Harv and Marv's Outback Alaska

01/17/2025

Humpback Whales are getting their tan on in Hawaii during the winter- where did the orcas go?

Orcas will stay in the Southeast Alaska region all year round! However, they are easier to spot during the summer, as the cold weather pushes their food source to deeper waters that are farther away from shore.

01/09/2025

As Juneau’s winter reaches its peak, the humpback whales are enjoying the new year off the coast of Hawaii, as thousands will soon gather to assist and celebrate the births of the new calves. Once the babies are born, they must build up their strength quickly before the three thousand mile trek back up to their mothers’ home in Alaska. Very few remain, as they’ve chosen to stay in Alaska and take a break from the “dating game.”

12/25/2024

12/19/2024

We’re only a week out from Christmas! Comment below where your favorite place is to spend the holidays! (The humpback whales love Maui!)

12/10/2024

Winter is here! The humpback whales are about to arrive in the warmer waters of Mexico and Hawaii, stellar sea lions are hiding away in protected haulouts, the orcas are searching for prey in the southern parts of pacific coastline, and the bears sleep peacefully in a deep hibernation.

The next few months will be difficult for our marine mammals, as food sources are scarce and the journey is long. Those that live in Juneau, Alaska watch as the days become shorter, eventually leaving us with just over six hours of sunlight on our shortest day. Many Alaskan residents will spend the available daylight by participating in winter sports like skiing, snowboarding, and snow machining.

11/28/2024

Happy thanksgiving all! We want to show how thankful we are for the U.S. coast guard. They help keep us and our guests safe every day on the water through routine inspections and reliable assistance. This picture shows that even during a routine safety inspection we have a lot of fun on our tours!

Photo credit- Lrae Morrison.

11/25/2024

Congratulations to our finalists! Thank you for so many submissions and votes, it was so difficult to pick first place.

The votes are in…congratulations Phil Pyle on first place!

11/21/2024

Check out our sister company on this video!

https://www.facebook.com/share/14PzNmoNkU/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Get ready for the adventure of a lifetime as I explore the must-visit highlights, attractions and adventure experiences of stunning Juneau, Alaska. Don't le...

11/11/2024

Today we remember and thank our veterans!

11/05/2024

Did you know that there are roughly 100,000 glaciers in Alaska? There are so many that it makes it incredibly difficult to put an exact number on it! Only 616 glaciers in Alaska have been named at this time. The Alaskan glaciers are truly something to add to your bucket list- especially since most of them are melting every year! Only 8 Alaskan glaciers are considered to be “calving” or growing. Come see them this summer!

10/22/2024

There is so much that we don’t know about the great mammals of the deep, but did you know that one of those great mysteries is how long humpback whales can live? Scientists estimate that baleen whales live to about 80-100 years old on average, but due to over-whaling in the 70s, we don’t really have an older population of humpback whales to study and observe. Scientists suspect that they can live for an extremely long time, as one of the humpback whale’s cousins, the Bowhead whale, has the ability to live longer than any other animal on the planet! This was discovered due to a female Bowhead whale that was caught off the coast of Alaska in May 2007. While examining the specimen, they found a harpoon tip in the neck blubber of the whale that was dated back to the 1890s, leading researchers to believe that this whale could be older than 130 years old!

Read more about this amazing whale here!https://resources.arctickingdom.com/the-mystery-of-the-oldest-bowhead-whale

10/22/2024

Due to early snow, yesterday was the final day of the season! We want to thank everyone for supporting our company this season. We look forward to making more lifelong memories summer of 2025!!

10/15/2024

As the weather begins its transition to winter, and as the whales begin their month-long journey south for the winter, we close out on another amazing season with our newest company- Juneau Lighthouse Tours.

In the picture below, you can see one of the company’s boats towing back the dock that allows us access to Sentinel Island. Every winter, we must remove the dock to prevent damages during the winter months. Once spring comes around again, we will put the dock back in place and resume adventures to the beautiful island!

10/01/2024

Juneau is home to many beautiful flowers, but these flowers are particularly special! These gorgeous pink flowers start blooming from the bottom and continue upwards. Once all of the buds have bloomed, Alaskans all over the state know that summer has come to an end. Come see these beautiful flowers on our Juneau Lighthouse Tour in the summer of 2025!

09/24/2024

Did you know that we are learning new things about our marine life everyday? The mystery surrounding these magnificent creatures leave viewers and experts wondering and excited around the world. Keep reading for some new information 👀

A current development that leaves scientists baffled is the classification of ecotypes amongst the Killer Whale species.

Previously, it was assumed that there were only 2 ecotypes (Residential and Transient), but a group of orcas were so different from the current classified orcas that they needed their own category! So, a third ecotype (Coastal) of orcas was officially recognized in March of 2024. This leaves to question- how many ecotypes are there of orcas? And can these ecotypes still be considered part of the same species?

For more information, check out this article! https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/new-research-reveals-full-diversity-killer-whales-two-species-come-view-pacific-coast

09/17/2024

Did you know that southeast Alaska is home to the world's largest intact temperate rainforest? Juneau is part of the Tongass National Forest, which covers 16.8 million acres of Alaskan wilderness! This type of rainforest has the most biomass of any biome in the world due to plentiful rain, stable habitats, and well-fertilized soil. In Juneau, the rainforest receives up to 92 inches of rain per year!

Don’t miss out on exploring this beautiful forest in the Summer of 2025! Bookings open in October!

Photo Credit: Louis Juergens.

09/10/2024

What’s more rare than seeing one whale breach? Two whales! This uncommon event really shows the size and strength of the powerful creatures. But why do humpback whales breach? Some researchers believe that this is a way for them to communicate with one another or to assert dominance, while others believe that it is a way for them to build muscle (especially for young whales) or to break off barnacles or other growths from their skin or baleen plates.

Whatever the reason may be, we do know that this takes a lot of energy! Such a large animal coming out of the water takes about as much energy for them as a human being running a marathon. 🐋 🏃

Video credit: Cory Snook.

09/03/2024

Get your photos in soon! Drop any questions as to how in the comments ⬇️