Our kayakers and small boats hanging out with thousands of feeding sea birds with whales surfacing in between them. We were offshore from Castle Cape, taking advantage of some unusually calm offshore waters.
One of the best parts of expedition cruising, is the amount of flexibility that you have to change the schedule and take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves. Earlier in the week we spontaneously canceled the evening presentation in order to load up our small boats and go skiffing in the middle of the ocean with fin whales. The sea conditions were so calm, and the whales so plentiful, that we had to take advantage.
Today we pulled into a bay that we had never been to before. Its name is Hook Bay, named after a big rocky spit with a big bend in it. Since we have never been here before, my coworker Christian and I took a small boat out in the morning before breakfast to scout out different landings and hiking areas. We found a few places that looked great from the boat, but turned out to be very thrashy with hard to get through terrain. Not to mention the bugs were just terrible. We also had a close encounter with a brown bear who was a little problematic. We climbed a big rock and had to yell at the bear after several bluff charges to maintain dominance and show him we were not to be trifled with. Its good to establish that before we are in the area with guests.
Christian took some hard charges to the back of the bay, past the bear area, and made it deep into the marsh where some tundra swans were hanging out. I ended up taking a group of skiff and strollers out for a skiff tour and several shorewalking spots. We tried out the spit, but the bugs were on us for a bit. We did have great tidepooling with lots of crabs, different snails, and even a small red octopus that I picked up and showed off. Our next spot worked out much better. We landed on a beach, right in the waves. Everyone got off safely and I scampered up this huge dune to get a better look at our surroundings. We walked to the end of the beach to where a waterfall cascaded down a slot canyon right onto the beach. It was a pretty magical place, where the only footprints were ours and a fox.
Back onboard we were treated to a small group of hunting orcas on our way out of Hook Bay. We thought the day couldn't get much better, but then, right before we got to our afternoon anchorage, we came across thousands of sea birds all going wild in the one area. They were diving into the sea, pulling out fish with each dive, and then fighting over the fish as they flew off. Then we saw humpback whales surfacing in between the birds. Then we saw gray whales surfacing as well! A rare sighting for us. We were about two miles away from our anchorage, but the conditions were great, and I really wanted to kayak this afternoon, so we decided to anchor very close by. It turned out to be one of the best afternoon experiences I've ever had with UnCruise Adventures. Some of the photos are just incredible, but the memories are going to be endless. We got so lucky with the calm ocean conditions. The last time I was in this area there were twelve foot seas and thirty five knot winds.
It was a day for the memory books. Enjoy the photos!
Kayakers getting the thrill of a lifetime with close whale encounters in Alaska.
Whale blow and beautiful backdrop behind the Safari Explorer, our mobile adventure home.
In the morning, we explored the shoreline of Hook Bay, Alaska. One of our guests spotted a baby red octopus, so I picked it up to show everyone.
Whale in front of Castle Cape, as seen from a kayak.
Talk about the kayak of a lifetime! This humpback whale suddenly appeared in the middle of our kayaking group. I'm sure that some of my group was holding their breath, but the whales seem to know exactly what is floating above them. It never touched us, and casually slid back down below.
We also checked out this beach, in Hook Bay. Not only did it have a big cave, but there was a waterfall cascading down onto the beach near the end.
We went for a short trek through the tall grass to see what was beyond.
I scrambled to the top of the bank here to get a shot of my group with the stellar background. Alaska can be such a beautiful place.
Hook Bay is named for this long spit which comes out and makes a big hook shape. It was interesting to explore, with some good tidepooling along the way. The larger rocks seen here were a bit hard for some of the group to walk on, so we eventually got picked up by the small boat and went to discover more areas.
Walking into picturesque Alaska.
It took a lot of effort to climb this very tall sand dune. I wanted to get a few photos of just how beautiful this area was. The beach was pristine. The only tracks were that of a fox. And the mountains that formed Hook Bay were so beautiful.
Scenic landscape of Hook Bay.
I had to get a photo of me in front of the waterfall at the end of our newly discovered beach. It went into this little slot canyon that was only visible from a certain angle.
My group of guests for our morning exploration at Hook Bay, Alaska.
Morning beauty in Alaska.
Not only did we have feeding humpback whales around us, but several gray whales showed up as well. Here is the fluke of a very close gray whale.
Me, under the slot canyon waterfall at Hook Bay.
Interesting formations of the kelp and algae, stranded by the high tide.
Somedays it feels like living a dream. This is expedition cruising in the wilds of Alaska. We have been pioneering an expedition itinerary along the Alaskan Peninsula and into the Aleutian Islands. Days like this make the rough weather days worth it. A humpback whale breaches in front of our small boat, while thousands of sea birds dive in the water for fish around it.
As always, keep traveling and keep posting!
- Dai Mar