Russia (3): Kuril Lake & Bears August 5 – 9, 2012

After a 14-day volcano trek in Central Kamchatka, I found myself in another world of bears and active volcanoes. My trip was nearly ruined as the helicopter could not take off on the second day owing to bad weather. Fortunately, things went well from the third day onwards and I had an amazing and memorable time in the Kuril Lake where I saw some 150 bears and when I reached the Mutnovsky and Goreley Volcanoes. 

Kuril Lake

Kuril Lake, one of Russia’s most unique and sublime places, is said to be number one in the sense of beauty and significance. It is the dream rendezvous for wildlife photographers and nature lovers. Cones of three active volcanoes namely Kambalny (2161m), Zheltovsky (1957m) and Ilinsky (1578m) are visible from the lake.

The lake was formed some 8,400 years ago by a powerful volcanic eruption. The lake and its environ now form most part of the South Kamchatka Sanctuary established in 1983 with an area of 322,000 hectares at the southernmost tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula. The lake with an area of 76 square kilometresis 104m above sea level with an average depth of 195m.The lake was explored for the first time by the Kamchatka expedition of the Russian Geographic Society in 1908-10 and by volcanologists in 1930s. In 1940, the Russian Far East Fishery Enforcement Agency established a permanent observation facility and built a fish counting weir near the outlet of the Ozernaya (Lake) River which is the only river that flows out from the lake to the Okhotsk Sea.

The lake has an exceptional ecosystem supporting the largest sockeye salmon spawning area in Eurasia. The first sockeye swim into the lake at the end of April and the last arrive in February. The usual number of salmon is about 3 million and in some years, the number may reach 10 million. Salmon make up the foundation of a healthy diet for brown bears and other wildlife and birds of prey.  Bears feast on the abundance of salmon in the summer and fall before hibernating in winter.  It is estimated that some 2,000 bears living on salmon, berries and pine nuts in the Sanctuary. As many as 700 Stella sea eagles joined by some 100 white-tailed sea eagles and 50 golden eagles spend the winter on the lake.

Day 16 (August 5, Sunday): Petropalovsk-Kamchatsky (PKC)

I had a leisure day in PKC spending over an hour exploring the old city centre on foot. I took pictures of the St Peter and St Paul Memorial by the artificial lake, Lenin’s statute and old wooden houses before spending an hour in the Kamchatka Regional Unified Museum. I find the collection of old maps and sketches showing exploration of the region interesting.

At the pre-departure briefing session before dinner, I met Mikhail, our guide and other participants (six Germen, three Finns, two Australians, a young Russian couple and an Italian). The youngest member was a German boy of 11 years old and the oldest is a German gentleman of 69 who is humourous and energetic.

Day 17 (August 6): PKC

According to the itinerary, we would depart for the Kuril Lake by helicopter. As it was foggy with poor visibility, the helicopter could not take off. Mikhail arranged a city tour and took us to two shops to buy thigh high rubber boots. We returned to the hotel for lunch and visited the Volcanology Institute in the afternoon. As there was no chance for taking off, we had to spend another night in PKC. We were frustrated and worried the weather might ruin our trip.

Day 18 (August 7): PKC – Kuril Lake (by helicopter)

I was anxious when I woke up to find another grey and misty morning. My heart was lifted when weather started to show signs of improvement. Mikhail hurried us to the helipad at 11am. As things are dependent on weather which is so unpredictable, I decided to take my suitcase in case I had to rush to the airport at the end of the tour. (This was a big mistake as I forgot to take it when we left the lake three days later!)

Our helicopter was scheduled to take off at 2pm. But visibility had improved so much that the plane with 18 passengers (15 members of the group, Mikhail and our chef and one other passenger) took off at 1:15pm. I was excited when the aged and rusty Russian helicopter started its engine and we were airborne within a few minutes.I had a good view of the mountains, volcanoes and lakes which seemed just below my feet!

We arrived at our lodge at Grassy Point located at the Travyanoy Cape around 2:30pm. I was thrilled to spot my first bear sitting comfortably at a sandpit along the lakeshore about 200m away. The lodge is comfortable but nothing fanciful. There are two bedrooms each with eight bunk beds, a dining room and spacious kitchen and outdoor toilets. There is a “wrap around” deck that affords fantastic views of the lake and surrounding mountains.

After lunch, we went with a ranger for bear viewing. We arrived at a tower located at an estuary (some 250m from the lodge). It was raining and miserable but my enthusiasm for bear viewing and photo-taking had not been dampened. Bears seem to catch salmon effortlessly. Within an hour or so, I saw over a dozen bears many with cubs.

We could see bears without leaving the lodge at all. A bear even walked up to the lodge and was only stopped from entrance by the electric fence which was constructed two years ago. A photographer was killed in his tent by a bear in 1996 and a memorial stone was erected on the site of his death near the lodge.

Day 19 (August 8): Kuril Lake

We had a sunny day. After breakfast, the ranger took us on a 7-hour excursion. We walked past the bear watching tower and followed the bear trail along the stream. The vegetation is lush and dense. Bears came into our view from all directions. It was amazing to watch bears in their natural habitat and to see how they catch and eat the prey gruesomely. It is wonderful to watch she-bears walking along and feeding their cubs.

We stopped at the rivers pumice rock beach for lunch. Within a close range of 300m, I saw over a dozen bears fishing and roaming around. I even had a picture with a bear walking up behind me. The white pumice rock nature’s creation and artwork is most beautiful. We spotted two Stellar sea eagles.

After lunch, we had a long walk and did not reach the lodge till 6pm. We waded through many streams in our uncomfortable thigh high boots. At a large meadow which is covered by wild flowers and bushes taller than me, I saw half a dozen of bears lying in the sun or feeding on berries.The Kuril Lake must be a heaven as there is plenty of food for bears without predators.

I had a wonderful day and sighted over 50 bears. I heard a group member who said jokingly that he was sick of the bears! In the evening, we had a nice camp fire.

Day 20 (August 9): Kuril Lake

A thick mist wrapped up the lake when I got up at 7am. As a result, we had to postpone the boat excursion. Instead, the ranger took us back to the bear viewing tower to kill time. Anyway, it was atmospheric to view bears in the mist!

The weather improved and we set off in two speed boats after lunch. We saw many birds on the heart-shaped Alaid Island before landing on a beach with hot sand at the shore of the Ilinsky Volcano.

We cruised around the beautiful islands on the lake and spent some 40 minutes watching bears within a few metres at an estuary where thousands of salmon swam through. It was extraordinary to observe wildlife at such proximity. What an amazing experience!

Our final stop was the fish counting weir first set up in 1940. There were a dozen of bears feasting on salmon easily found on both sides of the weirs. While eight members of the group decided to climb a hill near the weir, seven of us happily returned to our lodge. We got back around 6pm, had a cup of tea and watched the sunset! I made a right decision as the hiking group did not return till almost 10pm after a strenuous hike.