a Alaska Wilderness and wildlife Departs July 1, 2019 Itinerary correct as at Jun 06, 2018, but subject to change. ALL flights to be confirmed. www.bluedottravel.com.au
$14,799 pp Twin-share, economy class flights. Single supp $1,990 ALASKA - WILDERNESS AND WILDLIFE The biggest state of the US is a nature-lover s utopia. Ice-capped mountains, forests full of wildlife plus lakes & rivers full of fish. What s not to love? Separated from the mainland by Canada s British Columbia Alaska also happens to be the most sparsely populated state of the US which makes it even more desirable for those who love the great outdoors. The modern history of the region is fascinating. Various indigenous tribes roamed the region for thousands of years before the Russians established a settlement. The US government purchased Alaska from the Russian Government in 1867 for the sum of 2c an acre - about $7 million dollars total! It became an official US territory in 1912 and official state - the US s 49th State - in 1959. In the late 1960 s, oil was discovered and an oil boom soon followed. Pipelines, refineries, roads, townships and other infrastructure soon followed. Today, agriculture, fishing and tourism make up the main industries. Alaska s capital city, Anchorage, with a population of around 300,000, is 10 times the size of the nearest cities, Fairbanks and Juneau. The region is incredibly sparse with vast wilderness and some small towns dotting the state. There s an abundance of wildlife to be spotted in Alaska. It s most famous for the brown and black bears which are found in healthy numbers. You are almost guaranteed of seeing the bears, depending on the regions you visit. Caribou, Moose and Bison (which were introduced from Montana) are also fairly common to spot. The rivers are filled with trout and salmon and watching the bears feed during the spawning period is the classic Alaskan postcard. There are hundreds of birds species to be found also including the Countries national animal the American Bald Eagle, which are no longer on the endangered species list but still not all that easy to spot. Orca s and various species of whales can also be spotted off the Alaskan Coast and Bering Sea. Blue Dot Travel has developed a comprehensive, small group tour that offers the best of the region. It is an active tour that includes national parks, wildlife, history, trekking, local culture and a whole lot more. It s certainly not a lowcost destination to visit, however, this is an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that has been put together with much attention to detail. Alaska is generally regarded as one of the most scenic places on the planet. Grab your trekking shoes and join us. Itinerary correct as at Jun 06 2018, but subject to change. ALL flights to be confirmed. www.bluedottravel.com.au
Day 1, Monday July 1st AUSTRALIA TO ANCHORAGE, ALASKA Depart Australia for Anchorage via LA or Honolulu (flights to be confirmed). Meals in flight. Day 2, Tuesday July 2nd ANCHORAGE Welcome to Anchorage! Your guide will greet you at the airport and take you to your boutique style hotel in downtown Anchorage. Tonight dinner is at a local favourite. If there is time before dinner (all flights are to be confirmed), you can visit the local shops or consider a walking part of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail which follows the Cook Inlet. This trail is an easy, paved trail you can walk or rent a bike to explore further. Overnight in Anchorage. D Day 3, Wednesday July 3rd CITY OF ANCHORAGE AND HERITAGE TOUR AND WILDLIFE TOUR After breakfast take The Heritage City Tour. This is a great way to experience Anchorage s ancient and living history. You ll visit the original Anchorage townsite, a monument to the great quake of 1964 (where you can see real earthquake damage!), and the busiest private seaplane base in the world. Entrance to the Alaska Native Heritage Centre is included. Here you ll see life-sized walkthrough replicas of traditional structures from Alaska s many native cultures. You ll also have time to shop arts and crafts for sale by local artisans, and browse through one of the best gift shops in Anchorage. The group will stop at a local favourite for lunch before driving south along the Turnagain Arm. Keep an eye out for mountain goats, moose, eagles, and more! The main attraction is the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Centre where we will visit with bears, musk ox, moose, elk herd, caribou herd, and more Alaskan wild animals. B/L Day 4, Thursday July 4th MUSK OX, MOUNTAINS, AND MATANUSKA Today is a day of beauty and fun! Watch mountains pass by as you head north to the Matanuska Valley. Once covered by a glacier, this valley is our second largest agricultural area in Alaska. Get an opportunity to see one of our most unique farms in town - a musk ox farm! These large mammals once roamed with woolly mammoths during prehistoric times. At the Musk Ox Farm you will learn all about the conservation efforts that have brought the Musk Ox back to Alaska. There is no better place to eat lunch in farm country than a farm-to-table restaurant featuring a homemade stew,
