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TUESDAY 12th AUGUST 2014 VALDEZ - SEWARD ALASKA

At 4.30 a.m. in darkness and with it still drizzling rain, we packed up camp which for the first time in our North American travels meant dealing with wet tents!

Having loaded up the bus we drove a short distance from the camp-site to the ferry terminal and joined the passenger queue for the six hour trip round to Whittier on the north-eastern coast of the Kenai Peninsula. Charlie stayed in the bus and drove it onto the ferry whilst the rest of us gathered in the passenger lounge and found seats.

The ferry left Valdez promptly at 7.00 a.m. and headed west and then southwards down the Prince William Sound in a dense fog.

Fleeting glimpses were just possible of the Shoup and Anderson Glaciers with their high melt-waterfalls cascading into the sea close to the ferry’s route.

We passed the now infamous Bligh Reef where the Exxon Valdez experienced its terrible accident.

As we approached Growler Island the fog lifted considerably and dozens of small icebergs became visible, none much bigger than a person although one much larger one was viewed in the distance. Many appeared to be sculpted into appealing shapes and their shades of blue from pale eggshell to azure made for an attractive sight within an otherwise gloomy sea.

After six hours travelling on the ferry we passed between Esther and Culross Islands and after negotiating the narrow Passage Canal we finally arrived at Whittier.

The town scene was bleak with rain pouring down and yet the surrounding mountains were covered with waterfalls, some of which were massive.

We rejoined the bus and commenced our 130 km drive down to Seward (most unfortunately pronounced ‘sewered’!!). At the half-way mark we stopped for refreshments at Moose Pass where the small stream was littered with dying salmon that must have made their way ten or more kilometres upstream from the ocean to spawn.

On arrival at Seward we all made the decision not to camp as the ground was wet and it was still raining. After a number of ‘phone enquiries we split up to have accommodation for the night with some in hostels and others (including us – the Awesome foursome) electing to share a motel room with two double beds.

Our group of fourteen reassembled later in the evening at a local restaurant/boutique brewery for a meal and to sample some of their fine wares.

Plans for tomorrow will have to be altered if this rain continues.

We were informed by a local that this inclement weather is a spinoff from the cyclone that has recently affected the Hawaiian Islands.

So far, we’ve been lucky with the weather having had only three wet days out of twenty with most days being sunny and warmer than expected for these Arctic latitudes.

Sign, Moose Pass

Sign, Moose Pass

Water wheel, Moose Pass

Water wheel, Moose Pass

WEDNESDAY 13th AUGUST 2014 SEWARD - KENAI ALASKA

After a much needed ten hour’s sleep we awoke to find the rainy conditions continuing. With our travelling group now back together we drove down to the Seward docks and arranged for our Kenai Fjords full day boat cruise.

The boat we were on was owned by Major Marine Tours and called the ‘Alaska Explorer’. It could carry about 200 passengers but with the weather likely to be wet and foggy the boat was only two thirds full. We had reserved and very comfortable seating on the second deck with expansive window views all around.

The cruise was initially southwards down Resurrection Bay and past Cheval Island towards Aialik Cape. At this point we’d entered the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The sea was choppy with about two to three metre swells and several passengers around us were seasick. At this point we commenced a northwards leg up into Aialik Bay where conditions were much calmer and lunch was served.

The cruise then took us up into a fairly narrow arm where at the end we were confronted with the toe of Aialik

Steller sea lions, Resurrection Bay

Steller sea lions, Resurrection Bay

View from campsite, Kenai

View from campsite, Kenai

Horned puffins, Resurrection Bay

Horned puffins, Resurrection Bay

Thick-billed murres, Resurrection Bay

Thick-billed murres, Resurrection Bay

Waterfall, Resurrection Bay

Waterfall, Resurrection Bay

Harbour seal, Resurrection Bay

Harbour seal, Resurrection Bay

Harbour, Seward

Harbour, Seward

Sea otter, Resurrection Bay

Sea otter, Resurrection Bay

Aialik iceberg, Resurrection Bay

Aialik iceberg, Resurrection Bay

Aialik iceberg, Resurrection Bay

Aialik iceberg, Resurrection Bay

 Glacier. This is a large ‘tidewater’ glacier and we were able to get within 200 m and stop with the boat engines off for half an hour. The toe was about 500 m wide and terminates in the sea with a gigantic blue ice wall 100 m or more high. The incredible noise of the cracking ice and the occasional chunk of ice calving off and crashing into the sea made for spectacular viewing.

On our return leg to port, we followed a different course further to the east which took us past Cape Resurrection where a vast colony (millions) of presently nesting seabirds called thick-billed murres totally dominate the headland and the sky around.

We sighted many sea otters as they cruised around on their backs and then duck-dived chasing fish. We also managed to get close to a number of Steller sea lions and a smaller group of whitish Harbour seals.

A number of Dall’s porpoises and one humpback whale were seen too but the whale was moving quite quickly and surfaced only every minute or so and thus photos were far from perfect!

Bald eagles, glaucous gulls and Arctic terns are common in this area but in terms of sea-bird life, the undoubted highlight was seeing lots of the beautiful horned puffins. Some were swimming in the water around the boat but many were nesting on ledges in the high cliffs that make up these fjords.

On returning to dock we climbed into our bus and headed off on the Stirling Highway for Soldotna and then took the turnoff to the town of Kenai.

We set up our gypsy homes in a camping ground on The Bluff and enjoyed an evening meal in dry conditions and periods of sunshine.

Tomorrow we go bear watching.