the snorkelling spot. The guide disappeared for a bit and we waded out into the water- it was a bit cold for swimming, but the water is nice and clear. Not sure if there were many fishes to see. We didn't know how long we had, but ended up relaxing on the beach until the guide came back and got us to the next stop- the Penguin Island Discovery Centre. Once inside, we saw 7 cute little penguins standing by a pool, but that's all they did while we were there. As I said, penguin feeding didn't happen. Nothing was said to us- a group member had to ask after sitting around expectantly for quite awhile. There were apparently 3 time slots for feeding but group numbers were restricted due to covid, I overheard. We sat around the pool some more, expecting some sort of talk about the penguins, either from the guide or the Discovery Centre lady he was talking to, but there was again nothing. Out we went and finally kayaked back to Shoalwater by ~1:30pm. The group then had to wash the sand off the bottom of our kayaks and help carry them back to the car park for stowing away.