Sunday 3rd September 2017

London to Vancouver

I’m exhausted. Not tired. Not sleepy. But I can barely stand up. Exhausted.

My brain has had enough of thinking, and my body is reaching the point when it says ‘nah, you don’t need to stand up today’.

Now you may be wondering why I’m telling you this. Well its mostly so you'll understand that as excited as I am-and I really, really am-certain choices have been made that may seem out of character.

Like arriving at Gatwick and printing my baggage labels only to stare blankly at the simple how to instructions for attaching them. Yes I would have woken up and gotten it eventually but a westjet employee came and did it for me, saving me from trying. The same goes for my ‘hope for the best’ attitude as I abandon my backpack on a little belt off to the side after being told it needs to go separately because it has straps.

Luckily for me this did not become the 3rd time I’ve lost my luggage and I was successfully reunited with it, 10hrs later after dozing most of the way to Vancouver.

Vancouver. Yes you heard me right. Not only am I back in Canada one of my favourite places in the world-top 3 right there people- but for one night I’m back in this beautiful city. Catching the skytain to downtown was simple and one slight directional correction later I arrived at my hostel for the night.

It’s so bizarre walking these streets again. I’ve been so many places since coming here 4 years ago but certain places just remind me of a moment my brain has randomly chosen to remember. Like meeting John my driver/guide as well as the rest of the group, right outside the hostel I’m staying at for the first time. Who would have thought I would later meet up with Philip in New Zealand and go on a hobbit trail around the city? Definitely not me.

Later after exploring the Taiwan in the community event going on down Granville street I made my way down to the Granville island ferry. I remember walking under one of the bridges I pass along the way and can’t believe the odd things I recognise. Never the less, the thing I remember most about my last visit is going down to English bay right before heading to the airport and not wanting to leave.

One thing becomes clear as i wander around and then walk back from the Island. New Zealand may be the only place I’ve gone that feels like home. But boy do I love Canada....and it’s good to be back.

Monday 4th September 2017

Vancouver to Campbell River

This morning I had an early start to catch a bus to the Island. Luckily my dorm room was nice and chilled out with no drama so I was up with my first alarm- its funny how that works when I’m doing something I wanna do but with work it takes me the best part of an hour hitting snooze!

Anyway....

Heading to the bustop Id scouted out yesterday, I actually managed to get an earlier bus than I expected. And can I just ask, what’s up with the fares? It cost me all of £1.80 to do the 45mins drive to Horseshoe bay ferry port. I can’t go a mile down the road at home for that...

And once again I digress....

Having spent the journey listening to two other travellers talk about there experiences, I climbed off the bus and thanked the driver as I went. One thing I forgot is how polite Canadians are. I don’t think of myself as rude in everyday life but it does highlight how self entitled the British come across, when compared to most over here. A gross generalization of course.

Having brought a ticket I made my way to the waiting room and watched as ferry came and went. Getting on-board was quick and easy and I’ll admit I was glad I’d gone for the early sailing. The majority of people headed to the cafe to get some breakfast and I was no different. I sat at the front of the boat as it started sailing away with massive windows showcasing the view. Soon I was joined by 3 friends who were making there way around the local ones old stomping grounds. I made small talk for a bit but soon escaped and found myself a spot on the top deck.

I spent the next hour watching the scenery pass me by. This is why I had chosen to take the ferry. When I was there 4years ago I found the view amazing and even with the slight haze, today was no different.

Once I’d disembarked I found my bus. Again having booked it only the night before I was worried I’d have issues, but nope. Everything was fine. It was a 2 1/2hr journey to Campbell River and I freely admit I dozed off for more than half of it. But when I was awake I saw a mixture of the farm land, towns and a beautiful coastline.

In Campbell River I knew I would be dropped about a 20minute walk from my accommodation. Not remembering what time I could check in I slowly began to make my way back towards it. (Luckily for me the bus had passed it so I knew exactly where I was going). By now the day had gone beyond warm and crossed into hot. Arriving at my motel I was told I was early but it should be okay. It was a good 15mins to get checked in because the guy is so sweet and nice. He was worried about me travelling alone and was giving me advice on both that and my love life if you can believe it. Needless to say I was already smiling before I went into my room but when I opened the door, it became a full fledged grin.

