Anchorage, Alaska I woke up with a smile looking forward to the day ahead of us. We were going from Anchorage to Whittier where we would board a small passenger boat and spend the next 5 days exploring Price William Sound. Can it get any better than that?
Relevant: ‘Our Alaska Adventure – Denali to Kenai’
We will be seeing a lot of this the next five days. If you look carefully you can see harbour seals on the ice flakes just under Cox glacier.
Even the heavy rain could not kill my good mood this day, I was so excited! We had tidewater glaciers, whale watching, hiking in rain forest, kayaking among iceberg and lots of fun ahead of us! Since this was our honeymoon we wanted to so something we would never forget and had booked a small boat cruise in Prince William Sound with the family run company Discovery Voyages. The boat only takes 12 passengers in addition to the crew, which consists of Captain Dean, two guides and a chef. We would not return to Whitter in 5 days and spend the nights anchored up somewhere in Prince William Sound.
Being a machinery engineer the first thing to check out is off course the engine room. All looking good!
When we depart from Whitter the Captain heads for Harriman Fjord and Cascade, Barry and Cox glaciers. This is the first stop on our boat trip and it is the first time I see a tidewater glacier! What an amazing sight! The blue colour of the glacier is amazing! We go slowly towards the glacier with large ice flakes surrounding the boat. The Captain stops the engine when we are just in front of the glacier and we can enjoy the silence and the view. The only thing that brakes the silence is the cracking and banging of ice calving off the glacier. On the ice flakes under the glacier there is a large colony of harbour seals. It feels like a scene from National Geographic. And the best thing is we are the only ones in the fjord, except from the seals that it. No signs of other people.
After admiring the glacier we head for shore in the inflatebale skiff Discovery carries – we are going for a beach walk at the foot of Cox glacier. It is still raining, but who cares – we are going ashore! Getting to the foot of the glacier you realise the size of it! The beach we landed on is called Black Beach due to having black sand and there was lots of large ice bergs on the beach.
Captain Dean is pulling up the skiff.
Beach walk on the black sand at the foot of Cox glacier.
Checking out one of the stranded icebergs on the beach in front of Cox glacier.
After our beach walk we headed back to the skiff and back to Discovery that was waiting for us in the fjord. While we were having the most delicious halibut for dinner Captain Dean took the boat out Barry Arm and towards College Fjord where we anchored up in Coghill Bay for the night.
Discovery is waiting for us in the fjord, seen through one of the ice bergs on Black Beach.
This post is part of the mini series from our Alaskan adventure, below is a map over the locations we visited in Prince William Sound. If you missed out on any of the previous posts check out ‘Our Alaska Adventure – Denali to Kenai’ for an overview.
Thanks for visiting! Please leave a comment – I love reading you feedback.
Great job of framing Discovery with that berg!
When we went out with Kenai Fjord Cruises, we stopped to watch and listen to a glacier calf. I was amazed at the power of it. You bring back a lot of great memories with this post, Inger. Thanks!
Jim
Thanks Jim! Agree the iceberg on the shore was just the perfect frame so had to use the opportunity!
I was also amazed over how loud the calving of the glacier actually is. I had heard it was supposed to be loud, but was still surprised. Was fun the try and guess there the next calving would happen:)
Sounds like a great trip
It was pretty amazing! 🙂
We took a kayak mothership cruise out of Sitka for 6 days and really enjoyed the trip. No kayak experience was required. 6 kayakers and 3 crew members. Really a good way to see parts of Alaska. We had 2 whales come up about 20 ft from us on one side, go underneath and come up on the other side about 20 ft again. There was no wake produced by the whale movement and the only sound was the breathing and water dripping off their tails. Experiences that will last a life time. Keep exploring the world.
That sounds like a once in a lifetime experience. We did not get any whales come close to us, I think I am ok with that:) I would feel very vulnerable in a kayak with a enormous whale going under me! But what an experience, I am sure you will never forget it:)
This is really an awesome look into taking a ship up to Alaska… I have a week for Chinese New Year, and this could be the perfect travel 🙂 Superb photos (the last shot being my fav). Well done 🙂
Thanks! I also like the last one, so much I decided to change an use it as the features picture instead:)
Going with a small boat like Discovery was pretty awesome. You get a VERY different experience than going on a big cruise ship (lots of them in the inner passage). With out boat we could get into places cruise ships wouldn’t have a change. We also travelled based on the weather and the captain and guide was flexible with what the passengers were interested in. And it was just great anchoring up in an a new bay somewhere in Prince William Sound every night. Highly recommended.