fresh baked bread and beverage which utilises the fresh ingredients from local farmers in the Matanuska Valley. After lunch we will make our way east following the Matanuska River to its source - the Matanuska Glacier. The Matanuska Glacier is a frozen 43 kilometer long river of ancient ice. Learn how the Matanuska Glacier was born and how it shaped the landscape in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. Explore blue meltwater pools, ice formations and deep crevasses. Walking on ice is slippery fun, so you will be equipped with a helmet, a walking stick, and micro-spikes that attach to your shoes. (Note, sturdy footwear is required hiking, waterproof shoe or boot and suggest that you bring an extra pair of socks too). This tour requires walking for about 2 hours. This evening enjoy dinner at your lodge. Overnight in a classic Alaska cabin at Sheep Creek Lodge. B/L/D Day 5, Friday July 5th WASILLA AND TALKEETNA Today the group will head west with the guide to check out the township of Wasilla, with a few mandatory photo stops along the way. We ll stop at the Iditarod Headquarters to learn about the history of the Iditarod the annual dog sled race. This is a great museum with a musher hall of fame, a gift shop area and a replica house of the Rohn Checkpoint! We will stop for lunch en route and have a presentation of the Denali Summit. You ll also enjoy a tour of Denali Brewing Company, Alaska s favourite brewery! Dinner tonight is at the Twister Creek Restaurant. Overnight in Talkeetna. B/L/D Day 6, Saturday July 6th TALKEETNA Wake up to an Alaskan-sized breakfast at the famous Talkeetna Roadhouse. Featured on both the Travel Channel and the Food Network for their casual family style dining, the Talkeetna Roadhouse has been serving up food for travellers and locals alike since the gold rush days! The rest of the morning is yours to enjoy! (Consider an optional Denali Flight tour here with glacier landing. You would be taking off with the same flight office that provides the flight service for Denali mountain climbers! This 90 minute flight tour of Denali with glacier landing your pilot will focus on the mountains of the Alaska Range and the complex geography associated with the colossal uplift of the North American & Pacific plates. This is some of the most beautiful and most extreme vertical relief associated with tectonic plate movement from base to summit). The group will depart Talkeetna shortly after noon to make the drive up to Denali National Park. Once at your hotel, you will check in for the next two nights. Bid farewell to your guide for the next couple of days. Overnight in Denali Entrance. B/L/D Day 7, Sunday July 7th DENALI NATIONAL PARK Today is a full day into Denali National Park & Preserve. Take a guided look into Denali s backcountry with your guide. Departure is early in the morning after a quick breakfast at the restaurant on site. You ll have opportunity for wildlife viewing and sightseeing Denali's most iconic landmarks. The experienced driver guides will help spot the signature Alaskan wildlife like bears, moose, caribou, Dall sheep and more as you venture deep into Kantishna, the heart of Denali National Park. Return to the park entrance via bus looking for wildlife along the way! A group dinner tonight is provided at the hotel. Overnight inside Denali National Park. B/L/D Day 8, Monday July 8th ALASKA RAILROAD GOLDSTAR SERVICE After breakfast, you ll take the shuttle to the Alaska Railroad Train Depot. Highlights include Hurricane Gulch and various historic gold mining/fur trapping communities set up along the route in the early pioneering days. Riding in GoldStar Service includes upper level dome car assigned seating, an open air viewing platform reserved for passengers riding in 1st class as well as lunch served in the GoldStar dining car. Overnight in Anchorage. B/L/ D Day 9, Tuesday July 9th KENAI PENINSULA The Kenai Peninsula is often referred to as the Alaska s Playground. Your guide will share with you local secrets of this area including the unique fishing culture along the banks of the world famous Kenai River and Russian River. We will pick up lunch en route at a favourite deli and enjoy a chance to stretch our legs along the riverside boardwalk. Keep your eyes open for eagles! On arrival into Homer, check in to our accommodation on Kachemak Bay. Dinner will be at a local favourite. B/L/D Day 10, Wednesday July 10th NATURAL HOMER This morning, your local guide will introduce you to the seaside creatures of Homer. Peak under the docks to view some of Alaska s marine invertebrates! A naturalist will help illuminate some of the diverse and unique animals hiking under the Homer docks! Then following this program, we will journey to the Wynn Nature Centre for a guided boreal forest walk. Enjoy a sweeping view of the Homer Spit from the viewing platform. A picnic lunch will be served outside of the Daisy Lee Bitter visitor s cabin. This evening, a birding presentation will be hosted at the Beluga Slough. This spot will provide us chances to see popular seabirds. Dinner tonight will be served family-style at our Oceanfront hotel in Homer. B/L/D
