Anchored in Hanus Bay, we began our day hiking through the majestic old-growth forest. Following a salmon stream for much of the way, the trail ambles along, leading us to Lake Eva. In the afternoon, we moved a bit to the west along Peril Strait to Saook Bay. Here, many of our guests took part in their first Alaskan bushwack, and explored the bay either by kayak, or our SUP boards. Then, as if the day hadn’t already been filled with enough adventure, we topped it all off with a small pod of killer whales cruising alongside the ship just after dinner. Wow! What a day!
8/1/2019
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National Geographic Venture
Baranof Island
After exploring the glaciers and open waters of the northern Inside Passage, we sailed south through the night and returned to the starting point of our journey, Baranof Island. This island, along with Admiralty to the east and Chichagof to the north, is home to one of the highest densities of brown bears in the world. To search for evidence of the bears as they begin their yearly salmon feast and continue our exploration of the temperate rainforest, we anchored in Kelp Bay to kayak and hike the shoreline throughout the morning. Later in the afternoon, we welcomed Dr. Andy Szabo of the Alaska Whale Foundation to learn more about ongoing research taking place in Alaska on the unique bubblenet feeding behavior we witnessed earlier in the trip. Only in Alaska can you experience the forest, salmon, bears, and whales all in one day.