Originally I looked for a hostel to stay at in Campbell River, but it seems rather devoid of them. My next option was staying in a motel and I’d picked this one for the balcony views. So I walk in my room, the bathroom (a very nice bathroom at that) is immediately on the right and then it’s a really nice sized room with two double beds! But the grin is for the glass sliding doors taking up the whole other wall.

There’s a small balcony with a table and chairs and it looks right over the Georgia strait.

Sigh....

I spent an hour or so unwinding but I knew as soon as I started feeling tired, it was time to go explore. It took a leisurely 15mins stroll to get back onto the edge of the town and once there I headed onto the pier I had seen earlier. The Discovery pier is a lovely place to go chill out for a bit along side fishermen. The ice cream made it even better!!!

A little while later I kept walking soon trying to hunt up a supermarket. Only finding a drug store I made do with a few staples from them before walking back, taking a few pictures of the street art style murials.

Back at my motel I chilled out for a bit, before once again heading out for food. One thing that wasn’t quite right with my accommodation was the lack of a kitchenette. I did have a microwave and a kettle (which I was given separately on check in- apparently most are coffee drinkers) which I could make do with. But while I had glasses and mugs and even a table to eat at, no cutlery or plates.

Having come to the realisation that there must be a fair bit more to Campbell River than I’d found earlier, I used my map app to track down some fast food places.

One Wendy’s later I headed back to my motel, ready to call it a night.

Tuesday 5th September 2017

Campbell River to Bute Inlet

Today began early as I woke up first at 5am then again at just after 7am. Deciding to make the most of it I got up and enjoyed a small biscuit and drink on my very own slice of heaven.

Today I had booked a grizzly watching trip. So after a walk through town-and another chai latte - I made for the tour office and booked myself in. Here i met Joe and Jerry, two really great guys....well dogs....Like literally two very friends dogs belonging to a couple going on my trip.

Once we were on-board and had our safety briefing, we set off heading south to creep around Quadra Island. The tour involved a 2 hr boat trip to and from Orford Bay where the grizzly watching would take place.

Orford Bay is in fact part of the mainland but is so remote that you can only access it via boat, seaplane or helicopter. Making it a pretty peaceful and untouched area. Something pretty rare these days.

Our hosts for the next few hours were the Homalco first nation. This is there land and they would be taking us around the viewing platforms , keeping us safe and educating us a little along the way.

Heading off we stopped at the first plateform and it soon became obvious that despite having been told repeatly to stay quiet, some people are clearly are capable.

While we didn’t see any bears at this platform, it was a lovely setting to begin in.

Moving on to the second stop we again didn’t see any bears but being by a creek we had clear views of both chum and pink salmon.

And oh my god are the chum big!

It’s an odd sight to see them all grouped together in the shallows; constantly in motion but rarely actually moving. Then there’s the hops and the flops. Its a very bizarre thing to observe that’s for sure.

The final plateform was situated at a divide in the river with it branching off in three different directions surrounding us.

There was forest along the far riverbank and more off to the left-hand side between the two arms of the river. Behind all this was a mountain peak.

Before we ever left Campbell River we had had it drummed into us that patience is key while grizzly watching. While this is an easy concept to understand, by the time we moved to this, our 3rd and final stop of the day, it was disappointing to think we may have come all this way and not see any.

We had been at the platform for about 15 mins talking and admiring the scenery again, when it happened.

As with every stop the guides would spread out to keep watch and we weren’t to pass them at any time unless directed to do so. A third of our group were on the ground under the platform while the rest were taking advantage of the higher angle. I had only recently ascended the steps and was towards the back taking pictures as we quietly talked.

As I watched the edge of the forest I was sure I could see a shadow that resembled a bear within the tree line. But as with all these things you become reluctant to be the first to point at what is most likely a rock...moving only in your imagination.

