Aug 27 2025 - BC Adventure - Kayaking Day 2 - Fog-ust

Good morning.

Spoiled with fresh fruit and marine wildlife stories for breakfast, we face another foggy morning. But we can't be held back from more adventure and off we go in the kayaks once again. 

We could not have better guides for a day of paddling through shallows, looking for sea urchins, sea stars (formerly known as star fish), sea cucumbers, and jellies:

The sea stars have had such a rough decade, with a devasting sea star wasting disease (SSWD) causing mass mortality in over 20 species. In the news just this week, UBC researchers have identified the bacteria causing this devastation. Our guides were thrilled when we found some healthy sea stars along the shoreline, including a sunstar, with 12 legs. 

Photo below from Globe and Mail article. 

And the bull kelp. Oh my, the bull kelp. 

Natural to the area, the bull kelp is like a sea forest. In some places the kayaks get stuck, basically on an island of bull kelp.  Strong and plentiful it has suffered from an abundance of sea urchins, due to a low otter population, the sea urchins predator. The sea urchins chew the base of the kelp, killing the entire 6 foot+ plant. Good news, otters are back! 

Note the deer above. We actually came up on a deer eating kelp on the shoreline, and she was not at all worried about us, she kept chewing and enjoying. A special land mammal treat on our sea adventure. 

We kept close to the shoreline to enjoy all the life in the inter-tidal zone. 

And we had another bald eagle watching over us as we paddled. 

Pee stops and lunch breaks kept us busy, while our marine biologists continued to impress us with their knowledge and energy and their pure excitement at what we were seeing. 

Back to base camp as the sun came out again and we enjoyed another whale show and the beauty of the Johnstone Strait.

And some mighty fine food too.

Aug 26 2025: BC Adventure - Arrival at Hanson Island

Goodbye Hotel, goodbye flush toilets, hello base camp! 

We pile into the van, with our Kingfisher red kayaking jackets and our yellow dry bags filled with all our layers. 

We find Port McNeill, the water taxi dock and Declan our guide. 

Next step, we water taxi to the island, loading and unloading leveraging the roof of the boat.  Quite a well practiced process for shuttling food and gear and people. Water shoes required!  

We get a camp tour, and we settle into our new homes. The tents are each named after the whales of the area. Marc and I are in Argonaut ❤️

And we are off to kayak!

 

There is fog. And we are getting acquainted with our kayaks, our guides, the ocean and the thrill of it all. What will we see? 

Sea lions! Our first sighting. Quite a gathering of them, playing, frolicking, and generally splashing about. 

We stop on a tiny island for lunch. 

And then head back towards camp.  

And then we hear it. PPPSSHHH

And then we see it, a spout of water. 

Whales!!

Humpbacks 

We stop paddling and make a raft, holding onto each other while Declan holds us all still against the current - by holding onto bull kelp. 

And then a pod of Orca - Killerwhales - Northern Residents. They are known in the area, and their presence is celebrated. 

Memorized. 

Pure Beautiful Mother Nature. 

We are all silently appreciating this magnificent display. And we even see dolphins with the whales. 

We learned so much, I can't begin to capture it all. There are 3 clans of the Northern Resident Orcas here - A, G, R. They are fish eaters and prefer Chinook salmon. Their dorsel fins can be as big as 5 feet tall.  These whales were affected by capture operations in the 1960's and 1970's and two remain in captivity: Corky, in San Diego and Lolita in Miami. Efforts are underway to return Corky to these waters. The Orcas are aware of their surroundings (eco-location) to catch food and avoid boats. 

The humpbacks however are less aware of boats and there have been several accidents involving humpbacks and boats. This waterway is the main route for Alaska cruises. There is a big push locally to significantly reduce the speed limit of boats here, to help save the whales. The good news is, back in 2005 there were only 5 humpback whales spotted in these waters. This year there have been over 100 spotted, named and tracked. 

What a first day. 

As we dry off and warm up back at camp we find the best viewing point and enjoy the sunshine, the appetizers and yes more whale watching. 

Our guides are super knowledgeable. Marine biologists and nature enthusiasts, and not bad chefs either. 

The whole group is elated and exhausted and ready for our first night in the tent and another day on the ocean. 

Our view, and the most incredible sound of whales breathing and breaching, floats through the night air, all night. A sound we won't easily forget, and we will miss when we leave. 

Aug 25 2025: BC Adventure - A deeper understanding

We had a chance to explore Port Hardy with BLAM. A lovely walk to water, along the shore and through town. 

Blaine made new friends on the pier. Fisherman and former Chef Jim. 

The shoreline had many treasures. 

And our first bald eagle sighting. We were very very excited (we didn't know how plentiful they were!).

