Our path south took us along the Turnagain Arm again where the tide was perhaps not as low as we had seen previously but conditions were not optimal for a tidal bore either. High tide or not it was a spectacular drive and we decided to capitalise on the (relatively) good weather and take the trip up to the top of the Alyeska Resort Aerial Tram.
Alyseka is a very popular ski resort in the winter and in summer is a popular hiking and biking destination. We purchased our tickets and didn’t have to wait long before the next ‘tram’ arrived and we began the climb to the upper terminal which sits at 711 metres above sea level. We were actually a little underwhelmed, not much action at the top and a hefty $US38 each for the ride, I think we had been spoilt by previous aerial trams.
Back on the highway we saw numerous signs detailing moose fatality numbers and large sections of the road were bordered by high (presumably) moose proof fences. We had been told in Anchorage that residents can go register on the roadkill program and when their name comes up and a moose is hit by a car or ‘dispatched’ they have 30 minutes to meet a state trooper at the scene and take ‘possession’ of the moose, butcher it and stock their freezer!
We stopped several more times en route for tea breaks and scenery and it was quite late when we finally reached Homer at the southwestern end of the Kenai Peninsula.
We were staying at the aptly named Alaska Moosehorn Cabin and had gorgeous views down to the sea and across the Kachemak Bay to snow capped mountains on the horizon.
Homer’s distinguishing feature is the Homer Spit, a narrow 7.2 km long gravel bar that extends into the bay. Much of the coastline, as well as the Homer Spit, sank dramatically during the Good Friday earthquake and now very little vegetation survives on the Spit, instead it contains the picturesque and busy Homer Harbor as well as numerous eateries, galleries and other retail. We were too tired to check out the Spit tonight so had a quick pizza at home.
Unfortunately Russell was feeling a bit under the weather at this point and wasn’t up to our planned activity the next morning – bear watching! Leaving him to sleep in I was off at 5.45 am to meet our pilot at his office on the Spit to then be transported to the airfield for our 45 minute flight to Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.
Since the inception of this trip this has been my highlight. Hours of research had been spent on what was the best month to go, the best geographical area, the best company to use etc. etc. – it had been booked six months previously and despite being very disappointed that Russell wasn’t up to it, I was VERY excited.
I anchored the six seater as four of us plus pilot Chris took off from the small airport in rainy conditions once again. We were glamorously adorned in hip high waders as sometimes a hike of up to five miles in marshy terrain is necessary to locate the bears.
Rain jackets on top and camera covers ready we were all relieved when the clouds cleared significantly as we flew over the National Park and Chris sussed out the best spot to land.
That proved to be on the beach where he had spotted a mother bear and her cubs foraging for clams and fish in the ocean.
We landed safely at a respectful distance to the bears and proceeded to walk quietly down the beach until we were parallel with them as mum waded along the waters edge and the two cubs played and fought each other like puppies.
The cubs were quick to react though when it looked mum had caught something!
As mum (known locally as ‘Agro’ as she doesn’t like other bears apparently 😜) wandered off, Chris had spotted a young male who had just gotten a whiff of the dead porpoise on the beach near our plane so we headed back that way.
Once again his behaviour reminded me of a dog. He dragged the porpoise a few metres up the beach then sat there looking at it for ages, occasionally standing on it and rolling it over before eventually deciding to cover it up for later! Chris said he hadn’t witnessed this behaviour before, he had thought the bear would rip into it and wondered if the bear was deterred by the porpoise’s tough skin but when we viewed the animal later the skin was indeed broken in a small area.
He then proceeded to go back and roll in the original area that the porpoise had washed up.
Eventually he lost interest altogether and headed past the plane and our little group and wandered off in the direction that Agro had taken.
Chris then took our group inland to the river where normally at this time of the year the bears would be fishing for silver salmon but the run is apparently ‘late’ this year and we only saw anglers seeking the same prey. Stunning scenery though.
We saw no more bears but walking back along the beach Chris spotted some rather impressive paw prints which gave us some perspective of how big these bears can be. These coastal grizzlies are generally considerably larger than the inland grizzly as their diet is much higher in protein.
Reluctantly we boarded the plane for the return trip – I could have stayed here all day and decided that the not inconsiderable cost of this expedition was totally worth it and was once again sorry Russell missed it. I probably took enough photos for both of us to be honest 😁
The flight home was stunning in itself as the weather had cleared considerably and we were able to get a wonderful view of the beach and river as we left plus numerous lakes and crater formations on the mountain tops.
Luckily Russell was feeling a little better when I got home so we headed down to the Spit where I had been told by a companion on the bear trip that there were some ‘cute critters’ in the Harbor.
Indeed there was, we spent quite some time watching this very cute and photogenic sea otter…
The Spit itself was buzzing with action, all types of sea craft coming and going and lots of tourists wandering through the many shops and eateries. We had possibly the best (and definitely the most expensive) fish and chips of the trip – locally caught Halibut – as the sun did its best to break through.
We spotted some real Alaskan ingenuity on the way back to our car and given my early start and Russell’s lurgy we decided to call it a day and headed home for a cup of tea and a Tim Tam 😉