However after about 5 seconds i was clamberlying over the bench I’d half been standing on and rushing to the front pointing towards what I thought was seeing. Within moments the ladies beside me confirmed with their binoculars that it was indeed a bear.

By this time everyone on the platform was ready and waiting with there cameras as not one but two bears came somewhat out into the open. They were only out a minute or two, halfway hidden behind bushes before they disappeared into the forest once more but stil,l it was a grizzly sighting.

We spent more time waiting around hoping for a reappearance. In the meantime one of our Captains – Captain John- spotted a small bear still within the forest towards a curve in the river. As far as I know he and one of the other guides were the only one to see that bear, as the lady next to me grabbed a hold of me and started pointing.

Our bears had come back out. And this time they’d brought a friend!

So once they were all out in the open and our hosts got a better look at them, it was estimated that the two darker and smaller bears ( our original two) were juvinelle grizzles while the lighter bear was a female about a season or maybe two older than them. The best way to describe there interactions is to suggest you imagine two twin boys tormenting an older sister after being shooed out the house by mum. The boys tore around chasing each other before one broke off to go and harass ‘big’ sis.

All the while we were watching them, they were moving further away from us up the river. At one point we were told we were leaving and half the group had gotten into there truck when we were then told they were heading back our way.

One of the juveniles spent a good portion of his time swimming and eventually crossed the river where we watched him catch and eat a salmon. In the meantime the female was wandering down slowly, entering the water a little before coming much closer to us as she crossed the river. By now I had moved off the platform and had climbed up on a fallen tree, giving myself the bit of height needs to see them all clearly, but also avoiding the crush of the group.

I had one of our hosts behind me and ahead of me was one of our guides. I have to say I felt remarkably calm about the bear coming towards us, though I did closely monitor the looks between our guides and our hosts as they judged our safety. As soon as it was decided she was going to come too close to us we all quickly moved onto the viewing platform which is surrounded by a cage that was then shut up ( we would later be told how a group had been stranded for over an hr after a bear snooze by their van, only leaving after someone came looking for them and scared the bear away from the vehicle!)

Once it was deemed safe after both she and the juvenile that had been feeding, moved down south of us, we were again told to move quickly and quietly to our respective vans. Once on-board we again had a close encounter when reversing only to find that they two bears had backtracked and were now walking 10ft behind us!

As we left Orford i decided to sit up top for a while it was an amazing view as we rode away and luckily fairly clear views for the next little while before i headed downstairs.

Once back in Campbell River most everyone decided to go get fish and chips, but they seem to always close early and we arrived just as they shut. Breaking up with the group I struck out on my own.

Wednesday 6th September 2017

Campbell River

Today I had hoped to do a half day whale watching tour as a combo with another activity. However they were all sold out so instead, today became a lazy day.

I was still up early and again enjoyed breakfast on my balcony. It seemed pretty hazy this morning for the second day in a row and the sun rising behind Quadra fairly late. However the former I believe to be a regular occurrence with the sun later burning off the haze. And as for the sun rising so slowly, this is ideal as I get to watch it blaze orange on its way up.

I spent a good amount of time reading both on my balcony and down on Discovery Pier- I love it down there. I also walked all the way to the 2nd furthest marina and booked a full day whale watching tour for my last day in Campbell River. While here and discussing the differences between the long tour and the all day one, it was casually mentioned that there were Orca on the doorstep this morning.

As some of you know, I love Orca. I don’t know why, perhaps blame it on being of the ‘free Willy generation (a movie of setting a captive orca free for those that don’t know it) but I’ve always been fascinated by them. Needless to say I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Campbell scanning the waters surface. Now I searched some more but as with most ‘wild’ places. On the doorstep could mean right there, to within a five mile radius- I would later find out they really did mean on the doorstep with them passing the marina opening.

The rest of the day was spent shopping and wandering parts of the town i had yet to go to. All in all, a quiet day.

Thursday the 7th September 2017

Campbell River

So today I had a helicopter tour booked, so my nice guy- Peter- at reception had booked me a shuttle to get to the airport. As with all things related to me this was not as simple as it should have been.

