Haines, Alaska, 8/31/2024, National Geographic Sea Bird
Aboard the
National Geographic Sea Bird
Alaska
Haines is a small and stunning city in Southeast Alaska and one of only three that are connected to mainland Alaska by road. A lot of us went to the village of Klukwan and learned about the seasonal sustenance hunting and gathering of food. We also heard stories about the Whale House Artifacts (over 200 years old) which are some of the most impressive extant totems in the world.
The float down the braided rivers of Chilkat Valley was both peaceful and beautiful. Because the salmon are running, the eagles were plentiful.
I like to remind people that there are very few big surprises left in life, but if you are out in nature, with an open mind and a lot of time, you never know what you will find.
Enter travel details to receive reports from a single expedition
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Send Daily Expedition Reports to friends and family
*By clicking the submit button, I authorize Lindblad Expeditions to email me; however, I am able to unsubscribe at any time. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.
Please note: All Daily Expedition Reports (DERs) are posted Monday-Friday,
during normal business hours. DERs are written onboard the ship only and do
not apply to land-based portions of expeditions.
It was a beautiful morning as we sailed toward and into Pavlof Harbor. We were greeted by a brown bear mother and cub walking along the shoreline. We dropped our Zodiacs and cruised over to a nearby waterfall, where there was a group of brown bears of different ages catching pink salmon and playing in the water. We floated quietly and watched them go about their fishing. We then set sail through the huge fjord of Chatham Strait, looking for charismatic megafauna. After spotting a bunch of spouts in the distance, we headed toward the shoreline, where we witnessed a dozen humpback whales blowing, fluking, and bubble-net feeding. We celebrated the magnificent day with our final cocktail hour, recap, and the guest slideshow. It was a wonderful way to end our Southeast Alaska adventure.
Good morning from Southeast Alaska! Today is our first full day aboard National Geographic Sea Lion and WOWZER it was absolutely a top-notch day! It seemed like a dream, to be honest — this was one of the most amazing first days of the summer season. We woke up and as we sipped coffee on the bow came word from the bridge: “Killer whales off the bow.” We stayed with the animals for an amazing encounter; ID photos were taken and submitted to local researchers. We learned who was who in this family pod: we observed T035A (with her offspring), and her sister T038A (and her calf). After lunch we made our way to our afternoon anchorage, and approximately 4-7 humpback whales were spotted exhaling near shore. Our afternoon activities included kayaking around a small bay filled with sea otters, and then Zodiac cruising up an active Pacific salmon spawning stream in hopes of viewing some bears. And you guessed it — coastal brown bears were at the waterfall, gorging themselves on the salmon traveling upstream to spawn. From sunrise to sunset, this day was one for the record books. All we need now is Northern Lights this evening! Manifesting starts now.
The early morning sky presented infinite shades of gray along with rain. However, as the first Zodiac departed for cruising, the rain stopped and the clouds partially cleared, creating a day perfect for our morning excursions. We saw five humpback whales hanging out as we left National Geographic Sea Bird , then proceeded along dense canopies of kelp sheltering inquisitive sea otters and then we lingered by a flock of rhinoceros auklets. Eagles soared overhead and looked down on us from their high perches. Turbulence created by the inrushing tide through Cross Sound cast fish to the surface for easy capture by the ever present and hungry sea lions. During lunch, we sailed to Salt Chuck Bay for hikes and kayaking. We hiked through a dense coastal rain forest, emerging along a stream with banks littered with dead pink salmon, resulting from predation by bears or natural death following reproduction. It was mesmerizing to see hundreds of salmon vigorously swimming upstream with all-encompassing determination to reproduce before dying. Just before departing for National Geographic Sea Bird, we spotted a bear across the bay. The kayakers enjoyed perfect conditions for quiet and calm contemplation of our Alaska adventure. It was a memorable day for all.
