Bears on the Coast of Katmai National Park

A huge Katmai brown bear walks out of the meadow in front of us. We stood there watching him eat grass for nearly an hour, getting closer and closer to our group. Finally he made this turn onto the mud flats, walked a ways, then lied down for a nap.

Today we explored an entirely new part of Alaska, the coast of Katmai National Park. We started off at Kukak Bay, which is a known brown bear hot spot. We had flat calm conditions, so Christian and I jumped in a skiff early in the morning to scout out possible landings, walks, and bear meadows. We found a few good possibilities, and we found a big brown bear ambling down the shoreline, close to our boat. After snapping a few photos of the bear, he disappeared into the alder bushes, only to reappear later right behind the boat during breakfast.

After breakfast we sent out a guided kayak group, into beautiful flat calm conditions. Then everyone else jumped into our two skiffs and went out to find some of Katmai's famous brown bears. We landed at a shallow, rocky beach, and walked over to a creek, winding its way out of a grassy meadow. Much to our delight, two big brown bears were chomping on grass, making their way through the meadow.

We spent all morning watching and studying the bears. One of them worked its way closer and closer to us, which gave the guests quite the thrill. In the end, the bear just kept doing what it was doing, until finally splaying out on the ground and falling fast asleep.

Over lunch we transited a few hours down the coast to a beautiful place called Geographic Harbor. I had heard a lot of good things about this place, so I had high hopes. The weather gods seemed to have other plans though, as the clouds got very low, and opened up with some cold rain. We sent out long skiff tours to the back of the bay, but other than a few otters and birds we didn't see much. We did have a very fun harbor porpoise, on the hunt on our way back.

Overall it was a great experience for our first visit to Katmai. The guests got to see some brown bears for the first time this trip and we had just beautiful conditions in Kukak in the morning. I can't wait to go back and see Geographic Harbor in all of its glory next time.

Early in the morning, Christian and I went on a recon mission to look for good landings for our activities. We saw this brown bear heading our way along the coast. He later popped out onto the beach right behind the Safari Explorer, while everyone was having breakfast. Not a bad way for the guests to start their day in Katmai National Park.

A raft of otters watches us with interest as our skiff floats nearby.

Outside of the bay, a group of Steller sea lions hauls out noisily on an offshore rock.

Our skiffs head out for adventure in Kukak Bay, part of Katmai National Park.

A large brown bear strolls the meadow.

Kayakers head out to enjoy the calm waters of Kukak Bay. They ended up paddling under a bald eagle nest on their island ciucumnavigation.

This was our view entering Geographic Harbor in the afternoon. A grey drizzle had set in, adding a bit of mystery to this part of Katmai.

The sun peaks out early around these parts.

My group quietly watches a brown bear out in the meadow at Kukak Bay.

Rough waters ahead. We have to put boats on deck and fill them with our kayaks when we cruise between spots in this part of the world.

Everyone is all smiles as we head out for a skiff tour in Geographic Harbor. We may have come back as frozen popsicles, but the smiles were still there, perhaps just frozen in place.

This was one of the beach landings we discovered in Kukak Bay. Just beyond the large rock at the end of the beach was a big meadow that I thought would be a good bear viewing area.

This was our view from the end of the beach, just past the big rock. We saw two brown bears foraging in the meadow. One disappeared into the bush, while this one continued to get closer. He maintained a comfortable distance while still giving the guests quite a thrill.

As always, keep traveling and keep posting!

• Dai Mar