I found an email from the guy I had booked the tour with, seemingly cancelling. Presumably because of poor visibility. When I called to confirm this the lady I spoke to knew nothing about it, so I then emailed Bastion directly. In the meantime I went down to wait for the shuttle and spent the time waiting talking to Peter’s wife. Eventually I got an email back saying I could still come if I wanted to and shortly after, my driver Fred (who turned up in a taxi not a shuttle bus) was whisking me off while chattering away. Of course with the bad weather I would have preferred to have done it the next day but I only had the one day left in Campbell River and i had plans for it. So it was now or never and I decided to go for it as you can never guarantee things like this

anyway.

Once we'd found the base for 49 north helicopters, I walked in and met Bastion. Despite a lot of debate about this cloud/ haze/ smoke cover, it was soon confirmed that while it’s often hazy in the morning, this cloud that we'd be experiencing the last 2 days was indeed from the wild fires on the mainland. Its insane to think how far it drifts and brings home the reality of living in such heavily wooded areas with prolonged dry spells..

While I contemplated this Bastion went to get the helicopter ready. I’ll admit, when he first brought it out, I was sure I would die!

I’ve only been in a helicopter once before and that sat 4/5 people. Because it would only be the two of us, we would be taking the small one. I’m not kidding you. Next to the -what I think to be a- normal size one, it looked like a toy! A Tiny. Tiny. Toy.

I’d originally booked to do the Comox Glacier tour but again because of the poor visibility this was off the table.

Instead Bastion suggested going up and around Quadra Island. So having gotten in the toy...im sorry, helicopter, we were soon rising and heading across town to follow the south coast of the Island around.

My other time in a helicopter was in NZ to do a glacier hike, so until now I’d never crossed water or thought much about it until we were above it in this tiny machine. Then I tried really hard not to think about it!

Soon I forgot about the size of the helicopter and instead I enjoyed glimpsing what is actually a really big island. We had come around parts of it on the Grizzly tour but flying over it you got a much better sense of its size. And how tiny it’s population seems to be.

All in all I enjoyed the helicopter trip especially flying over Elk falls towards the end. I can only imagine how stunning it is on a clear day, it’s just a shame today was not that day.

After I got back to town I headed to a coffee shop to get out of the drizzling rain, then headed to get some food. Once back to the motel I grabbed my stuff from reception and moved to my new room( because of availability issues I had to change rooms a few times, this being the first. )Once in I got ready as quickly as possible because I was getting picked up to go riding.

Jme and her daughter picked me up and we headed to her fields. It soon became obvious that Jme is a real chatterbox and loves this area., so I soon began learning about the area. She told me of different things that i could do in Campbell River, the most surprising one being swimming with Salmon. Yes apparently that’s a thing here and i imagine it’d be pretty awesome, though i was taken by surprise at its existence.

The subject of local wildlife also came up and Jme was like ‘black bears are the friendly bears...well not friendly...but there fine’. Not the first time I’ve heard not to worry about bears but an attitude that being from the UK, I’ll ever get used to!

Once at the fields we got tacked up, with me riding Moleson. He’s a been there and done it horse and tends to take his time so I knew my legs would be getting a good workout.

Heading along the trails Myra took the lead and Jme pointed out bear tunnels and told me about some of her encounters out here. Just a week or so ago there was an Elk stampede. And another time Jme had some guests out from France and while every possible type of wildlife came out for viewing they were disappointed not to see more. Apparently thinking there would be moose and bears galore, not to mention wolves and cougars!

Now don’t get me wrong. One of the reasons I’m here is to go on tours to view wildlife I wouldn’t be able to see back home. And while I know that so long as your sensible you should be okay encountering bears etc while on horseback- especially when your with others- it’s still not something I’m sure I’d want to do. Not having grown up with predators like that it’s pretty daunting to come face to face with them. But still. Either way there wild animals. And we're in Campbell River not the far remote north of the providence. Why on earth would you want to come across cougar or wolves? I get seeing them would be awesome but there also pretty damn viscous.

