CIRCUMNAVIGATE ST. JOHN WITH ARAWAK AND FRIENDS!

As an exclusive benefit to the Friends of Virgin Islands National Park, Arawak Expeditions is offering a kayak expedition package around St. John. From October 4-8, 2004 Arawak will lead a small group of 10-12 kayakers and 2 guides on a "St. John Adventure." The tour will depart from Cruz Bay and completely circumnavigate the island. The itinerary, of course, will include St. John's popular north shore. However, kayakers will also experience the quieter sides of St. John and explore secluded beaches and coves. Planned overnight stops are at Cinnamon Bay Campground, Maho Bay Camps, Vie's East End Campground and V.I.E.R.S. at Lameshur Bay. The price for the 5 day trip is $995, and all proceeds will benefit the Friends. Included are 4 nights lodging, all meals, and 5 days of kayaking. Book early as space is limited. This benefit is Arawak's way of "paying back" to the community and the environment all that it has received.

Below is the planed itinerary for this trip.

Day 1: We meet at 8:00am at Low Key Watersports in Cruz Bay. After a brief introductory meeting, we'll spend some time teaching you the fundamentals of how to kayak, then pack the kayaks and go! Our first stop will be Henley Cay, where we will snorkel and have lunch before continuing on to our first campsite at Cinnamon Bay Campground. Once we arrive at Cinnamon, VINP archaeologist Ken Wild will give us a presentation of the archaeological dig going on at Cinnamon Bay.

photo: kayaks at Cinnamon Bay, by Steve Simonsen

Day 2: This is our easy day. We can sleep late, have breakfast and then paddle to Francis Bay where a National Park ranger will lead us on a bird-watching hike around the salt pond. Next, we'll have a picnic lunch at the beach here then paddle a short distance to Maho Bay Camps where we will stay for the night. We'll arrive at Maho with plenty of time to relax on the beach or go for an afternoon snorkel.

Day 3: This will be our longest day of paddling. We'll get up early in order to take advantage of the calmer seas in the morning, then paddle our way upwind to Brown Bay where we'll stop for a picnic lunch and snorkeling. Next, we'll continue up the north shore of St. John, and around the East End to Vie's Campground at Hansen Bay. If the wind is very strong, we may decide to "haul over" the kayaks, as is the local tradition at Haulover Bay.

photo: kayaks at Mary Point, by Steve Simonsen

Day 4: From Vie's Campground, we'll kayak around Ram's Head to Salt Pond Bay, where we will stop for snorkeling and lunch before continuing on to Lameshur Bay, where we will stay in cabins at VIERS.

Day 5: On our last day, we'll have a relatively easy, downwind paddle back to Cruz Bay. Along the way, we'll stop at Reef Bay, where we will visit the ruins of the sugar factory, then continue on to Ditliff Point where we will stop for a picnic lunch and a final snorkel. We'll finish in Cruz Bay, around 4 pm, say our goodbyes then head to our respective accommodations.