OnlyMeOirish

Thanks for the tip on the seating Michael - will definately make sure we're there early to get the 'best' seats.
I hummed and hawed about whether to fly into Fairbanks or Anchorage when we were planning this trip. It took me forever to decide on Anchorage mainly based on the shorter flying time and the availability of car rental. Sometimes I think we made the wrong decision but then I think about already being in transit from Ireland to Anchorage for 26 hours - any more than that would be absolutely horrendous (not that it won't be very tough as it is!).

Thanks for the advice on the train to Seward. This is another thing I couldn't make up my mind on but the deciding factor was the Animal Conservation Center - we REALLY want to see that. Also, we're planning on a stop at Crow Creek Mine on the journey down to try our hands at prospecting ;-). We figured that we would be getting a train 'experience' with the White Pass in Skagway - hopefully we won't regret our decision too!

Sharon,
I'm afraid poor Maggie isn't in the best of shape. From the Friends of Maggie website it seems that she was improving but the poor thing is suffering from open wounds from rubbing her face against the concrete walls. The cold weather also seems to be getting her down.
I have thought about visiting her when we are in Anchorage but to be honest, I don't think I would have the stomach for it. I'm not a fan of Zoo's at the best of times and seeing Maggie so unhappy and distressed would upset me too much I think. If I decide otherwise while we are there I will definately post on my findings.

Imelda

eenusa

Imelda, you may already know this, but if you are taking the White Pass train up, you'll want to get a seat on the left side of the train to see the views better.

GrannyJoan

Michael,

Great photos! Such superb shots of the dahl sheep and oh the bear shots are magnificent.

My husband and I were trying to book a last minute trip across Bering Sea from Nome to Russian Penisula in late July, with a stop at the Kenai Fjords National Parks and areas of grizzly bears and puffin birds. Unable to get our Russian visa. Now I wish we had planned earlier to go. We are headed to Machu Picchu and Galapagos instead in couple of weeks. Hoping to see the infamous blue footed boobies.

I agree Denali was not the greatest area for riding on a school bus and viewing wildlife from a far. We saw a moose up close at the lodge in park as well as Grizzly from helicopter ride over the park on way to glacier. I would recommend a small boat or yacht for Alaska, where you can go to remote areas, kayak and see bears swimming near your kayaks, or dahl sheep from a float plane or sea lions and whales from a zodiak. American Safari Cruises out of Seattle is a great way to see Alaska.

Thanks for posting the lovely photos
-Granny Joan

atravelynn

<b>Imelda,</b>
This post worked out just right for your upcoming trip.

<b>GreenDrake,</b>
You are correct. Up to 3 other same sex people are put into a cabin with you. There are 2 sets of bunk beds and a shower and toilet, quite small. Actually it is like a side-by-side duplex with 4 cabins all within the same structure. I take ear plugs. There is a large and comfortable lodge, so I find I am never in the cabin, except to sleep. You can also book a private stand alone cabin for more money. All have housekeeping services.

If you camp there is a shower you can use.

<b>Thit Cho,</b>
Keep us posted on your Haines findings.

Bringing this back around to Africa...On one gorilla trek, a guy said to me, &quot;The only thing I've ever done that comes close to seeing the gorillas is watching the Alaskan Brown Bears in Katmai.&quot; I would agree with the similarities.

thit_cho

Granny Joan, were you working with an agency to secure your Russian visas? I have been to Russia several times, and I've never had a problem getting a visa (I have sometimes had to pay a fee for expeditious processing, but I always received the visas in time).

I have been to the Galapagos and Macchu Picchu and both are very interesting -- sounds like a great trip. South America has so many amazing destinations -- my next trip is this August to Devil's Island, off French Guiana (plus visiting Guyana and Suriname).

Chris_GA_Atl

Michael,
Congratulations on some great pictures. They are really great and I enjoyed looking at them. I particularly liked the bears at the top of the waterfall and the two young bears playing.
Chris

Cheweyhead

bookmarking

Patty

Imelda,
Thanks for posting your itinerary! You mentioned there will be just the two of you on the plane. Are Regal Air's tours normally private or did you arrange this specifically? If the latter, may I ask how much more this costs? Did you consider any of their other bear viewing trips and do you know how they'd compare to the Katmai trip in terms of likelihood of seeing bears, viewing distance, etc.? It looks like the Katmai trip is only offered from late June to early August, is that correct? Hope you have a great trip and can't wait to hear more about it when you get back. Like you, I've only been to Alaska once on a cruise several years ago and want to go back.

