Chatham Strait, Pavlof Harbor, & Hood Bay
We have spent our week exploring the amazing wild area of southeast Alaska, and have been overwhelmed by the wildlife, glaciers, and overall sheer beauty of these immense wild lands. We have only had a small taste of rain in this immense rainforest. Many days had sunny skies, calm seas, and spectacular sunsets. We drifted by intense blue icebergs and watched massive chunks calve off of two different glaciers. And wildlife was abundant. Bubble-netting humpbacks, multiple brown bears, a black bear; what more could we ask for? Well, it seemed to be orcas.
Our final day began early as the Captain spotted killer whales around 5:15am and we crept on to the deck. A group of around eight orcas were moving slowly, close to the bow. As the sun rose over Admiralty Island, the pod tightly gathered and seemed to be socializing. Multiple whales lifted their heads out of the water, spy hopping, perhaps wondering who was watching them so early in the morning. One adult male showed well with his tall six-foot fin towering over the smaller females and juveniles. The group broke up and we headed on to explore Pavlof Harbor.
We had grand plans this morning for long hikes, kayaking, and relaxing on the ship, but all this was disrupted when a young brown bear was spotted below the falls at Pavlof Lake. Hikers, kayakers, and Zodiacs all huddled as this bear wandered across the river and down the far bank. Oblivious to fifty people watching it from close quarters, it sat down on the bank and proceeded to eat grass for more than twenty minutes. What a spectacular sight.
The trip ended with another fantastic sighting, this time of more bears. Late in the afternoon we sailed into Hood Bay on Admiralty Island and spotted a sow brown bear with two cubs from this year. The image of the two young bears standing up and staring at us while mom fed alongside will linger in my mind for a long time.
We have spent our week exploring the amazing wild area of southeast Alaska, and have been overwhelmed by the wildlife, glaciers, and overall sheer beauty of these immense wild lands. We have only had a small taste of rain in this immense rainforest. Many days had sunny skies, calm seas, and spectacular sunsets. We drifted by intense blue icebergs and watched massive chunks calve off of two different glaciers. And wildlife was abundant. Bubble-netting humpbacks, multiple brown bears, a black bear; what more could we ask for? Well, it seemed to be orcas.
Our final day began early as the Captain spotted killer whales around 5:15am and we crept on to the deck. A group of around eight orcas were moving slowly, close to the bow. As the sun rose over Admiralty Island, the pod tightly gathered and seemed to be socializing. Multiple whales lifted their heads out of the water, spy hopping, perhaps wondering who was watching them so early in the morning. One adult male showed well with his tall six-foot fin towering over the smaller females and juveniles. The group broke up and we headed on to explore Pavlof Harbor.
We had grand plans this morning for long hikes, kayaking, and relaxing on the ship, but all this was disrupted when a young brown bear was spotted below the falls at Pavlof Lake. Hikers, kayakers, and Zodiacs all huddled as this bear wandered across the river and down the far bank. Oblivious to fifty people watching it from close quarters, it sat down on the bank and proceeded to eat grass for more than twenty minutes. What a spectacular sight.
The trip ended with another fantastic sighting, this time of more bears. Late in the afternoon we sailed into Hood Bay on Admiralty Island and spotted a sow brown bear with two cubs from this year. The image of the two young bears standing up and staring at us while mom fed alongside will linger in my mind for a long time.
