May 2015 – Grey Nomads Travel and Cruise

150527 Cruise to Camper

The amount of organization to get everyone off a cruise ship is unbelievable. Collecting bags from outside our rooms, mustering many people to get off in groups according to luggage tag colors, having transfer coaches arrive at the specified time as well as loading passengers and supplies before the evening departure of the next cruise, would bring headaches that I didn’t want (I have my own), so I let someone else do it.

Our transfer to our camper pick up was to arrive 2 hours after our disembarkation so we sat in a Starbucks sipping hot chocolate and catching up on Internet needs. There are a few people I play ‘Yahtzee With Friends’ with who had been sending reminders during the cruise and it was time for me to make my moves. (what did we do before that came along?)

After arriving at the camper van depot at mid day, we spent two hours going over the rental documents and being given a ‘how does everything work’ tour. We were then given instructions where to find a supermarket and phone store but they fell on deaf ears (I didn’t have my hearing aids in haha). So we drove. There are a lot of forgiving people in Canada who “would love to go to Australia”. They did eventually get us to where we wanted to go. After an hour in the supermarket we were 2 hours just getting prepaid SIM cards for our phones (it’s quicker buying a house).

We found the Highway heading east and eventually a sign that said Lake Culter. Then we found a campground to park for the night albeit without hookups – but free wifi. I recall Lyn saying on the ship “I hope I remember how to cook after all this nice food.” She did very well while I continued doing research for my book, “You can sit there as long as you talk to me.” I found an ex truckie willing to provide another short chapter. Haha!

The camper van is a Winnebago Touring Coach on a Mercedes frame. A little narrow inside but will get us through – we are glad we don’t have hips like so many did on the cruise. The bed up the back is a ‘makeup every night’ arrangement used as a lounge dinning room during the day. With a very small bathroom, campground showers will be used when required (daily) and available. I have banged my head 4 times getting into the drivers seat from the van and 3 other times on the cupboard doors above the kitchen bench. I gouged my arm on a corner while making the bed – found blood on my hand while researching that new chapter for my book. There are also many mosquitoes willing to keep us company – hope they don’t found out where our blood is kept.

Tomorrow, Thursday, we head towards the Canadian Rockies hoping to get to Revelstoke for the night.

150525 Ketchikan

Ketchikan is known as Alaska’s “First City” because it’s the first major community travellers come to as they journey north. This charming waterfront town showcases its maritime history and offers picturesque scenery, quaint architecture and an abundance of cultural delights.

It’s hard to believe that not all that long ago, the entire area was covered in ice. Massive glacier action carved out the present landscape – long saltwater fjords hemmed in by cliffs that soar as high as 3,000 feet into the air.

Nowhere is this feat of nature more beautifully realized than just east of Ketchikan at the magnificent Misty Fjords National Monument. Named for the weather conditions that are normal for the area, we encountered a perfect day again.

The main source of income is from salmon fishing. There are five different species of wild Pacific salmon found in the Alaskan waters surrounding the area. And you can even view the salmon, in the town creek; complete their exhausting journey to the spawning ground.

Ketchikan’s second most important income source is the tourist. Yesterday, there were four large cruise boats in port. As we sailed up the waterway towards the port, we sailed past the local airport and a 737 was taking off just as a seaplane was landing beside our ship. Rather uncanny when you are there.

We took a 90 minutes walk around the town before boarding the Misty Fjords National Monument tour in a Jet-Cat catamaran. The water was smooth and the sky was mainly clear of clouds. Speeding around the waterways in a 30 mph Jet Boat made it so much quicker to view some of the great geological forms made by glaciers over the years.

Lyn was standing outside up the back on the top deck and noticed a well-known face that comes into our agency regularly. Our travel insurance rep was on board. We were aware that she was taking a group on a trip but hadn’t discussed dates or details of her itinerary with her. Leonie had only made a booking for the excursion we were on just the day before so the meet-up certainly was a coincidence. She was travelling on the Vollendam berthed just in front of the Coral Princess for the day. They had also been in Skagway on the same day as us.

At present, Tuesday, we are sailing towards Vancouver. Disembarkation is quite a feat as accounts need to be corrected and packing done with bags out by 11:00pm. Our disembarkation group meets at 8:55am in the morning. From there, we are on our way in a campervan for two weeks around Western Canada.

150524 Juneau

When you study the map of the area we are in at present, you find that there is not a long way between the Yakutat Bay, Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. However, there is much to see. Some on board have said they have had enough of the scenery of snow-capped mountains and hills and are looking forward to leaving the ship (whinging poms). The waterways are not busy like they are in the Mediterranean Sea and the Baltic Sea.

