The morning sun found the guests of National Geographic Venture twenty or so miles into the main channel of Glacier Bay National Park. After a stop at Bartlett Cove to pick up our guest speaker, Park Ranger Michael, we were already nearing our first wildlife hotspot: South Marble Island. There we found hundreds of sea lions, dozens of puffins, mother otters with their babies, and a variety of other seabirds. Our next stop was Gloomy Knob, where we saw a record five bears and no less than thirty mountain goats, while humpback whales breeched on the far side of the ship. On the other side of Russell Cut, we had drinks in front of Margerie Glacier. As we pulled away she gave an epic calving, to the applause of all upon the sundeck. We ended our day taking photos of Lamplugh Glacier before slowly making our way out of the park. An unforgettable day.
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 23 May 2024
Glacier Bay, 5/23/2024, National Geographic Venture
- Aboard the National Geographic Venture
- Alaska
Luke Manson, Naturalist
Growing up as a farm kid in the tiny town of Tonganoxie, Kansas, Luke Manson always felt a strong connection to nature. An avid traveler and hiker, he began his true passion of exploring the world’s oceans in the Columbian village of Taganga in 2011....
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!