4th July – Whittier. American Independence Day. Prince William Sound.
This was a most amazing day. We drove down to Whittier. Arguably one of the ugliest towns in existence. It was built in WWII to accommodate naval troops at a port that didn’t freeze in winter. Today the towns’ population of around 300 all live in one of two cinder block buildings. There is a 3km (one way) tunnel to get to the town. It is open for 15 min each hour, in each direction, for cars and then for trains. The town was ugly…….but when you turned around and looked out to Prince William Sound…..
We were booked onto a 10 hr Wildlife and Glacier tour with a retired marine biologist. Gerry and Sound Eco Adventures were sensational. Gerry knew most of what there was to know about Prince William Sound – biology, geography, history, native history, glaciers… He was also part of a research group tracking individual whales so many flukes were photographed.
The trip started at a nest site of many thousands of Kittywake birds (a type of sea gull). It’s the site you see in many documentaries. We could just imagine David Attenborough climbing up the steep walls. The birds were going ballistic as an eagle had snuck in and snagged itself a baby snack pack.
There were thousands of birds circling and screeching as the eagle sat there eating the baby bird. Eventually the harassment got too much for the eagle and off it flew. With Mum in chase. We thought it was great. The American symbol doing what it should on Independence Day.
It was then off to see some of the many glaciers in Prince William Sound. We went up College Fjord, Harrison Fjord and to Blackstone and Barry Glaciers. Some were actively calving. The wildlife was amazing. Puffins, Seals, Sea-lions, Humpbacks, Otters and Dall Porpoises.
The seals did their usual ‘sausage’ impersonation and lay on the ice flows….doing nothing. We went to a popular Sea Lion ‘hauling out’ spot. This is where the bulls and their girls sunbathe between feeds. Many young bulls tried moving in on girls on the edges of the group. They were never successful. Those bulls were big and they fought hard.
Sea lions are funny at the best of times but when a young bachelor herd saw us and came to entertain us, it was hilarious. They followed us for about 30 minutes doing flips, jumps and all manner of antics. Every minute or two they would stop and make sure we were watching. We were!
The trip did have a slight problem. It was hard deciding where to look. Every direction had the most amazing things.
We eventually found our own ‘haul out’ place for our picnic and beach walk. The beaches are so steep, you just run the boat up onto them. When you were finished you just pushed off like at a jetty. Sarah found an otter skull and had a fun time checking all the archaeology she had learnt about jaw strength, sagittal crest and other stuff. Sadly the skull couldn’t come home with us. 
Sarah nearly exploded with excitement with the next thing. Then one of the best experiences of her life happened. Dall Porpoises started following the boat and jumping in the waves it made. I was standing at the front of the boat (Leo in Titanic style) leaning over and the porpoises were leaping out of the water an arm’s length away. When one came up for a breath, it actually sprayed her in the face. AWESOME! “Best Thing Ever!”
Raina was super excited to see so many sea otters.
Prince William Sound was a winner! “The Best Day Ever!”
Next tab – Brooks Falls – Click below to go there.