Day 11, Thursday July 11th KATMAI NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE DAY TRIP Today is for bear viewing with the experts at Hallo Bay. Hiking to the viewing areas is considered 'light to moderate'. To get to each of the bear viewing locations, guests walk along the beach, through the driftwood, through the tidal flats, in the sedge grass meadows and along on the bear trails by the creeks and through the forested areas. Each location is approximately 25 to 30 minutes from where the bush plane lands. Your guide will lead you 3-5 kilometres throughout the day to various locations depending on the activity and movement of the bears. There are no bathroom facilities at the bear viewing areas. *Note, we ll abide to the Katmai National Park "Leave No Trace" program. Overnight in Homer. B/L/D Day Trip Bear Viewing Essentials Bottles of water to last the day. (Lunch provided) Small day-pack large enough to carry your equipment & lunch. Warm clothing and Rain jacket, rain pants and rain hat. Insect repellent and Sunblock. Medications - any that you regularly take, bring enough for two days. If weather prevents us from returning back to Homer from Katmai, we will spend the night at our wilderness camp. This way, you will have your extra medication with you which could prevent a medical emergency or at a minimum, prevent undue stress. Rubber Boots: We supply the knee high rubber boots sizes between 5-13. Any guest with a foot size smaller or larger than this will have to supply their own rubber boots for the trip. Rain Gear: Guests are recommended to bring with them rain jackets with rain pants. Day 12, Friday July 12th SEWARD This morning the group will drive to Seward (approximately 3 hours). We ll meet up with the friendly folks from Ididaride Sled Dog for a kennel tour and dog sled ride! The mushers and dog handlers at the Seavey s place will talk to you about the sport of dog mushing and take you on a wheeled ride around their private training trails. Mush through the Alaska wilderness to the base of Resurrection Mountain and along Box Canyon Creek. Your guide will explain how we train and steer the dogs, and tell stories from the trail. (There are often puppies to cuddle too!). We will stop for a quick lunch before our afternoon adventure - a behind-thescenes tour of the Alaska SeaLife Centre. Your tour will include a guided walk through the AK SeaLife Centre s back hallways, getting familiar with their scientific research, wildlife response and other marine science programs that support Alaska's marine ecosystem. Overnight in Seward. B/L/D Day 13, Saturday July 13th PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND This morning you ll travel through the Anton Anderson Memorial tunnel and to the glaciated waters of Prince William Sound! On this Surprise Glacier Cruise enjoy a park ranger on board narration of the history and wildlife of Prince William Sound as you cruise towards the spectacular Surprise Glacier. Look for marine wildlife like sea otter, Dall s porpoises, and harbor seals. Upon entering Harriman Fjord you will be surrounded by breathtaking alpine and tidewater glaciers. The catamaran travels to the end of the fjord and stops in front of Surprise Glacier to give you an up-close view of an active tidewater glacier. After departing Harriman Fjord, you will cruise through Ester Passage, a narrow marine waterway surrounded by mountains. On your way back to the Whittier Harbour you will stop at a working salmon hatchery and the second largest kittiwake rookery in Prince William Sound! A late dinner is included at the Hotel Alyeska. Take the aerial tramway ride up to the top of Mt. Alyeska for dinner at Seven Glaciers. Overnight Girdwood - Hotel Alyeska. B/L/D Day 14, Sunday July 14th GIRDWOOD AND DEPARTURE This morning is yours to enjoy breakfast and go explore Alyeska Resort area. Girdwood, originally named Glacier City, was founded as a gold mining town at the turn of the century. Hiking is one of the more popular activity in Girdwood. The Winner Creek Trail is a fun trail to explore which is located behind the Alyeska Resort. The trail offers a leisurely way through a lush rainforest environment. The first half-mile of the trail is on boardwalk surface; after that point, the trail becomes an easy dirt path with some uneven surfaces in places. Near the two-and-a-half-mile mark on this hike, there is a beautiful river gorge with a bridge and hand tram that allows you to pull yourself across the creek. In the afternoon your guide will transfer you and your luggage to the Ted Stevens International Airport. B (Note, the return home flight is to be confirmed however, it is likely to be late in the evening of Day 14, or the morning of Day 15. Day 15, Monday 15th July and Tuesday 16th July TRANSIT AND ARRIVE HOME In transit. Arrive home.