20 Jul 2018

Arakamchechen Island

Sailing south overnight we had encountered foggy conditions which persisted in one degree or another throughout the day today. During the morning we explored the northern shore of Arakamchechen Island, here the lush tundra rolls down towards the coast. We spotted a long dead Grey Whale on the beach and landed to investigate, surprisingly it was nearly completely intact still and there was little evidence of bears around. A gentle amble up a small valley was rewarded with views of breeding waders and a lovely selection of tundra flowers in full bloom. But in the afternoon we were to discover some of the richest and most diverse tundra that any of had ever seen, landing not far away from our morning landing we were greeted by a bay carpeted in flowers. The more energetic took the option of a hike to one of the nearby hills that offered a grandstand view through the clouds of the landscape.