Nathan's Insights

World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas

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  • World Trip 2011: Day 11 – Anchorage to Whittier, USA

    Friday 10 June 2011
    Highlights    : Scenic Coastal Train Trip, Whittier Glaciers and Dolphins

    A welcome late start saw me catch the 8.40 am shuttle for the 10 am train from Anchorage to Whittier.  The coastal 61 mile trip was down over 2 hours at a slow pace to allow us to look out for wildlife, which worked when a very young moose started running with the train!

    The train setup in Alaska is very well done.  For this trip I had a seat on the second level giving me a very good view of the scenic coast.  To arrive at Whittier the train had to go through a 4 mile tunnel cut through the mountain.  This tunnel is use on rotation with cars, and the tunnel is shut at night meaning Whittier is very cut-off from the rest of the world.

    On arrival I headed straight for the Philips 26 Glacier Cruise (after going to the wrong terminal – I was the only one who made this mistake, DOH).  I’ve been looking forward to this tour of Prince William Sound.  I was seated on a table of 6 which was a little tight fit, but it gave me a chance to met my travel mates (US and Mexicans), at least until after the lunch.  The lunch included local fish from Prince William Sound.

    Not long after lunch as we were nearing our first glacier a group of dolphins decided to play with our boat, a great start to the 5 hour cruise.  We also got to see sea otters, sea lions and black-legged kittiwake (basically seagulls) during the day.  During the day we had an onboard US Forest Service Ranger provide his insights into the area, including that not all wildlife at recovered from the Exxon Valdez 1989 oil spill, which just yesterday at the Anchorage Museum I was told wasn’t a big deal.  Finally someone saying it isn’t all roses.

    The glaciers are really spectacular, especially when a part breaks of and falls into the ocean.  Having the boat hit a few of this ‘mini’ icebergs was kind of cool and got me excited about my possible Antarctic trip in 18 months.  The sea otters floated on their backs and had they young sitting on them, which was very cute, at least all the women thought so.

    After the cruise ended I headed back to Anchorage via the Whittier train for a very leisurely trip and instead of catching the shuttle back to the hotel I walked, enjoying the 9 pm bright sunlight.

  • World Trip 2011: Day 10 – Denali to Anchorage, USA

    Thursday 9 June 2011
    Highlights    : Anchorage Museum

    Early start with bus pickup at 7 am, which while becoming common is leaving me tried by the middle of the day.  Still this was an easy travel day today with a 8 hour trip back to Anchorage including a short stop at Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge.

    The Anchorage Museum was the highlight of the day.  The indigenous people exhibit was fascinating and the history of Alaska from pre-Russian, Russian, the USA purchase and finally Alaska becoming a State was very insightful.

    However the history on oil development has the most noteworthy exhibit for the wrong reasons.  First off the exhibit was funded by the oil industry.  Secondarily it mostly praised the great benefits the oil industry brings and lastly it down played the Exxon Valdez 1989 oil spill and talked about the heavily regulation.

    Now I’ll admit the information on how the The Trans Alaska Pipeline was constructed and its history was very informative, but the rest of the ‘exhibit’ was so bias it was hard to believe.  There was no mention of the species that have still not recovered.  How a Museum can sell its soul like this is hard to believe, but I’ve noticed that there is a very pro-oil feeling in this state.  I suppose you can understand it when up to 80% of government revenue is from oil and that residents actually get a cheque each year just for living here, due to oil taxes.

    It’s a shame as the State is so beautiful.  I’m not saying I have the answers but believing that a corporation can do no wrong almost always leads to disasters.  The government, educators and museums shouldn’t just be focusing on the good and ignore the risks they need some balance.  I worry about a future disaster if there is no effective oversight.

  • World Trip 2011: Day 9 – Denali, USA

    Wednesday 8 June 2011
    Highlights    : Denali National Park, Native Wildlife (including spotting a Bald Eagle!) and Mount McKinley

    Today I got up early for a very long tour of Denali National Park starting at 6.30 am I found myself travelling with Ian, Helen and Rohran from yesterday’s adventure plus a seat mate in Rebecca and by extension her two friends.  The park is a true treasure I can only imagine what it looks like when it is covered in snow, in an Alaskan summer I had to settled for partial snow coverage.

    We had planned stops every 1.5 to 2 hours for viewing and toilet breaks, and unplanned stops whenever we spotted wildlife.  Entry to the park is limited and the company I was travelling with went the furthest into the park, about half way in the roads are made of gravel and on the edge of cliffs – hair raising at times.

    Shortly after the Park Ranger let us in we stopped to view Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in the USA (19,470 feet  or 5,934 metres).  We were very lucky as the top is usually obscured by clouds, and at around 10 am and for the rest of the day this is what happened, but the early bird gets the great natural sights!

