Overnight, National Geographic Sea Lion brought us through Frederick Sound from Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness to the town of Petersburg, Alaska. We spent the morning exploring the historic town with our cameras, and some guests took a trail through the misty temperate rainforest to visit a muskeg. We boarded the ship in the afternoon and headed south, enjoying the scenery in Wrangell Narrows as we cruised along looking for wildlife. Later in the afternoon, naturalist Bette Lu Krause gave a wonderful talk about her time as a young woman on the high seas travelling the world as a merchant marine. In the evening, just as we were about to sit for dinner, we got a visit from a pod of killer whales! Everyone enjoyed sunset on the bow as we watched these incredible mammals. After some time enjoying their company, we were beckoned back to the dining room for crab night—a crowd favorite—and capped off the evening with a very humorous and insightful talk about the life cycle of salmon by naturalist Luke Manson.
5/5/2025
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National Geographic Sea Bird
Haida Gwaii – Daajing Giids
We awoke to a blanket of calm in the air. A thin fog, blueish light, placid water, and the sights of sleepy boats in the harbor were the archetypical backdrop for the beauty of Haida Gwaii. Our expedition took us off National Geographic Sea Bird to the Haida Heritage Center. Here we had the privilege to be guided through the museum to get a closer look at the art, livelihood, totem poles, and the beauty of the Haida way of life. What we witnessed gave us a small taste of the wonder the Haida have maintained for generations. The afternoon took us deeper into the island, to the rainforests in the interior. Our forest walks took us to the Spirit Lakes where we witnessed the splendor and deep biodiversity among old growth western red cedar and Sitka spruce. Today was both for land and sea, with our undersea team scuba diving at a nearby island and naturalists showing guests the invertebrate life up close that we had been sharing space with on the dock. As the day comes to close, I write from open waters as we make our way south to the island of SG̱ang Gwaay.