The others arrived, our party now complete. Our first day guide, Davis, met us in the hotel lobby and, in his gentle manner, told us about the significance of the hotel and the art, including the beautiful copper engraving. This piece is 18 feet wide and depicts the history and the legends of the Gwa'sala Nakwakda'xw people. 

Artist Shain Jackson. 

This was our introduction to the deep cultural history, and cultural devastation that the First Nations people have suffered here. There is so much to learn, and there has been so much lost. But the people are strong and the community works so very hard to heal.

Davis took us to a special bay, where we gathered to learn more history of the land and the people. 

Our next stop was to visit the reserve.

The small parcel of land provided when they were displaced from the mainland in Blunden Bay and Seymour Inlet.  In 1964, 97 came. To find 4 houses, and not much more. They have overcome so many barriers and created a strong community. 

We had a tour of the school, including the cultural classrooms to celebrate music, song, dance and language. 

We even got to experience the newly created outdoor classroom. 

The magical moment of the day was when we were invited into the Big House. This sacred place has such deep meaning. This is where the potlach takes place. A POTLACH is a traditional ceremonial feast, and is a place where the stories and songs and music of the Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest Coast are shared and learned. The celebrations include births (the 10 Moon naming ceremony for new babies), deaths and other celebratory events. 

The Canadian government banned Potlachs in 1921, effectively making the passing on of tradition impossible. Thankfully some kept traditions alive through underground Potlachs. It was not until 1951 that the government made them legal again, and the first revived potlach took place in 1953. 

This Big House we visited has not yet officially opened, but already contains the sand dance floor, with sand imported from the original land of these people, and totems erected, for each corner of the room, with significance in every carver's knife stroke and every painters brush stroke. 

It was truly breathtaking. 

Walking into this Big House is a moment I will always keep in my heart. Breathtakingly beautiful. 

Back at the hotel, Davis joined us for our welcome dinner and listened to us and shared more of his stories. A gentle giant, a cultural hero, and lovely human. 

Aug 24 2025: BC Adventure - East to West

Bucket List Opportunity

We had the incredible opportunity to join our friends Julie & Dan, on a bucket list trip to northern Vancouver Island.  Julie's friend Andrea created Karibu Adventures, a travel company inspired to provide Travel with Purpose. And Keep it Wild. 

As so, with purpose, we headed for the airport. 

After an uneventful flight to Vancouver we took the YVR courtesy shuttle to the South Terminal.

The south terminal is the connector to the shorter flights to the interior or the island(s).  

The Galiano Cafe serves fresh made soup and sandwiches to lots of middle aged white men ready to go on a fishing adventure.  The sign read "Only at Joe's Salmon Lodge". The excitement was visible and (mostly) audible. Groups of men slapping shoulders and already telling fishing tales. Wow, can they be loud. Honestly it felt like I was in a grade 4 classroom at an all boys school. Chatter and laughter, teasing and comparing. 

The Pacific salmon are back this year, best they have been in the last five years (I was told, unprompted). 

Our flight was called, but with a weather warning that it was foggy in Port Hardy (our destination) and "if it is too foggy to land, we will turn around and come back". I'm not pilot, but that sounded reasonable to me. 😳

This terminal serves helicopters and seaplanes too, but ours was a 36 seat propeller plane. 

The one hour flight was a stunning display of Pacific Ocean waterways, snow capped mountains and islands of tall green trees. 

No forest fires that we could see. The damp low hanging fog must help that situation. 

As we found the runway, we startled a big black bear and he ran (in that loafing, I am too big to run kind of way bears do) along the side of the runway. 

What a welcome to Port Hardy!!

 

We are over 200 kms north of Campbell River here. Almost at the northern tip of Vancouver Island. 

With all the excitement of the bear, I left my sweater shirt on the plane. 

The tiny airport was a blessing. Over the speaker came "Marc or Carolyn Solby we have your jacket here" and as I showed my shock and embarrassment, the nice lady ran from behind her desk and waved it in the air to me. Good thing, I may need all my layers here. 

We found Andrea, and BLAM (our friends Blaine and Anne Marie) and enjoyed our first evening at the Kwa'lilas Hotel. 

From their website:

GilaKas’la! Welcome to Kwa’lilas Hotel, here is our story. Kwa’lilas is a kwak’wala word used by Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw people meaning a place to sleep. A group of Elders chose this word in hopes that travelers and guests would find a peaceful rest after a day of exploration on Northern Vancouver Island.

 

Our History goes back over 12,000 years when our old people lived off the land and waters of our old countries. Traveling by sea between our villages allowed families to practice our culture through ceremonies like feasts, and potlatching. We also traveled to surrounding villages for trading and harvesting.

Traveling, with purpose!