    During the day, in particular in the afternoon when heading back, we witness a huge array of wildlife including grizzly & brown bears, bull moose, caribou, arctic squirrels, and a BALD EAGLE!  The first grizzly bear we saw had one cub which the mum was teaching how to pick berries, the second one had two younger cubs who were just playing with each other – incredibly cute!  The binoculars I borrowed from my friend Jon came in very handy.

    At our furthest point we reached a very remote lodge (Kantishna Lodge) and had a filly lunch (soup, chicken wraps and home-made purple lemonade).  After lunch I attended a talk on ‘mushing’, the history in Alaska and the annual Iditarod Sled Dog Race (first prize $60K USD).  The lodge takes in 6 homeless dogs each summer and trains them for mushing.  After the talk we got a demonstration of the dogs in training as they pulled around a tractor.  During the demonstrations I was almost eaten alive by the mosquitos, the warnings are on the money.

    We also got a chance to undertake some short hikes during our tour, touching the glacial running waters and examining the local flowers and trees.  The further you go into the park the more basic the facilitates as some people on the bus found to their surprises.  Interestingly 7 people have died hiking in and near the park in the past 3 months.  The warmer weather has melted move ice then normal causing extra hazards.

    We got back after 8 pm, close to 14 hours after the start, we were later as we kept spotting wildlife.  Most people only do a 8 hour tour of the park but I found this tour to be worth the extra hours, in particular getting to the lodge to learn about mushing (dog sledding) and seeing so much wildlife late in the day after everyone else at returned to their hotels.  Also my conversations with Rebecca were very informative on the USA and how people are coping with less these days.  I was very happy when I finally got back to my room.

  • World Trip 2011: Day 8 – Anchorage to Denali, USA

    Tuesday 7 June 2011
    Highlights    : Nine hour scenic train trip, white water rafting (class 3 & 4)

    Early start day.  I had a 8.15 am train to Denali with a 7.15 am check in this meant I needed to catch the 6.45 am hotel to the train depot transfer, long story short I needed to get up before 6 am so I could enjoy the free buffet breakfast, and I did enjoy it – eggs, sausages and little potatoes.

    This is a rare full long distance passenger train service in the USA.  The train stopped at Wasilla (Sarah Palin’s home which I could see from the train but I couldn’t see Russia!) and Talkeetna.  As this train is designed for tourists (May to Sept only) you get a lot of information during the journey including that 1 in 7 Alaskans hold a pilot’s license due to the remote nature of this state.  The train ride offered some great views and I took quite a few photos which I posted on Facebook.

    I didn’t really dine on the train, the prices were typical “tourist who has no option” prices but I did buy a very nice chocolate cookie.  Now these cookies are everywhere, I think it is the main state food.  We arrived a little late at Denali due to the train losing power at one point (I thought freezing at night in summer might be on the cards).  The moment I stepped off the train I was on a transfer to the Bluffs Hotel, I have to say everything is very well coordinated and I’m not even on a tour or boat package.

    The Bluffs Hotel is more of a cabin arrangement with the hotel located on the edge of this very small town which took about 20 minutes to explore.  By the time I got back my bag was waiting for me in my room, great service and they didn’t even want a tip (rarer still).

    Now the real highlight of the day was going rafting on the Nenana River which has ‘class 3 and 4 rapids’.  The company made us put on a couple of extra layers, a sign a lot of waivers, the dry suits being very warm and tight.  I was surprised by this as I’ve done a few white water rapid rafting events around the world and the suits seemed a bit much but I was soon to find out why they were needed.

    Also of interest was the company I was booked on didn’t issue helmets, again a first for me and I noted we were the only ones without helmets.  The suits had a head slot which the called birthing slots, very hard to fit my big head through.

    Now the reason for the suits?  The water is freezing, it might be summer (so 12-14 degrees) but the water comes from glaciers and there is ice on the banks still.  My exposed hands actually turned a couple of different colours, blue, than red, than finally purple and I didn’t even go into the water just had to cope with a lot of water ‘hits’.  A very enjoyable 1.5 hours even if it took another hour for my hands to regain some feelings and their natural colour!

    Another good aspect of the rafting adventure was meeting a few fellow travellers including Ian & Helen from the Gold Coast and Rohran from Houston.  They are also on the same wildness adventure tomorrow so it will be good to see some people I know (especially to get them to take photos with me in them!).

    Returning to the hotel I checked a few e-mails and moved some money into my credit cards and before I knew it I was sitting in the lounge area and it was after midnight – damn sunlight did it to me again.  And I have a 6.30 am departure for the wildness tour tomorrow – god I am getting no sleep on this trip I’m going to be wrecked when I return home 🙂

  • World Trip 2011: Day 7 – San Francisco to Anchorage, USA

    Monday 6 June 2011
    Highlights:     The sun shining brightly at 00.30 in Anchorage

    Said a last goodbye to San Francisco with an early 6.20 am start. The next major part of this trip will see many early mornings as I get in touch with nature.  I don’t know if I’ll ever be back to San Francisco. It’s a very cool place and I recommend it but the world is a big place and life is short.

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