4. Watching the bears

The walk to the falls in the river where the bears congregate is about 2 miles through two muddy creeks and a thigh high river. The hip waders we had hired were essential and also helped to keep our legs warm when we got to the viewing pad. I do think that chest waders of the dungaree type with proper hiking boots over them would be a better option if you can get them. As a short person I found that the water was dangerously close to overflowing the top of my boots at crotch level on one trip across the river. There is a short climb up a small cliff but on the whole the walk is not too difficult and the rangers set a slow pace so that everyone can keep together easily. About half way on the walk there is a stop at 'toilet rock'. This is the only place away from the camp where ablutions can be done in some privacy. Everyone just takes their turn behind the rock. It certainly is a 'loo with a view' and much fresher air than the outhouses at camp.

Above the falls there are 2 leveled out viewing platforms where people can sit to watch the bears. The rangers have camping chairs stored in a small overhang under the top platform and so everyone has a seat for the day. The bears have become accustomed to seeing humans in this spot and once there, you cannot move around much and have to sit for several hours in the icy wind. We were not too well prepared on the first day and did not layer up quickly enough after our warming walk through the mud flats. Our ranger Tony took pity on us and took us for a couple of walks back up the pathway to get the blood circulating again.  However nothing really detracts from the sheer thrill of seeing about 15 brown bears standing in the water looking for salmon. Each bear has a favored spot and a different fishing style and soon we were able to tell them apart and start to identify individual bears. The older more dominant males take the upper falls and the younger males and females the lower. Some bears dive under the water and swim around while another sat with his back to the water and waited for the fish to come to him. He was really successful and we saw him eat about ten fish that he caught this way. The bears come and go and as the day gets later there are more bears.

You have to take a packed lunch and we found that energy bars, snack bars and chocolate were all easy to eat and carry. We also took a thermos flask of hot drink and some rolls with ham and cheese.

Walking back to camp at about 7pm we were met by the ranger from the camp who had come by boat to fetch us. They do this when the tide is high enough to make it possible and it was a very welcome although bumpy and wet journey. However the thought of the sauna, hot and inviting, makes you happy to return to camp.

3. Independent Campers

The flight to McNeil river sanctuary is about an hour across the Cook Inlet passing the volcano island of Mt. Augustine. It was very cloudy and the top was obscured but it was still a good sight. The plane lands on the lagoon at high tide and we climbed off on to a spit of gravel that is between the lagoon and the sea just where the camp is set up. The camp consists of a few wooded huts where the rangers live, the cook house, the sauna (more about this later) and the outhouses. So first thing to do was to get the tent up and food packed away in the cookhouse. Although bears are actively discouraged from coming into the camp area, food is not allowed outside the cookhouse so that bears never associate food with humans. Bears come first in McNeil and this policy covers all human activity so that the bears have become habituated to humans as non threatening animals and there has never been an incident of aggressive interaction between bears and humans in the thirty odd years that the sanctuary has been in existence.

The tent we had hired was an A-frame type and quite a bit bigger than those of our fellow campers. The ranger said he hoped we would not get blown away so we found a site that was surrounded by bushes about six feet high that seemed to afford some shelter and made sure that the pegs were well dug in. Ideally one should take an igloo-type tent that does not get bothered so much by the wind, but we were lucky and did not have any major problems.

After meeting everyone else in camp we settled in to cook supper. Most other campers had brought cooler boxes and had fresh food which they supplemented with the freeze-dried camping kind. The water is taken from a creek near the camp which has to be brought to the cook house in large water cans by wheelbarrow. This is a shared task and Adrian joined a few of the other men to go to the creek to replenish the supply. Then one has to either boil the water for 5 minutes or filter it before it is safe to drink. We had a water treatment pack which was quite involved and needed tablets and filtering through cloth. It was very cumbersome and the water tasted quite unpleasant afterwards. Eventually we decided that boiling was a better option especially if you wanted to use the water for tea or hot food. Some of the other campers had filter bottles and these seemed to be more useable. After dinner we were given our chance to use the sauna. This is a lovely wooden hut with a wood stove and a huge pot of water for washing. The floor is slatted so you can stand and have a wonderful splash in the warmth of the hut. It is really welcome after a very cold day of bear viewing.

2. Getting it all together

Anchorage, Alaska is about as far as one can go from Cape Town, South Africa on a scheduled commercial flight. We took British Airways to London, London to Chicago and then American Airlines Chicago to Anchorage. To get to McNeil river sanctuary you have to go by float plane and the best place to get a flight in one of these is Homer. Now Homer is at the bottom of the Kenai Peninsular and about 350km south of Anchorage. The public transport options are not the most versatile and because we had to hire camping equipment, we also hired a car to drive to Homer. This worked out to be a good choice because it gave us the flexibility to detour along the way and spend a few nights where we chose. Although we had to leave the car in Homer while we were at McNeil, it was safely parked at the landing site for the float plane on the lake there. It is necessary to have flexible dates when flying by float plane because of the tides and the weather. The plane can only land at McNeil on a high tide of 15 feet or more and those are usually in the afternoon. If the weather is bad and the planes can't land then you have to spend another night in camp, or in Homer depending. So you can't plan anything fixed for a day or two either side of your four day viewing permit dates.

To stay at the camp you have to be an independent camper. This means that you have to take all equipment, except a stove, and all food except water. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game provides a comprehensive list of your requirements and we had to find an outfitter who could provide all the necessary items for us to hire. Here we struck gold in finding Max and Annette Finch at Alaska Canoe and Campground in Sterling. Having sent Max the ADFG's list of equipment by email, we turned up in Sterling on our way down the Kenai peninsular to load up our hire car with everything we needed. Max was fantastic in providing good equipment as well as advice to these two Africans.

Arriving in Homer we found our cabin on the lake where we spent the night. The cabin was such a good decision as it gave us the space we needed to organize all our provisions and repack everything into waterproof bags for the float plane. We also enjoyed watching the planes take off and land on the lake.

Homer has a very good supermarket where we bought our food for the trip. To supplement the freeze dried camping meals that we had bought from Max, we got a good selection of energy bars, instant breakfast oats, snack packs and chocolate bars. Along with the usual tea, coffee and sugar we also got a small amount of fresh provisions (bread rolls, sliced meat, tomatoes and milk). As there is a weight restriction on the float plane we decided against taking a cooler box and this perhaps was a mistake. A small cooler would have meant more fresh food which would have been a good idea. Anyway with 250 pounds each, including your own body weight, you can't over pack.

With tent, sleeping bags, mats, pots and pans, oh and a few warm clothes, we tipped the scales in the right direction and so loaded up and lifted off late in the afternoon to fly across the Cook inlet. 

1. How it all started

In April 2010 all our plans for the year changed one day when I received an email telling me that my husband and I had won a permit to visit the McNeil River Bear Sanctuary in August.
Living in Cape Town, South Africa, we are a very long way from Alaska but I have long had the wish to see the Brown bears of Alaska catching salmon in the wild rivers during the summer spawning season. The most natural place accessible to ordinary traveller is McNeil River and one can only visit by permit which is awarded on a lottery basis. We had applied many times over the past 5 years and not been lucky but our perseverance paid off and we found ourselves with a mission: organise a camping trip to the wilds of Alaska from the tip of Africa.
The internet is a wealth of information and there is no way we could have brought it all together in those few months without web sites, email and the fabulously helpful and friendly folk in Alaska.
There was something missing however. In all my searches I could not find any practical information on the camp and what to expect from our time there. So I was determined that when I came home I would write about our experiences for anyone else who is lucky enough to get their chance to do this wonderful trip.