Michael,
Did you book through Katmai Air? Do their day trips operate during the entire Brooks Lodge season (Jun 1-Sep 18) or a more limited time frame? How many people were on your trip? Thanks again for posting your photos!

For either or both of you,
How far in advance do you have to book the bear viewing day trip? Is there a best time (in terms of viewing) to go? Thanks!

thit_cho

Patty, I booked everything through www.katmailand.com, which I believe operate Brooks Lodge (I could be mistaken about this). Once you arrive at Brooks Lodge, you are free to do what you want, so there is no set number of people on a trip. While there were six on my flight floatplane flight from King Salmon to Brooks Lodge, we did not all return on the same flight, so you are not in an assigned group. I booked my trip in August 2006 for a trip in July 2007 (even at that time, the lodge was fully booked, and there were limited daytrips). I understand the best times to visit are July (when the salmon are heading upstream) and September (when the dead salmon are floating downstream).

OnlyMeOirish

eenusa, Thanks for the tip! I think I remember reading that somewhere before but it's going on my 'tips' list right now!
BTW, I just finished reading your AMAZING trip report on your Antartic Cruise ... WOW!!! I would LOVE to go on one of those but I don't think DH's tummy would be able to cope with it - especially with those 'Drakes Shakes'.

Lynn, Michael couldn't have timed it better - it's all his fault I can't concentrate on anything but Alaska right now

Patty, It has just ended up a fluke that it is just the two of us going to Brooks with Regal Air - no one else booked with them. The price is fairly hefty even booking 'non-private' at $649 each. Regal are more expensive than most operators but they were the only ones who would guarantee to 'accomodate' my claustrophobia issues - There's NO WAY I could sit in any of the seats behind the first row in those tiny 6 seaters. Regal Air have told me not to worry, I can have the seat beside the pilot where I should be OK (I did a test run in a 4 seater plane at my nearest airport and was OK in that seat, but there was a door beside me in the 4 seater and wont be in Regals 6 seater - hopefully I'll still be OK though). Also, there was a chance, if more people booked, that they would fly a larger plane which would be more comfortable for me. Anyways, none of the other companies could tell me what kind of plane I would be in for definate OR where I would be sitting (even though I have read that a lot of people have just chosen their seating when they get to the plane and not have it assigned).
I also looked into doing Halo Bay which is supposed to be amazing but they only had those tiny 6 seaters and as well as that they only had availability for their 5 hour trip which, to me, wouldn't be worth it (even if I was able to fly in that little plane).
Another company I would have really liked to go with was Emerald Air. They fly a 10 seater which would be PERFECT for me and I have read reports of AMAZING sightings. The lady who runs this company was absolutely <u><b>AMAZING</b></u> - she was so nice and answered ALL my questions thoroughly and I would have felt VERY confident flying with her BUT .. they were fully booked, and that, from what I can remember was back in February / March! She said that they normally book up by December for the following summer! One thing on Emerald Air, I read some amazing reports of trips with them but I also came across some who reported being dissapointed with their bear viewing (quantity I think).

Regal air advised me that I should ideally book two months before I wanted to go 'just in case' but, as of now, they still have a lot of availability for 'our' date. I would have LOVED to have had the foresight to book far enough in advance to stay in the cabins at Brooks buut didn't start planning this trip really until January / February so this wasn't an option.

I will definately post a 'short' trip report when I get back. Thanks for your good wishes.

Imelda

Love2Ski

Michael,
Great pictures. I too just returned from Brooks Falls, which was a fantastic experience. I haven't posted before, but enjoy reading the Africa forum for information on a possible future safari. I also used this forum for research on my camera equipment that I used at Brooks Falls.

