Each day gets better and better up here in Southeast Alaska! Today we had an unbelievable morning exploring a new location in Takatz Bay. A number of activities were offered, including zodiac rides, kayaking, and a variety of hikes. The bay was absolutely gorgeous, and a beautiful spot for both water activities as well as hiking in the forest. There were endless salmon swimming in the river, and a number of carcasses lined up the banks – a sign of bear in the area! The long hikers were rewarded with perennial bear tracks, crossing a beaver dam, marching through muskegs, and for those who were adventurous enough, a quick lick of a banana slug. During the walk, we followed along a beautiful turquoise stream that was colored by glacial silt from the mountains above.
After lunch, we spent the afternoon exploring Frederick Sound in search of whales. We stumbled upon a group of lunge-feeding humpback whales in the distance, and cut the engines to watch their behavior. To our surprise, the whales approached the National Geographic Sea Lion and started feeding all around the ship! At one point, the whales were no further than 20 feet from the bow. It was an unbelievable show, and definitely a reward for those with wide angle lenses on their cameras. We stayed with the whales for over an hour, then moved on to another group of humpbacks that were seen in the distance. These animals also put on a great display of whale behavior, and several of them were tail slapping and breaching!
We stayed with the group of humpbacks all the way through dinner, and enjoyed the beautiful sight of whale tales as the sun set over the horizon. It was yet another unbelievable day here in Southeast Alaska on board the National Geographic Sea Lion.