Anyway along the way Jme told me all about the big fire in 1938 and pointed out trees that had survived. She also gave me an insight into the logging industry something she clearly feels passionate about. I’ve got to admit I was surprised to hear that back when men felled the trees without the modern benefits of machinery, having to pack in by foot for days a time, the average age was 53 of a logger was 53. Jme is right- they don’t make them like that anymore!

We spent a few hours riding up and down the trails for before heading back in. We didn’t see any wildlife but that wasn’t the point of the ride anyway. Back at the field the other two horses we're happy to see there friends. One of them, Griffin, I think, having been shot a month ago by illegal poachers. Luckily he seems to be recovering well.

Because Jme knew I was without transport and couldn’t get to a lot of places she had earlier decided we would go to the suspension bridge at Elk Falls before she dropped me back in town. And once the horses we’re turned out Jme reiterated that she was kidnapping me.

After a quick stop at there places to grab some apples and water we were off, having to take the long route because of a road closure. Once there we made the easy walk down, crossing the water pipes along the way. These are massive and one good thing is not knowing anything about them I could learn along with Myra as she asked questions.

As we started down the slipped pathway Myra went on a head a bit and Jme and I were chatting away. The next thing I know is my arms been grabbed and I’m being pulled back a few steps with Jme pointing to a black bear towards the bottom of the trail. Its hid pretty much straight away having been scared off by our talking.

Continuing on we split our time searching the area for signs of the bear and enjoying the view overlooking the falls. Its pretty cool when your around someone who gets excited the way Jme does. Passion feeds passion, I find.

As we approached the suspension bridge we passed a guy going back up, telling him to keep a lookout for the bear. We got no more than maybe 10yards before the sentence Jme had been saying changed to ‘there’s a bear under my daughter!’.

Now this sounds quite scary and full of drama. I won’t say it didn’t have the drama but as for scary....

Well let’s just say we were both using our phones as cameras about 10 seconds later!

The walkway we were on is above the forest floor and the black bear was calmly walking underneath so Myra was safe enough. But what we think was likely the same bear had sneaked back down and around having just passed under Myra on the walkway. He went slowly for about 10 yards but then sped up as he went up the hill, probably acutely aware of the 4 people watching him.

We continued down to the bridge and then walked along it with Myra and I having fun jumping on it- Jme just getting across as quickly as possible. After a while we made our way back to the Car park and made just one more stop on the way back to town.

After having told me so much about the logging industry Jme decided to show me some of the old logging trucks which they stopped making decades ago but still use.

Apparently they can’t be driven on normal highways because of there size, making the routes to and from places quite interesting. And given how big Jme's truck is, it was quite something to see her park along side them and have it look so small . My head is the same level as there wheels!!!

Back in town Jme dropped me of at my motel, inviting me to go kayaking the next evening if I was back in time. Yeah, yeah. I know what your all thinking. There’s no way she'll do it.

But I’ll have you know I fully planned to take her up on it!

Friday 8th September 2017

Campbell River-Desolation sound, Okeover Arm and the Johnstone Strait

So today began with a quick walk down to the other side of the town...i may have forgotten what time I needed to be there but since I hadn’t had breakfast – there’s no kettle or microwave in my latest room to do my oh so exciting porridge in- I decided I deserved a chai latte. If I was late I was late. Tours like this always have a 30min buffer for the suiting up and safety briefing anyway. I need my latte!

As it turned out after rushing from starbucks, I was actually still early as it was the later time that I had to be there. Sitting on the docks I enjoyed the morning sun and my first clear day in Campbell River since the day I arrived.

As our group turned up, our driver Shay started suiting us up. CR whale watching adventures uses open zodiacs for there trips, so we would be open to the elements for the 8hr tour. While I was happy to be in a zodiac, 8 hrs is a long time, especially with the speeds we would be traveling.

