Early in the morning National Geographic Venture sailed into Holkham Bay, and made a turn into the Endicott Arm in the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness area. We sailed up and into Fords Terror, taking in the beautiful scenery and sheer cliff walls of this part of the fjord. A black bear was spotted near a waterfall and after eating a bit on the shore, it began to climb the seemingly impossible steep cliffs with ease. After lunch National Geographic Venture was positioned with a distant view of the Dawes Glacier, and everyone set out for a Zodiac tour through the ice that had calved off the face in the past few days. We saw harbor seals on the ice at a distance, and a few swimming in the water. The weather was ever changing, and there was some pelting rain, but everyone had a great time in the midst of all the stunning wilderness.
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 19 May 2024
Endicott Arm , 5/19/2024, National Geographic Venture
- Aboard the National Geographic Venture
- Alaska
Kelly Coursey Gray, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
I like to remind people that there are very few big surprises left in life, but if you are out in nature, with an open mind and a lot of time, you never know what you will find.
Read MoreShare Report
Exploring Alaska's Coastal Wilderness
VIEW ITINERARYRelated Reports
9/6/2024
Read
National Geographic Quest
Glacier Bay National Park
We awoke to a wall of ice towering outside of the ship. Sometime in the night we anchored alongside the monumental Johns Hopkins Glacier. Along the base of the glacier, hundreds of harbor seals lounged on the rafts of ice, and stunning mountain views accompanied the impressive natural feature for which the park was named. After eating breakfast with a glacial blue backdrop, we pulled anchor and began our exploration of the park in earnest. We visited several more glaciers, including prime examples of tidewater, hanging, and beached varieties; we also observed large numbers of sea otters and surf scoters. After lunch we turned our focus to wildlife and were rewarded with views of mountain goats on Gloomy Knob, as well as a brown bear excavating a comfortable resting spot on the beach. Later we were treated to a surprise concert by one of our guests (award winning musician Jim Peterick). We wrapped up the day with a visit to South Marble Island where dozens of tufted puffins and large rafts of Steller sea lions gave excellent views.
9/5/2024
Read
National Geographic Quest
Inian Islands and Salt Chuck Bay
Today we began our adventures by dropping anchor at one of our favorite locations in Southeast Alaska, the Inian Islands! We disembarked National Geographic Quest to hop into our Zodiacs to explore this wild archipelago. Later in the day we repositioned to an anchorage in Port Althorp, known as Salt Chuck Bay. We got the chance to explore by kayaking as well as hiking through the meadow in the bay and the lush rainforest. It was a fantastic day in Southeast Alaska!