Admiralty Island

This morning we sailed North through Lynn Canal, hoping to find humpback whales. Not too long ago, massive herring spawning took place in this area, and we were sure that whales would be present here, pursuing this temporary abundance of food. Our efforts paid off, and many whales could be seen in the distance. Several isolated individuals showed a feeding behavior, as they dove and came back up to the surface with their ventral pleats extended.

Later on, after a successful morning of whale watching, we headed back south towards Admiralty Island. Funter’s bay is where we enjoyed our afternoon activities and received several surprises from Mother Nature.

Adventurous kayakers enjoyed paddling in the bay as the sun slowly filtered through the clouds. Some enjoyed the solitude and peace of floating over the calm waters, while others patiently waited for the harbor seals to emerge close to their kayaks.

We also explored Admiralty Island by land. We ventured into the forest to learn a little more about forest ecology and to find old remains of a cannery.

Everything was going great, and all of a sudden… things got even better. We heard two announcements by radio, one right after another. The first one announced the presence of two coastal brown bears on the opposite shoreline from where we were and the second one a pod of orca that slowly cruised not too far from our landing. Improvised Zodiac cruises got started right away. The pod of orca was very receptive to our boats, and to our amazement, they started to breach! We spend a good amount of time admiring these magnificent whales, which are the largest members of the dolphin family.

Almost at the same time, other Zodiac cruisers gently approached the shoreline where the two brown bears fed on sedges. They started to walk closer to us and we got excellent looks of these mysterious ambassadors of the forest. These bears were quite young, but already independent from their mother.

All of this happened in just one day. It is amazing all that the forests and the waters of Southeast Alaska have to offer and the wonderful experiences that visitors will take home with them and cherish them forever.