When timing is in your favor, magical moments take place. The docile tone from Expedition Leader John Mitchell greeted us with the morning announcement as we found ourselves sitting off Hartley Bay, British Columbia. A logistical fuel stop that was needed this morning for our fleet of Zodiacs set the pace for what turned out to be a perfectly timed wildlife extravaganza on both water and land. You see, the fuel dock station normally opens at 8:00 a.m. Today, they started their morning a little late and didn’t open until 8:30 a.m. Our ship’s boatswain returned to the ship from the fuel stop around 9:30 a.m., and the deck team immediately raised the Zodiac so we could make our way towards Prince Royal Island in search of wildlife. National Geographic representative Lauren Eckert was in the lounge giving her presentation, “Welcome to the Great Bear Rainforest: The Land of the Spirit Bear & So Much More.” Almost immediately, our team of naturalists on the bow spotted a group of killer whales! The bridge team positioned the ship for a closer look, and it was then that we noticed a lot of splashing and surface activity taking place. A Dall’s porpoise in the mix with killer whales! Were we witnessing an active hunt? As time progressed, there was no sign of the Dall’s porpoise anymore, and the activity of the killer whales quieted. We made our turn towards Prince Royal Channel only to be stopped by humpback whales! We stopped for a bit to curiously watch these beautiful animals as they displayed their flukes just off the bow. The winds started to increase, and the rain became steady as we continued making our way towards Prince Royal Channel. The fuel stop and observations of killer and humpback whales delayed our arrival towards Prince Royal Island and our search for the Kermode “Spirit” Bear. It was as if these “delays” placed before us were to slow us down for what happened next. We continued cruising south along Prince Royal Island. We scanned the shoreline when suddenly an announcement came over the ship’s internal public address speaker: “Good afternoon to those aboard National Geographic Venture. We have spotted a Spirit Bear along the shore.” The persistent rain and winds did not stop the bow from filling up with excited guests, crew, and staff. The bear acknowledged us and went back to eating barnacles, bivalves, and berries along the shoreline and the forest edge. At one point, the bear meandered up a rock face and into the tree line before peeking its head out for a look at us below. We quietly floated for almost an hour as we witnessed this beautiful animal in its environment. What a magical moment for all!
9/22/2024
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National Geographic Venture
Green Inlet
Our last day in the Great Bear Rainforest proved to be one full of excitement, education, and awe. After dropping anchor in the idyllic glacial fjord of Green Inlet, we set out to explore the rocky shoreline and forested granitic fjord walls. The dense fog gradually turned into a wispy mist, which exposed different peaks and valleys of the forest as it moved through. We took turns kayaking through a delightful cove that was loaded with ochre sea stars, rockweed, and blue mussels so thick and dense that the rock they were attached to was hardly visible between them. A river otter scurried along the shore and bald eagles soared above us. From the Zodiacs we visited nearly a dozen thunderous waterfalls that were running hard and fast from the heavy overnight rains. We observed harbor seals observing us back; they were quietly periscoping their furry heads up and out of the water as we approached the rapids where they were hunting salmon making their final journeys upriver to spawn. Upon our return to National Geographic Venture , expedition diver Nick Brown shared his extensive underwater video footage from the area. His presentation was interrupted, of course, by whale sightings, which we rushed onto the bow to appreciate.
