Travel

I know it is both a luxury and a privilege to live in Alaska. Although I try to leave the country at least every two years (I think culture shock is good for the system) my “staycations” have been keeping me more relaxed and full-filled than ever. After all, happiness is in your own backyard, Dorothy. I am finally checking off my Alaskan bucket list. I ventured to Orca Island which appears to be a mythical never never land for adults. Here, I went outside my comfort zone as I sea kayaked to a waterfall with humpback whales beneath us and surfacing around us. I also ended up doing a little cliff-hanging in the rain, only to head back to a stunning yurt to cook a home-cooked meal and have a hot shower. Paradise.

Denali is spectacular. This high desert-like tundra terrain is unlike anywhere in Alaska. The woodlands and tundra look catalog and the animals will approach you as if you are Saint Francis. Something they don’t tell you in tourist magazines, you may get a false sense of security whilst on a bus and watching wolves from a distance. However, if you are venturing through the lottery or biking, you are very much alone in this Jurassic Park. This trip will be one of the most memorable and non-relaxing trips you will ever take. Will you eat blueberries with Caribou in the distance, yes. Will you see a grizzly? High probability. If you are not nervous in the park, you are naive. Furthermore, the park does not just end because the sign says so. Wildlife and rangers alike will be on your tail until the bitter end. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be a true Alaskan adventure without your highest highs like the summit of Denali or lowest lows like a stone on a glacial moraine.