Monday, Aug. 15th - Morning - Whale Watching

In contrast to the day before, this was planned as an action-packed day.

After an excellent breakfast in the lodge, we were driven by our hosts to the Gustavus dock, where we boarded the TAZ Whale Watching boat. We were greeted by Todd the captain/owner, and the on-board naturalist. The Italian couple we met in the lodge were with us as apparently they had the same day agenda. The 4 of us were the only passengers on the boat – almost a private tour!

Already when boarding we saw a large Bald Eagle on the dock rails.

Once out of the dock we immediately started to spot multiple Sea Otters - our first (but not last) for this trip. It was really funny to watch them just floating on their back.

It was cloudy but almost without rain, and even with some sun appearing occasionally – perfect weather as it turned out. The boat took us to the shores of Chichagof Island on the other side of the Icy Strait. Once we got there it was a matter of minutes until the whales started to pop out.

The Captain was extremely knowledgeable and kept moving the boat to where he thought the whales were. He gave us tips on where to look and what to look for. At times he turned off the engine and then we could hear nothing but silence and the occasional whale blows - a true awe-inspiring experience.

We saw multiple humpbacks including several head popping and including a whale who turned in the water and showed us his belly for some reason...

And, as a special treat, we spotted several Sea Lions in the water not far from their boat, playing around and minding their own business... so cute!

After over 2 hours in these waters the captain turned to boat for returning to Gustavus, but the best was yet to come! On half our way back, the crew spotted a family of Orcas nearby, and despite being a bit behind schedule, he stopped the boat and let us enjoy the presence of these magnificent creatures for few minutes.

Overall we immensely enjoyed our nearly 4 hours on TAZ. We once did a whale watching cruise in New England, but our TAZ experience was totally different and a thousand times better! This turned out to be another trip highlight.