Today, I booked a Whale Watching and Bear Search excursion while we were in Icy Strait Point, Alaska.
We were lucky enough to see some Whales close to the shore as we approached the dock at Icy Strait Point. Everybody on the ship, including a few staff, had gone on deck to get a better view of the beautiful creatures. Not long after arriving at the dock, I left the ship and joined a short queue to board a smaller boat at the pier for a whale-watching trip.
Whale Watching.
We did see quite a few humpback whales, dolphins, and seals on the trip but didn't see any whales really close or any that breached the water, as you see in so many videos. I did enjoy this trip and realised that you would have to go many times to see some of the incredible shots and videos of whales that are scattered around on the Internet.
My video of my whale-watching excursion.
When we had finished the whale-watching trip, we were taken back to the dock, and a couple of other people and I were led to a large building to wait for a minibus to take us on our bear-watching excursion.
Bear Watching Excursion.
I waited for our minibus, and by the time it arrived, quite a few people were waiting. I showed the lady on the bus my ticket, but she didn't pay much attention to it and showed me onto the bus. Unfortunately, she didn't pay attention to anyone getting on the bus, and people without tickets managed to get on the bus. People were queuing to get on the small minibus, and the bus attendant realised she hadn't checked people's tickets and asked those without proper tickets to get off.
Twenty minutes after the bus was due to leave, it was full, and people were refusing to get off. There was another bus coming just behind, so I got off. The bus attendant checked my ticket and told me I didn't have to leave as my ticket was valid. I asked if it was okay to get on the next bus, and she said it would be fine, so I got off. A few other people with good tickets followed me off, and the minibus finally went.
Within a couple of minutes, another minibus arrived and picked up me and the other people who had waited. We were able to stretch out as there were only half a dozen of us on this bus. We got lucky when a new guide got on. She was great and very good at her job, telling us lots of information as we drove and walked through the wooded areas looking for bears.
The scenery was beautiful, and the tour was fascinating. Unfortunately, the only bear we saw was so far away that you had to have a telescopic view on your camera to be able to see it. Before we began our walk through the woods, we were joined by another guide who was armed with a rifle in case of a bear attack. The only time she had to use it was to look through the telescopic sight on it to confirm the brown rock we could see in the distance was a bear.
After walking through the woods, we stopped at two viewpoints where bears could sometimes be seen catching salmon in a river. Again, there was nothing for us to see apart from the incredible scenery. We walked back to the minibus and were then driven back to the small tourist spot, Icy Strait Point, where we were dropped off.
I was a bit disappointed not to be taken back to the ship as my legs were very sore, and I was very hot and tired. I stopped at a doughnut stall and bought a small bag of doughnut holes, which were very tasty, and then walked into a store and bought a couple of T-shirts. I walked around looking for the way back to the ship but couldn't see a route other than the road. I stopped and asked a lady in a shop, and she pointed to the large cable car and informed me that the cable car would take me back to the ship and that it was a free ride. I was happy to hear this, as my legs were now in a lot of pain, and I was having trouble walking. I found the entrance to the cable car and took a ride back to the ship.
My video of my fruitless bear search excursion.
About Icy Strait Point.
Icy Strait Point is a privately owned tourist destination just outside the small village of Hoonah, Alaska. It is located on Chichagof Island and is named after the nearby Icy Strait. Owned by Huna Totem Corporation, it is the only privately owned cruise destination in Alaska. Most stops are owned by the cities in which they are located. Approximately 1,350 Alaskan Natives own Huna Totem Corporation with aboriginal ties to Hoonah and the Glacier Bay area.