National Geographic Venture sailed south along Chatham Strait on June 14 under partly cloudy skies. The ship entered Kelp Bay on the east side of Baranof Island before breakfast, and guests prepared for a day of adventure in the middle arm of the bay. We split into groups for hikes along the shoreline and Zodiac cruises in the bay. After a spectacular morning with bear, orcas, and deer sightings, we continued south in Chatham Strait to pick up Andy Szabo from the Alaska Whale Foundation. National Geographic Venture continued south along Chatham Strait to enjoy a lecture on humpback whales and a fine dinner with orcas circling the ship.
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 14 Jun 2023
Kelp Bay and Chatham Strait, Southeast Alaska, 6/14/2023, National Geographic Venture
- Aboard the National Geographic Venture
- Alaska
Share 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!