Patty,
As Michael wrote, the times to visit Brooks are July and September. There are very few bears during June or August, so these would not be great times to visit. In my opinion, July is the best month because that is when the bears are seen at the falls as the salmon try to jump up the falls. In September, from what I have read, the bears are seen all over, but they do not congregate at the falls. To avoid people, you should consider staying either in the cabins at Brooks Camp, or in the campground. Most people visit Brooks on a day trip, as I did. The day trippers arrive around 10am, and usually leave by 5-6pm. If you are staying at Brooks, then you are able to visit the falls starting at 7am, and as late as 10pm, when there are fewer people.

Imelda,
You will love Brooks Falls. We landed in the lake above the falls that you mentioned, which is Brooks Lake. Most planes land in Naknek Lake, which is where Brooks Camp is. The distance to the falls from the planes is the same, but from Brooks Lake you do not have to cross the bridge that is often closed. Have you pilot contact the National Park Service at Brooks Camp to see if they can land in Brooks Lake. To land there, a ranger must be up there to give you your required bear etiquette talk. Also, if you do land in Brooks Lake, I wouldn't chance crossing the bridge to Brooks Camp for lunch. I recommend eating in the plane on your flights to and from Brooks. Once you arrive at Brooks, all food must be stored in caches. Only water is allowed into the park with you; not even mints or gum are allowed. Hope you enjoy your trip.

L2S

Patty

Thanks, Michael and Love2Ski. Your comments have been so helpful, particularly about the timing as I was initially thinking early-mid June but will now re-think.

Imelda,
Thanks for the additional info. I understand your concern as I tend to get claustrophobic too. I sat in the co-pilot seat on 2 flights on our last Africa trip and found it to be <i>so</i> much less anxiety inducing! Gives a new meaning to sitting up front. Flying the plane also kept my mind occupied

OnlyMeOirish

Hi L2S - thanks so much for the tip on landing on Brooks Lake. I have e-mailed Regal Air to see if they can arrange this - I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Patty - I'm hoping I'll be OK in that 'tiny' plane. That's really cool about you actually flying!!!! When I went on my 'trial run' in the Cherokee 4 seater the guy took me up and let me fly it too ..... REALLY REALLY cool!!!!

Imelda

atravelynn

As to which lake you land in, it depends mostly on the winds.

Happy bear viewing.

Love2Ski

Good point, atravelynn. I guess we were lucky the day we went because the winds were calm, and planes landed in both of the lakes. The company we went with, Bald Mountain Air from Homer, really wanted to avoid problems with us crossing the bridge at the lower river. In one of the days just before we went, the bridge was closed for five hours straight and many day trippers never made it to the falls.

OnlyMeOirish

Thanks Lynn &amp; L2S, guess fate will decide whether we get to the falls or not - either way I'm sure we'll have a great time .... But I'll keep my fingers crossed too!!!

Imelda

thit_cho

On Tuesday nights, the Travel Channel (in the US) is running Jeff Corwin's &quot;Into Alaska&quot; (or something like that). Its actually pretty good, and next Tuesday's (July 24) show is on Katmai.

OnlyMeOirish

Thanks for that Michael - we won't be able to see it on TV BUT WILL see it LIVE - we will be <b><u> IN</u></b> Katmai on July 24th !!!!

Imelda

atravelynn

I saw Jeff Corwin at Brooks in July 2006 when he was making the show. He was there for just one afternoon on that trip, although I'm sure he returned.

As luck would have it, the hours he was there were the windiest I've ever seen and the bears all retreated from the falls. I was at the falls about 2 1/2 hours watching the crew and only 2 subadult bears came lumbering through, but not on the falls or fishing. That is unheard of in mid-July.

It was interesting to watch the on and off camera personality.

The next day there were a dozen bears at the falls again but the crew was gone.

thit_cho

I met him once in Bryant Park in NY -- he was there to film some work with a hawk (one that had been proposed to be used to keep pigeons from the park). I was eating my lunch, sort of by myself at a table beneath a shady tree, and during a break, he and the crew moved to my area. I spent a fair bit of time talking to him (about wildlife destinations, including Komodo Island, where I have visited but he had not), and I thought he was congenial (I certainly didn't excpect his off-air personality to mirror his on-air personality, but he was friendly).