Cruising, Kayaking and Bushwhacking

Saturday 12th

Embarkation day for our Uncruise Alaska Exploration Cruise. We don’t board until 4.30 so we still have a day to fill in around Sitka, unfortunately it is raining very hard. We don’t checkout of our hotel and have our luggage collected until 11am so we don our wet weather gear and head out for a walk to fill in some time. We head around town to areas we haven’t seen yet, this includes more boats one of which is the Safari Endeavour which will be our home for the next week. Back to the Hotel to get rid our our luggage and then walk down to the hospitality centre where we sit round for a while waiting for the rain to ease. By 12.30 it’s still bucketing down so we don our coats and head up to the Bayview pub for some lunch. Everyone must have the same idea as it’s packed. After a nice lunch we are back to the hospitality centre to while away the rest of the afternoon until our bus collects us and delivers us to the ship. Apparently Sitka has had 3” rain in the last 24 hours.

We settle into room 311 and then down to the lounge for introductions and some details about the cruise and then dinner. There are 62 passengers and 31 crew on board. 20 kayaks and 3 skiffs. We are cruising tonight until about 10pm.

13th

7.30 is breakfast after which we meet in the lounge to find out what activities will be offered this afternoon. We choose to go Bushwacking (making our way through the bush from the beach, making our own path, over and under and through whatever blocks our way.) After lunch we don our wet weather gear, gum boots, coats, trousers and hats and head down to the aft deck ready to board the skiff which will take us to the shore where we will start our bushwhack with Amanda.

We’ve hardly got off the beach before finding blueberries, which we sample. It’s a really fun 2 hours as we walk, climb, slip and slide through the bush, over muskeg, through juniper bushes, through creeks and up and over logs.

The muskeg was really interesting it very mossy boggy areas with lots of small ponds and water lilys. This is a very fragile area and we have to avoid walking in each others footsteps so we don’t form pathways. There are some lovely views across the ponds and various landscapes.

We find many varieties of berries, lots of bear scat, skunk cabbage and heaps of other interesting plants. We stop and spend a few minutes just sitting absorbing the beauty of the bush around us, the smells and the sounds. After 2 hours we head back to the beach and back onto the ship to change our clothes and enjoy a cocktail before dinner. While we were finishing dinner a whale was spotted just off the side of the boat. We quickly finished our dinner and headed out onto the deck while the captain slowed the ship and we enjoyed some time watching the whales. A special way to finish off the day.

14th

Breakfast again at 7.30. Having a cooked breakfast every day could get a bit much but we will enjoy it while we can. Our first activity today is in Hanus Bay, a “hard hike” to Lake Eva at 9 am, so again we don the wet weather gear and head off on the skiff with Matty as our guide. He sets a solid pace as we head away from the shore up into the forest. We pass Eva Lagoon and continue on winding our way through the bush. One of our fellow hikers spots some bears across the river so we stop and watch the mumma bear and her 3 cubs for a while as they played by the edge of the river. Further on we reach the lovely Lake Eva where we take some time to enjoy the view before returning on the same track.

While eating lunch today were are on the move to our next destination of Saook Bay where we are going to be kayaking. By 2 pm we are all set to go and we head down to the fantail at the aft of the boat where we load ourselves into the kayak. Philip in front, me in the rear. This is a great way to get into the kayaks as we load on the dock and are then pushed off into the water. This is a guided kayak with Matty. (P- thats Matty twice today! And to be honest twice too many- he dribbles with verbal diarrhoea incessantly! And to make matters worse he doesn’t make sense! Apart from him all the 31 crew and 62 passengers are fantastic!) Once we are all in the water we paddle over to the shore line in the pouring rain just to get the feel of the kayak. Paddling along for a while before crossing the bay to the opposite side, which is smoother water and paddle around the edge of the bay down towards a small creek/slough. As we paddle down the slough we hear from other groups that there is a bear about. We can see it in the distance but our guide holds us back, not sure why, so by the time we get down the creek the bear is gone. We saw it in the distance but others got a close look. After a couple of hours paddling it’s time to head back. We are wet and slightly cold but it’s been an awesome experience. Paddling up the creek with the salmon swimming along. The waters so clear.

14th

We have moved on again to another location and this morning are at Kasnyku Bay. A skiff tour this morning towards a fish Hatchery. We spend the first hour watching over 20 bears around the area. Mum and cubs, big males, 2 year old cubs. It’s awesome watching them catch fish, tussle with each other, play in the water. We are so close to them and can hear their grunts and growls. Moving away from this area we swing around to watch more cubs being protected by mumma bear from several bigger bears as they pass by.

Then we headed away from this bay around to “the Ell”, an L shaped bay, nearby. A gorgeous bay with yet another bear on the shoreline. Stopping the motor and all sitting silently we soak in the beauty of this area. Eagles, herons, bears, waterfalls, trees and shoreline. All majestically beautiful. The words from “How Great thou Art” totally sum up our feelings

“When through the woods and forest glades I wander

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur

And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze

Then sings my soul, my saviour God to thee,

How Great Thou Art, How Great Thou Art.”

Back on the ship to shed some layers before enjoying a nice lunch (P- seared tuna salad for me x2 and it was delicious as with all meals so far- well apart from the green tea cake they tried to serve me up for lunch)! and a quiet afternoon until 3.30 when we are off paddling again.

Clad in our wet weathers we are launched into the water for our 2 hours of kayaking. Heading towards the shoreline and around into the head of the bay. We come across several waterfalls and paddle across to watch them tumble into the creek and out into the bay. Again some spectacular scenery and beautiful trees clinging to the edge of the bay. Mountains tower above us but we only see them fleetingly as the clouds break and regather. The water is smooth and still and we are so insignificant in this area.

After dinner we had a trivia night. Helen and I and Philip and Ian (when not snoozing). We actually did really well, coming in 2nd, with 95 points. Surprisingly we could nut out most of the answers and got the three bonus questions correct so made up some points.

(P- Drama on the high seas!)

Just after turning in for the night we heard what sounded like the anchor being lowered. Not once but twice within a couple of minutes and we were still moving. Shortly after Captain Adam came over the PA that we had hit a crab pot line which had wound around one of our our props!