There were 5 cruise ships in Juneau yesterday but as we were the first ship to arrive, we were able a free run from our dock to the trail we walked. After being given all the safety advice (oh dear, they didn’t tell us about the fire extinguisher today), our group was divided into the faster walkers and the slower walkers. We chose the slower group, as we wanted to have some time photographing the scenes and wilderness along the way.

The climb took us up to over 1000 feet enabling us to look over the Mendenhall Glacier. We were thinking that we were going to get close to the base of the glacier but that was not to be. Lyn had done a rubber raft trip on the lake with the group she brought over here in 2008.

Our guide, John, pointed out the changes in the vegetation that has taken place in the last 26 years. Mosses and lichens have attached to the fallen branches of spruce that have secured their locations since the regression of the glacier. Little wild flowers have also taken their place within the vegetation.

John, our guide, thought we were British as his answer to our question, “Who is our Prime Minister?” was “David Cameron.” Ah, no John.

After returning to the town of Juneau, we took a quick walk up the main street, purchased some scrumptious chocolates and returned to the ship for lunch. Today, instead of going to the lido restaurant, we had lunch at the bar and grill and were able to eat out in the warm sunshine. Nearby were some deck beds that enabled us to have a good sleep in the sun. I even took on some lost colour.

Tomorrow, we arrive at Ketchikan at around 10:00am, the last stop before arriving at Vancouver on Wednesday our time.

150523 Skagway

Skagway is yet another Alaskan town that came about because of a gold rush. It is an old looking town with timber being used for the sidewalks and old-style shops.

On arrival at 6:30am, we quickly had breakfast and uploaded the post for the day before. That done, I did the usual ‘logout.com’ and it seems that I didn’t give the computer long enough to properly get off the Wi-Fi Internet. On our return at lunch time, all the time we had purchased was ‘chewed up’. The guy in charge of the network has been kind and given us credit so we can upload our posts during the rest of the cruise.

The old Skagway railroad train was waiting for us to get on board for a picturesque trip up into the hills nearby to around 3,000 feet. It is a narrow gauge railway and the carriages are from way back, from pre-historic days. There were a few tressle bridges to traverse which made the train trip rather nice. It’s not long ago since they used to use steam engines but now 3 diesel engines did the task of hauling us up the gorges. The round trip was over 4 hours.

After a quick lunch and a short rest, we were met by a young lady who took us up the only road into, and out of, Skagway for a 15 mile down hill bike ride into the town. There were just 3 couples and after the ‘safety drill’ and ‘this is how you use and ride our bikes’ talk, we started the down hill run.

There was very little peddling with the brakes on most of the way. We stopped to view the valley from the other side to which our train journey had taken us. Magnificent! Within just a short distance of one another, we encountered a black bear then a brown bear. The black bear was behind the guard rail and hard to photograph and the brown bear worked out he shouldn’t be so close to humans and ran off down the steep embankment before I could get the camera ready.

The ride was a nice way to see the district and now we can say. “We saw a bear or two’.

We tried the buffet dinner and then went to a great show put on by the ship’s entertainment crew. Some texan folk have really taken to us as ‘our friends from down under’ and always greet us with handshakes and hugs and happy conversation.

Tomorrow, we are doing the Mendenhall Glacier Guide’s choice trail hike. It’s a 6 mile hike exploring the wonders of the Tongass National Forest. Check it out tomorrow.

Seniors Moment

I know that some of you have been waiting for our Senior’s Moments section. Well, we havent had one until we were told about one by an Australian couple from Brisbane. When she was going through boarding procedures in Seattle, the guy at the boarding gate said, “Could I see your boarding pass?” With hesitation, she presented her fingers thinking he had said, “Could I see your body parts?”

150522 Glacier Bay

Yesterday was what has become ‘just another day of sunshine’; perfect for viewing more glaciers in a beautiful region.

We slowly sailed up the Fjord and found Margerie Glacier and then moved around to the Johns Hopkins Inlet to find Lamplugh Glacier. The sun was warm and made some great photos. The day was spent just cruising by glaciers, some white, some well darkened by the debris that it had gathered along the slow journey down to the waters edge.

I don’t have much time to write today (Saturday morning) as we are about to catch a train in 30 minutes so I hope the photos do justice to our perfect day in Glacier Bay.

