Iceberg Lizzy, Sea Otters and driving on an airport taxiway…Ahh Alaska

Well we finished our Alaskan adventure the way it started, on a ferry. Ah nothing beats a combined 40 hours of quality ferry time (and quality together time when neither of us have had a shower). We were thankful that the journey was rather picturesque (possibly an understatement, but there’s nothing I can say which will even remotely compare to the photos).

It all began in Prince Rupert, which is best described as being all about the boats (sail, cruise, fish or ferry). Actually, it really all began in Tofino on Vancouver Island. We were staying there for my birthday, and got a delightful message from BC Ferries saying our ferry from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert had been cancelled. What a great message! We were then able to have the joyous pleasure of driving to Prince Rupert (1500kms, with multiple mountain ranges, and our car which smelt like the transmission was going to explode) - Prince Rupert was great, small but great. There was a great pub which overlooked the water, and that’s about it!

The first ferry ride was about 30 hours (33 if you include us having to be at the terminal three hours before sailing, at 4.30am). Most of the first day was cloudy, but we spent the time wisely, doing a massive jigsaw puzzle. The sun came out late afternoon, and stayed out - it was still light at about midnight! We slept on the floor in a common area - along with all the other backpackers - and woke at around 5am. The sun was shining, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. All the animals came out to play, and a family of whales followed us most of the way to Juneau.

That first visit to Juneau is best forgotten. Nothing wrong with the town, just the accommodation. No hot water, very weird smells, dreadful noises in the middle of the night, very little sleep the night before….

Flew to Anchorage early the next morning, and the view on the flight was spectacular. Ice fields, glaciers, fabulous mountains… It was raining when we arrived in Anchorage, but not to be perturbed we carried on regardless. We went to a great market in the middle of the city, and bought some great biscotti! Explored for the rest of the afternoon, and as soon as we could check into our accommodation, had the longest, hottest shower ever!!

Valdez was the next stop on our Alaskan adventure, and it was the most amazing spot. There wasn’t a lot in the town itself, and their major claim to fame is the Exxon Valdez oil spill, but they did offer the chance to go sea kayaking off the Columbia glacier with icebergs floating in the Prince William Sound…


It was one of the most amazing experiences. The ice was floating all around us, and there were spots where it was so clear that you could see through to the other side. The guide gave us loads of safety rules, and of course we thought he was being overly cautious - the chunks of ice which fell in the water just after we paddled through some narrow areas made us think twice! Loads of sea otters popped up to say ‘hello’, and at one point looked like they were going to launch a full scale attack - when they surrounded us they looked particularly menacing…

Paul is convinced I captained the Titanic in a previous life, as I spent the afternoon deliberately trying to run into chunks of ice in the water!

On the way back to Valdez in the afternoon we stopped at a shrimp pot the tour company had set a couple of days earlier. There weren’t many shrimp in the pots (they didn’t have any bait with them when they dropped the pots), but those that were in there were enormous. We ate them within 5 minutes of them coming out of the water - you don’t get much fresher than that - and they tasted amazing. Felt kind of guilty about the whole thing, but I guess that’s the food chain in action!

Next major stop was Homer, a tiny little town that in a word was weird. The hostel was filthy, the guy running it was a fruitcake, and there was a bear in the tree out the back! We were able to eat delicious ice-cream (most important), and also went to the movies. Possibly not the biggest screen in the world, but fun nonetheless. Pretty sure the lady running the tourist information bureau was messing with us as she directed down a road which she said had an amazing view, but given we had to turn around for fear the car was going to get bogged….

Final major stop in the ‘mainland’ Alaska adventure was Seward. Main claim to fame of the town is the sea life centre, and it really was phenomenal. So many local animals, and I finally got to see a puffin!! We’re still waiting to see a beaver, which Paul is super excited to see. Really nothing else happens in Seward, but in true Alaskan style, there is a great glacier just near the town, and we saw a porcupine in a tree on the way out there. We may have also walked up a part of the glacier that was closed for fear of ice cracking, but such is life.

We were flying back to Juneau from Anchorage, and given we had a few hours to spare decided to check out the sea plane airport/storage area (the biggest one in the world), and we may or may not have ended up driving down the taxiway!! Fortunately, the words “It’s coming right for us” were not required…

Back in Juneau, we were determined not to stay in the same accommodation. We found out there was a hostel there (only $10 a night) with a great common area, but not a lot of quiet space. I stayed in a dorm with a woman who arrived at 1am and made more noise than I thought any person could, but I got my revenge at 4am! We had to leave then to catch the ferry to Skagway, so when I got up and ‘accidentally’ woke up the noisy woman, I gave her a bright smile and a very forceful “Morning” before stomping out of the room and knocking her with my backpack.

The ferry between Juneau and Skagway was wonderful. There were incredibly steep mountains around us, and hundreds of waterfalls. The water was a green colour unlike any water colour we’ve seen before, and there was an amazing amount of marine and bird life. Couldn’t stop taking photos!

We camped in Skagway for two nights, and while the campsite was terrible, the town was great! Firstly, we have to write a letter of thanks to the US postal service (specifically referencing Doug from the Skagway outlet) for enabling us to post our snowboards to Texas where we can pick them up on our way back to Australia. The town has been restored to look exactly like an 1890s gold mining town, and is loads of fun. At least three cruise boats a day come into the town, and it’s amazing the way the prices seemed to rise in the middle of each day to match these arrivals! I had the most beautiful salmon for dinner (the first and only I had in Alaska - the season hadn’t properly started yet), and we also found some great spots to go walking.

Most of the next week was a bit of a blur, as we had to drive from Skagway to Winnipeg - a total of 3300kms. Not a whole lot of interesting spots along the way, but of course, we found a few…. the SS Klondike in Whitehorse, the Miles Canyon near Whitehorse, the Liard Hot Springs (amazing natural hot springs in the middle of nowhere - we also saw a moose there!), Saskatoon. We finally arrived in Winnipeg, and after a couple of particularly ‘interesting’ days sold the car and prepared for the next phase of the trip. Stay tuned…….

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