Kenai fjords

---

Rising at 5.30 after lying awake until 4am was tough, but (I'm not backpacking or camping this trip) a hotel porter drove me to the bus for free........Alaska has loooooooong roadworks just like Oz, but we made the boat in Seward in time. Beautiful drive along turnagain Arm, and managed to avoid a cow moose dicing with death on the road. Allegedly there were Dahl sheep (I'm sure they are goats!) and bears on the cliffs.......
As Redoubt Bay boasts the biggest floatplane base in the world, so Seward must have the most chocabloc marina. We had a very knowledgable captain who knew all the seabirds and geology, my special interests. Huge glacial valleys of course, and he took us to watch a pristine glacier calving great chunks into the lake, and the ephemeral waterfalls are awesom just now as the snow has been melting for a week or three.
We saw many humpback whales but they didn't want to show off, however the orcas (killer whales, kill seals, not us!) did us proud, frolicking near the boat and staying out of the water long enough for a photo if you wre smart enough!
Kittiwakes, horned and tufted puffins, sundry 'seagulls' and several bald eagles (sorry I need to check my voice recorder for details, I've had a sleep since then), also seals and sealions, added to the bliss in this huge marine park. As good as Ningaloo Reef in far NW W.Australia!
The rocks are mainly greywacke, a very hard sedimentary, the valleys glacier-carved. Evidence of VERY early volcanism is there in some pillow lavas and other igneous rocks. A geologist's pudding!
No-one can tell me if DVDs bought here will be ciompatible on Oz machines, does anyone out there know if this is a problem? I was merrily mooching in the gifte shoppe at the harbour when I thought 'I wonder where the train goes from'......'Madam you should be on that bus.......' so I fled, collapsed onto bus and thence to train, a wonderful journey, 4 1/2 hours back to Anchorage through dense forest (saw a black bear so they DO exist in ALaska) and past more glaciers, turnagain arm's mudflats with scavenging waterbirds, and a young moose! dunno how he didn't sink but Mummy was not to be seen and he had to be lost!
People from the 'lower 48' states think Alaska is expensive but I think it is cheap1 It all hinges on petrol which equates to 80c/L australian.
Advice to fellow travellers: Alaska is beyond expectations, not least the waiting time at the Post Office. DO NOT do postal business here. I waited 25 minutes to get 6 stamps and was told I was lucky, it is often an hour. Not this gal!
Anchorage does not have roundabouts on roads as they would be a disaster in icy conditions. Of course!
Enjoyed walk along Coastal Trail, circuitous route back 'home'. Tomorrow is a hike in the Chugach mountains, Friday a cruise on Prince Wiliam Sound from whittier (via the Great Alaskan Railroad again) and Denali, whoopeedo, off to Denali- saw a film of it today at Public Lands dept and the peace, splendour, vastness of that wilderness made me cry andI'm not even there yet. SHOU*LD have been kayaking today but the trip did not go because of bad weather, which is hard to imagine as here in town it is perfect. C'est la vie! Signing off, Lady C

---

Comments

[Les]

North America uses NTSC format DVDs and Australia uses PAL format DVDs, so you probably will not be able to view them unless you have a multi-format player.