150521 Yakutat Bay

Yakutat Bay is often known as Hubbard Glacier. The Glacier is 6 miles wide and faces right on ocean water. The face of it is higher than our ship is.

We ‘crept’ into close proximity to the face but were still well back so we could view the splendour of glacial wall. Calving is the term used to describe when parts of a glacier fall into the water. We saw, but didn’t capture on film or movie, about 8 different calving moments. They just happen. First you see it, then you often hear the bang of the ice exploding off the face of the glacier into the water.

We found a good viewing position up the front of the ship but it meant we had sore bottoms at the end of the 90 minutes or so we spent approaching the glacier. As the front of the decks of the ship is ‘walled’ with glass, it is hard to find a spot where you can poke the camera lenses through to capture the moment. And, you have to ‘fight’ your way to that spot where 100’s of other viewers want to be too.

The ship stayed up close to the glacial wall for about an hour, spinning around for those who were viewing from their balconies to enjoy the sacredness of the slow movement of the glacier. I’m sure that if the weather was not the fabulous sunshine we had, the scene would not be as awe inspiring. You probably are wondering why there isn’t more photos in the post – many of them are the same, lol!

Tomorrow, we visit Glacier Bay National Park and get up close to two other glaciers, Margerie and Lamplugh, and pass by John Hopkins.

150520 Kenai to Whittier

Our time in the main region of Alaska is coming to an end. We have a few hours at the lodge before our motor coach departure to Whittier. On the way we stopped off at a refuge for wild animals that have been in ‘hospital’ recovering from some accident or sickness. That means that the photo of the bear was not taken in ‘the wild’ like you thought it had. There were also a couple of brown bears in a separate enclosure awaiting release back into their own habitat.

Prior to arriving at Whittier, we had to travel through a 2 and half mile tunnel. They need to take notice of Europe when it comes to tunnels as this one was just the one lane in each direction at a time, as well as railway tracks. Pretty ancient really, but at present the only way to where our ship was ready for us to board. There had been quite a number of reported Norovirus on board the previous cruise and so we were delayed embarking as the crew needed to clean the ship a second time.

After the lengthy boarding requirements were fulfilled, we boarded the Coral Princess and had to wait a further two hours before our staterooms are ready for us. So we had a late lunch looking out, over the little town of Whittier. Our stateroom is a mini-suite which really means it is a little longer than the basic stateroom with a queen bed and longer lounge to use for the second TV in the room. Not luxury, but at least there is more room to move. (Looks like it will be the order for all cruises in the future though) We are on the top accommodation deck and so our balcony looks over all the others below. The view of the Hubbard Glacier should be spectacular when we arrive later today (Thursday our time, Friday Australian time).

Doing the motor coach tour of Big Alaska prior to the cruise, means that we already already made friends and can catch up every now and then. Those of us up ‘the back of the bus’ are able to give each other a hard time. There are quite a few Australians on board from various parts. We met up with a couple from Alstonville who knows friends of ours who used to be in Warburton. In fact, he painted out their new house and is their doctor in the town. So the world becomes smaller each and every day.

Once on board, I headed with a couple of bags of clothes to put through the laundry. Forgetting the time for dinner was 15 minutes later, I was able to take the long walk to the back of the ship a number of times to change clothes to the drier and collect the completed task during the meal – my house husband role still goes on.

Our room is ready and it is time to enjoy the activities on the ship for the next 7 days. Stay with us.

150519 Kenai

This is a great place to relax in the wilderness. With tall mountains divided by busy mountain streams, clear air and great food, Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge is the place to be.

Yesterday, was not a busy day. Just a ride on a rubber raft 11 miles down the river from here. It was an easy, gentle river rafting expedition as ‘the older folks’ want to experience the concept of rafting on a river too.

Now we have viewed Alaska from a fixed wing aircraft, a Paddle Steam Boat, a motor coach, a helicopter, a train coach, and a rubber river raft; each with many moments of grandeur and awesome scenery to behold.

We will not forget Alaska. Being in a region that has extreme temperatures to -60 degrees Fahrenheit and knowing that much of the earth under your feet is frozen solid, never to thaw, is quite unbelieveable indeed. Hearing stories of dog races and the sometimes 1,000 miles that the team travel to maybe, finish last; I know that I wouldn’t want to try. After experiencing the ‘cold room’ at -40 degrees F for just 90 seconds doesn’t encourage me to live in conditions of such cold. Even our clothes were very cold on exit.

