As the sun rose over Admiralty Island, National Geographic Venture slowly cruised along Chatham Strait looking for wildlife. We saw numerous individual whales, pairs, and cow/calf pairs! Eventually the National Geographic Venture slowly approached our afternoon landing site, Lake Eva. This well-groomed trail along a very active salmon spawning stream is one of our favorite hikes in Southeast Alaska. Not only were there plenty of spawning salmon, but we ended up seeing a mom with two cubs catching their lunch near a small waterfall in this productive stream! In total, there were eight bears sighted during our stay. We kayaked, paddle boarded, and hiked in this spectacular environment. Under blue skies, we ended the day with an invigorating “Polar Plunge” into the Alaskan waters.
6/14/2025
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National Geographic Quest
Southeast Alaska
On the last full day of our voyage, we woke in Endicott Arm near the Dawes Glacier. We spent the morning enjoying Zodiac tours to the face of Dawes Glacier and watched multiple calving events. We were also able to spot several harbor seals, waterfalls, and a couple harbor porpoises on the way. After lunch we had the opportunity to participate in a polar plunge. Forty people decided to brave the frigid water for a short swim. Those of us not eager to jump into glacier water were able to watch from the bow. After the polar plunge, we warmed up on board as we started transiting towards Juneau. On the way, we stopped at a beautiful waterfall to once again admire the amazing natural beauty of Alaska. During our farewell recap, we were treated to a quick visit by a humpback whale. We ended our day with a slideshow made up of our favorite photos and memories of an amazing week on board National Geographic Quest .