We awoke to a perfectly still morning with glassy waters at our Kelp Bay anchorage with a humpback whale was having breakfast by lunge feeding on salmon fry just off the stern. Whales are hands-down the best view for having some morning coffee.
After having our own breakfast, we headed to shore at Pond Island to begin various morning activities, which included bushwhacking, kayaking, and expedition landing craft cruising. Hikers followed bear trails, found a hairy woodpecker, and checked out the ponds that several beavers had masterfully created. Kayakers explored the shores of the island where we heard whales breathing, spotted a mink on shore, saw some harbor seals, and looked down on a spectacular aggregation of moon jellyfish. The undersea specialist immediately rushed back to the ship, donned her snorkel gear, and jumped in amongst the moon jellies to document them in action.
Following a delicious lunch, we pulled into our anchorage by Lake Eva. There were various hikes along a beautiful forest trail where we were observed by some curious squirrels and happened upon a group of beavers having a relaxing day and enjoying the rare sun and heat. During the hikes we also encountered some local orchids and sundews in full bloom. A definite highlight were the salmon aggregating in the stream getting ready to make their way upstream and begin the spawning season.
We ended the night with a great dinner by our galley and a special Kid’s Night featuring A Bug’s Life and pizza. Overall a great day aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion.
