Victoria, British Columbia , 5/3/2022, National Geographic Venture
Aboard the
National Geographic Venture
Alaska
This morning, we arrived in Victoria, the beautiful capital city of British Columbia. We had a variety of options to choose from to see different aspects of this lovely city: a historic walking tour, a walk to some ‘secret gardens,’ a cycling excursion around the city, and a cultural canoe tour.
Photographers: Tara Kaestner, Nathan Kelley, and Berit Solstad
Berit grew up on the rocky shores of Marblehead, Massachusetts. In the tidal cove behind her family’s home she found horseshoe crabs, eels, and feeding frenzies of fishes and birds. Low tides exposed clam flats, crabs, mussels, and snails. She explor...
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Today, we spent the day onboard National Geographic Quest sailing up the majestic waterways of British Columbia. Needing to cover much ground, it was a day spent onboard enjoying presentations in the lounge, a delicious brunch, and looking for wildlife from the bow and bridge. We spotted whales in the distance, recognized by the distinctive blow from their spouts. Taking three to four breaths at the surface then diving down, we witnessed what is referred to as lunge feeding. The energy was high after spotting these cetaceans. While enjoying a presentation from our National Geographic expert, Toni, we were elated to spot a coastal brown bear close to the water’s edge. It looked very slender, indicating it had recently come out of its winter hibernation. Then things got really wild when the bridge and a guest onboard spotted something dog-like on the intertidal. Witnessing a wolf is something that naturalists and guests alike wait years to experience. The sea wolf, as they are colloquially known, lives and feeds out on the waters of British Columbia. This was an absolute treat and marked our day as a win for wildlife.
Today’s wind and rain painted the sea surface a dark gray, a gray that followed us throughout the day and provided a gorgeous backdrop for the verdant greens that characterize Southeast Alaska. After a presentation on humpback whales from our National Geographic explorer, Lauren Eckert, we tucked into the protected Tenakee Bay and explored the shoreline by foot. Our hikes revealed fresh bear scat, a brown bear claw, blooming skunk cabbage, emerging earth worms, a mosaic of lichens, frolicking ravens, bounding deer, a pair of adult bald eagles, and a rare Northern goshawk. Bushwhacking was the name of the game, and arguably the best way to collect stories in this unique bay. We swapped these tales as we cruised Chatham Strait, where the rain continued, and the dark gray closed out a memorable day.
The third day of our voyage brought us to Wallace Island, a small provincial marine park in British Columbia nestled between Victoria and Vancouver. The Island offers excellent hikes, as well as Zodiac cruises and an opportunity for our undersea specialists to explore an underwater shipwreck. Guests looking to get their heart rates up enjoyed the aerobic hike that covers the entire length of the island. For the more casual hikers, the island has some interesting remnants of the small resort that occupied Wallace Island in the 1950s. After the morning activities wrapped up, National Geographic Quest weighed anchor to slip through Seymor Narrows, a narrow gap in the archipelago that allows guests to see the impressive ship handling skills required to navigate in the Pacific Northwest. A more relaxed afternoon allowed ample time for whale watching and birding on the bow, as well as relaxing on the sundeck and attending the presentation of National Geographic expert and artist, Antonio Segura, who joined the voyage as an ambassador for art conservation.