We have been blessed with good sunny days and comfortable accommodation, although not all 5 star. The locations have been superb. The staff have been helpful and ever willing to receive a tip for their efforts. (Thank goodness the currency is all the same colour – $1 is green, $10 is green. You can guess we dispensed lots of $1 bills – haha!)

Tomorrow, we motor coach to Whittier to join the ‘Coral Princess’ for the cruise down the inside passage to Vancouver. Stay with us.

An ‘outhouse’ in Alaska. Use before you ride a rubber raft – for sure!

150518 Mt McKinley to Kenai

Leaving Mt McKinley is like saying goodbye to a new friend. The mountain seems to take your thoughts into awesomeness and praise. The grandeur is hard to leave but we do as we have a 4-5 hour motor coach ride to our next destination on the Kenai Peninsular. Lyn counted the photos she had taken of the great mountain – 120.

We headed south towards the state capital of Anchorage. The scenery is still beautiful as we traveled beside the Great Alaskan Mountain Range which stretches for over 400 miles across the southern part of Alaska. (I say miles because we have gone back in time as USA has not gone metric with measurement yet.)

We stopped for an hour and a half lunch break in Anchorage after passing their small plane airport that has the most arrivals and departures of any small plane airport in the world. Time slips by quickly when you’re eating good food even if it is high in salt (must try and reduce the salt intake in case a menieres attack comes my way – thanks Lo for your observation).

Leaving Anchorage and heading east, we made our way towards more wilderness. Our tour is called ‘Off the Beaten Track’ so I guess thats where we need to get to. As we ventured closer to what is designated ‘wilderness’, we were treated to more beauty of the mountains beside the waters surrounding the peninsular. The cameras certainly were taking a great part in the experience.

Our accommodation for two nights is at the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge. Our comfortable rooms, each with its own fireplace, are perched up the side of a mountain; great to walk down to the lodge but not to walk up from regularly – thanks shuttle driver.

We trekked down the mountain to view the swiftness and colour of a glacier fed river. The green colour was so different. Although we didn’t see any, salmon pass this way in their thousands on their way to their spawning fields upstream each season.

After a late dinner we return to our room in daylight at 10:00pm with the semi-darkness not arriving for another hour or so.

Tomorrow, we are taking a raft trip 11 miles down Kenai River. We haven’t done this type of venture before but have been promised that our cameras will be busy – nice idea!

Comfortable rooms Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge

150517 Denali to Mt McKinley

Often when touring in a coach, you have to be out of bed early, but yesterday was an exception. We were able to casually get ready and have an unhurried breakfast as we travelled down to Mt McKinley by train coach, leaving around 10:00 am. The weather was on our side for this surprise train trip. Lyn has been on the Canadian Rocky Mountaineer and often remarked that the Alaskan Railway was much better.

The train was made up of only three carriages all providing top-deck visibility with clear roofs and the dinning room underneath. We had full bar service available, if required, the length of the 4 hour journey.

It is very hard to describe the scenery, in a written form, without using superlatives so I will do my best to describe it with the word “superfabulouslymagnificent”. (Some words you only come across once or twice in a lifetime – how do you like that one?) From when we left Denali until we arrived at Talkeetna, we had beautiful vistas to enjoy. The sky was blue and the snow covered mountains, close and far beyond, made some great photos. We are now members of the 30% Club as only 30% of the visitors to the area see Mt McKinley clearly without cloud during their stay.

We thought when we saw Mt Mckinley at Denali that that was the last view we would have but our train journey took us even closer but from another side. When you see Mt Cook in the South Island of New Zealand, the view is something that you stop and ‘behold’. This mountain has the same, or even greater hold on us. Lyn took so many photos, she is not wanting to count them. I ran the video camera for nearly 20 minutes for the journey.

We arrived at Talkeetna to be transferred to the Mt McKinley Wilderness Lodge about 50 minutes away. The lodge is made up of many buildings accommodating around 1000 people. A special area is provided that has 4 fireplaces for visitors to sit around and chat while beholding the magnificent Mt McKinley just 40 miles away. (The fireplaces keep the elephant-sized mosquitos away too) There are 3 restaurants serving American meals with different names. I ordered a Mac with cheese and mushrooms thinking I would get a burger with chips, but a plate full of macaroni with cheese on top arrived. Macaroni has always been on my food ‘hate’ list so the macaroni had to be replaced with something more to my likeing. The waitress, realising it was a language problem, gave us credit on the macaroni.

Today we transfer by motor coach down to Kenai Peninsular for a 2 night stay.