I love the map, it’s easier to picture your trip ! Must have been amazing. Wow
This was truly an amazing trip. We will always remember it and would do it again in a heart beat! I love maps, much easier to visualise where things are! And to get a feel of distances etc. This was just the first day in our 5 day Prince William Sound discovery tour – more to come so feel free to stop by again!
Great shots! Although I don’t like cold weather – that’s why I live down under – I really envy you…:))
Thanks you! I don’t mind the cold weather as I am both at 69 degrees north and am pretty used to it. And it was only September so wasn’t too bad yet:) I would probably not last long in the heat down under…or when I think about it the venomous spiders might be a bigger problem. That one good thing about the cold, no spiders or insects! Thanks for stopping by!
I liked your useful map 🙂 and those close-up shots of the glacier. Hard to believe there was a horrible ecological disaster in Prince William Sound several decades ago. Takes a long time for Nature to recover.
Thanks Jean! I thought the glaciers were amazing, the photos don’t do them proper justice! And all the sounds they make, the roar when the calf. It was pretty special:)
This looks exciting, but a little daunting for a sun lover, Florida gal like me. Would love to know more about your job. Is it with Discovery Voyages?
Temperatures are not to bad during summer, but you can really feel a cold breeze from the glacier when you get close. It is quite noticeable! I might write some posts related to the job, it is just bit difficult to find subjects and pictures to use that wouldn’t be company proprietary! We live in Alberta and I work in the oil and gas industry here as an expatriate.
Wow, those are some amazing photos! I would love to see harbor seals – they are so cute. This sounds like an amazing honeymoon. 🙂
Thanks Jessi! The glaciers are just amazing, the size was overwhelming and probably doesn’t come across properly in the pictures. And the deep blue colours in the cracks of the wall of the glacier – fantastic! The seals were super cute! We didn’t get close this day as they were to close to the glacier and the calving, but there will be a post later on with some that were closer up for sure! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Wow, what an adventure! Great shots!
Thank you Amy! This was just the first out of five days exploring Prince William Sound – it was truly an amazing experience!
Smaller boats and local operators definitely know the best places to take you. Those are incredible photos.
I fully agree, they know all the secrets of the sound! 🙂 And I like supporting the local operators as well. With a small operator like we did you definitely feel like you get to experience the real Alaska!
Beautiful post! Your post perfectly describes the experience of seeing and hearing a glacier calving. And your photos really captured the blue colors perfectly. We took a day cruise out of Seward through the Kenai Fjords National Park in 2013 and I can still remember the sounds of the half mile wide Holgate Glacier as we observed the calving.
Thanks for your generous comment! I was so surprised over hearing the glacier calving. I had seen it on nat geo and all sort of nature programs before, but being there listening to it was different and much stronger! We also went out to the Kenai Fjords NP, what a beautiful national park. We were lucky to see both humpbacks and orcas! Alaska is truly amazing:)
Wow, these pictures are unbelievable! Alaska is on the top of our travel list, so I definitely need to check out your honeymoon post for tips. What a gorgeous place! I love the seals, too. Did you end up seeing any whales? So incredible!
Thank you so much Nicole! Alaska is probably the most unique place I have been to! Maybe it has to share first place with Svalbard which was also a great arctic adventure when we went there about 4-5 year ago. We saw some Orcas in Prince William Sound, but did not get close. And most of the pump backs has moved out of the sound when we were there. But we later travelled to Seward and had a day trip to Kenai Fjords National Park where we saw both hump backs and lost of orcas! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
What a brilliant adventure! Where are you from, Inger? Is that the Norwegian flag on your hat?
It was a great adventure, and this was only the first day on a 5 day small boat cruise in Prince William Sound. More to come. Yes, that is for sure a Norwegian flag! I am originally from the northernmost coast of Norway, 69 degrees north:) So Alaska was almost like being home for me, maybe that’s why I loved to so much:) Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!
Very cool its nice to see your travels in Alaska. On June 12 I am heading to Prudoe bay Alaska with my Motorcycle and gives me some ideas on the things i can do. i have 6 weeks to travel there and back. Really enjoying your read. Congratulations on the wedding and honeymoon.Cheers
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment Marc. You have some great experiences ahead of you, it sounds like a great journey. Wish you all the best on you travel!
Sounds like a wonderful experience with lovely photos… especially that last one… wOw! 🙂 ♥ <3
It was an adventure of a lifetime – I would love to do it all again! 🙂 Thanks a bunch for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment:)
My pleasure and thanks to you too, Inger! I’ll be by again soon to catch up on the rest of your adventure 🙂 ♥ <3
Incredible! 🙂