ESCAPE WEEKEND 55
HERALDSUN.COM.AU SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, 2014
Pristine and precious Australians have been captivated by wild Alaska, writes ROD EIME
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HERE’S no rush here in the wilds of Alaska ‒ until you’re asked to outrun a speeding glacier. The girl had been held for three long years in the camp and she grew discontented in her isolation. In her frustration she called out to the glacier like she was calling a pet and the glacier responded, rushing toward her with the speed of a running dog. The people saw the great wall of ice and water bearing down on their village and only just managed to escape in time, but the girl’s grandmother was left behind to stop the glacier. She must bear the punishment of her granddaughter who broke the taboo. While this tale of calamity sounds farfetched, there are those apart from Tlingit elders who support the theory of a sudden glacial surge here in Glacier Bay, Alaska. Certain conditions, a build-up of meltwater, for example, will cause a glacier to “burst”, causing a sudden and catastrophic advance. Researchers from the University of Alaska Southeast have narrowed down the event to about 300 years ago. “My people left very suddenly to take shelter further down the bay,” Bertha Franulovich, a Tlingit elder tells me from our prominent position on the bow of the National Geographic Sea Bird, “then we settled in the town of Hoonah, away from the cold north wind and into Icy Strait. But we’d lost everything.” The Tlingit came to Alaska thousands of years ago and are an acknowledged First Nation people of the Pacific Northwest. Despite the influence of westerners beginning in the late 18th century, the Huna Tlingit of Glacier Bay maintained their independence, resisting the move to reservations and continuing the traditional lifestyle as best they could. “We are a people who exist not just in museums or books,” Bertha says. “We are a living culture.” Today the Tlingit take great pride in playing host to visitors from all around the world and their rich, resilient culture is evident throughout the entire region now known as Alaska’s Inside Passage. Their tribes and those of the Haida and Tsimshian nation also extend well into Canada’s neighbouring province of British Columbia. The First Nation welcome is just a part of any visit to Alaska and Australians are heading across the Pacific in record numbers to experience the great outdoors in this iconic wilderness territory. Aussies and Kiwis now make up the largest overseas market for Alaska, with 90 per cent of those 42,000 taking a cruise, local tourism authority figures for 2011 say. Most will see the great snow-dusted peaks of the Coast Mountains and the endless expanse of cedar, spruce and hemlock in the seven million-hectare Tongass National Forest from the deck of a monster cruise ship. But there is another way for those looking for a more intimate experience.
The National Geographic Sea Bird (above) cruises through the Inian Islands of Alaska’s Inside Passage and (inset) a brown bear.
As well as the great leviathans of the sea that stop in places such as Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway, there is a fleet of small vessels carrying just a few dozen guests creeping around the silent coves and secret bays. Travelling aboard Lindblad Expeditions’ National Geographic Sea Bird, I’m sharing the adventure with just 50 other guests. Days are filled to capacity with nature walks, kayaking, environmental education and Zodiac cruising. One evening while anchored near Point Adolphus, we listened as a pair of young Stellar sea lions cavorted with a delighted infant humpback whale who squealed and snorted as the rascally sea lions leapfrogged and looped under the moonlit sky. Now under the stewardship of Sven-Olof Lindblad, the pioneering family business traces
its roots back to the late ’50s when his father, Lars-Eric Lindblad, began taking intrepid travellers to unheard-of locations such as the Galapagos, China and Vietnam. In 1966, Lindblad Sr was the first commercial operator to charter a ship for tourists to Antarctica. Lucky with sunny days and clear skies, our one single day of drizzle took us to the tiny secluded hamlet of Elfin Cove. Our Zodiacs tied up to the miniature wharf, our troupe strode up the wooden gangway into the centre of town. There are no roads into or out of Elfin Cove, nor are there any streets or even cars. The entire village is built on stilts with the few shops, homes and businesses joined by creaky walkways. I’m almost expecting to meet an Ewok at any minute. While we didn’t get run out of town by a speeding glacier from Tlingit mythology, it’s still likely you will hear the mighty ice masses groan and shudder as they topple in on themselves. Or, more dramatically, calve a massive chunk into the bay and kick a mini tsunami across the water to the accompanying sound of an artillery barrage. It’s the loudest sound out here in wild Alaska.
GETTING THERE Air New Zealand flies daily to Los Angeles. airnewzealand.com.au Connect to Sitka or Juneau via Seattle with Alaska Airlines. alaskaair.com
CRUISINGTHERE Lindblad Expeditions’ eightday Exploring Alaska’s Coastal Wilderness itinerary runs from mid-May to the end of August departing Juneau and Sitka. Prices start at US$5990 a person cruise only.
ONLINE expeditions.com wildearth-travel.com
The writer was a guest of Lindblad Expeditions and Wild Earth Travel
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