Nat Hab travelers in a Zodiac in Alaska.

“Our best moment of the trip was when our group went on a river walk with our Expedition Leader at Brooks Falls. We were able to get up close and personal with several bears, including a mother in the water, her three cubs watching from the shoreline. There were also two subadults play-fighting in the water. They looked around for salmon while a large adult male came near them. One of the bears got out of the water and walked onto a trail right in front of us. Our group used our bear knowledge, keeping calm and still and speaking quietly. The bear looked at us and took the path to the left. We were all thrilled by this encounter!

Two brown bears in a river in Alaska.

Overall, I cannot tell you how wonderful this trip was for us! Our intent was to view animals and natural scenery that we do not usually see in the Eastern U.S. We were not disappointed! We had many wildlife sightings of bears, moose, Arctic hares, sea otters, eagles, hawks, willow ptarmigan, salmon, trumpet swans, magpies, orcas, humpback whales, puffins, murres and harbor seals, a special sighting of a smack of jellyfish, and more! The scenery was absolutely spectacular, and we were fortunate enough to have beautiful weather. We were able to see the mountain peak of Denali for three days straight because of the clear weather! We felt we had great karma with our group!

Denali in Alaska with a lake in the foreground.

We also enjoyed the different modes of transportation on this trip: comfortable buses, vans, trains, seaplanes, small planes, Zodiacs, private boats and even an aerial tram to take us to dinner at Alyeska Ski Resort—Seven Glaciers Restaurant!

We felt so taken care of by our guide, Samantha McNearny, who is so very knowledgeable and handled all logistics smoothly, making each step of the trip easy and comfortable! All the food was delicious wherever we went, and the staff at the accommodations were wonderful! Everyone we encountered was so knowledgeable and took great pride in their state. We learned so much about the state of Alaska that we did not know before. Each day was truly an adventure!

Nat Hab travelers in a Zodiac in Alaska.
We highly recommend this trip to anyone interested in taking a trip where you see as much as you can of the state of Alaska, it’s natural beauty and it’s wildlife! We still look back on this trip as one of the best ones we have ever had, and we consider those we traveled with our friends!”

⁠— Kelly Hicks | Ultimate Alaska Wildlife Safari 

All Photos © Kelly Hicks