While waiting for the last two people to show up we were told there was a black bear up on the breakers. Everyone was pretty surprised by this as it’s never happened before but it would mean we’d get a glimpse at it on the way out. Shay then proceeded to tell us the rough plan of action for the day. Namely heading up Johnstone strait in search of Orcas, watching out for the reported humpbacks and other wildlife along the way.

Once we were all on the boat we slowly started out from the marina. The black bear was still on the end of the breakers, under the Campbell River sign. He wasn’t moving much, just trying to snooze. There were people in boats and on the docks watching him but he took no notice of them. Shay told us none of the locals or fishermen were likely to report him because he was keeping to himself and the town has zero tolerance for any in the town limits. Given how lethargic he seemed (And that there’s no way he could have gotten there without going through town) the locals agreed he'd likely swam from further up the river or one of the islands. Shay told us that he’s seen bears 3 miles out in the water before. I knew of course that bears swim but hadn’t realised the reality of it quite so much.

Carrying on out the marina we turned north and began to make our way towards the well known Johnstone strait. Up north there is a resident Orca pod so that’s where we were headed, though nothing had been heard of them in the past 2 days.

We weren’t far out of Campbell when we came upon 2 humpbacks off to our right. We stayed with them for a good while watching as they dived and fluked. And at one point out of nowhere we had a full breach as well. Quite a sight for sure. We hung around a little longer until one of the other boats came to watch them, then we continued on. Again we hadn’t gone far before we came across another two humpbacks- it appeared to be a day for pairs.

These two were very active. Spyhopping and lobtailing and flippering at us. We stayed with these ones quite awhile as we hoped they may breach given how playful they were. While we watched we learnt more about humpbacks. I’ve already been told a lot of it on other tours but my mind is like a sieve so a refresher didn’t hurt!

Humpbacks can and do travel/live alone or in small groups. And each humpback has markings on the underside of their tail which are the equivalent of humans having fingerprints. With the hundreds that make this migration each year, there’s a good record kept for many of them as to who they are. And if you find one thats not recorded you get to name them as such Shay knew 3 of our first 5 humpbacks straight away and earlier this year named a humpback himself.

After leaving these two we passed another pair not long after, though I didn’t spot them first nor last as we passed. Carrying on in our search of Orca the sun was now out even if the water was not the 5 it was meant to be but rather an estimated 15!

I think this was the most telling part for me because even though I’m no longer as exhausted as I was, i still began to feel myself starting to doze....in an open zodiac....going at about 45knotts an hr....hmmm

We rounded Otter Cove and came across two more humpbacks. We got a fair bit further on before Shay got a text about transient Orcas being down near Discovery passage. He was pretty happy as it was gonna be a rough drive through Johnstone to Telegraph pole for Orcas that hadn’t even been spotted in two days.

We were a good 1hr and 45mins north of the Orcas rough location so we got going while those there or on their way kept us informed of the pods progress. As we headed off the main passage and into the inlets we passed another humpback. This time a lone humpback which oddly enough has been doing small loops down this one bit of coast repeatly for the last week. Not only is it odd but its not safe for her as the route passes a t junction so if boats don’t know she’s in the area and acting bizarrely, then, they could easily come around that juction much too quick and hit her.

As we travelled south, the Orcas had moved into an unlikely inlet which the tour operators had never seen them in before. Moving into Okeover Arm ourselves we sped about 4 miles down until we saw the other boats that were with them. Straight away we saw an Orca ahead of us and Shay recognised him straight away as a big male Orca from the T002C pod. There’s 5 in all. Two males, Tumbo up ahead who tends to stray away from the others a little and moves slower. Rocky the big male that those in the industry consider to be the perfect specimen of a male Orca. Then there’s two females one of which has a calf born last November.

We spent a lot of time here watching these guys especially the mum and calf as the others were a little elusive. Again as with the humpbacks the Orcas have identifying marker though on there fins rather than tails. And I never knew that the different type of Orcas eat differently. The resident pods around Vancouver Island feed on salmon while the transient Orcas are mammal eaters, sometimes even eating humpbacks. As for offshore Orcas there’s not much data on them to be able to tell and apparently in BC there is little to no funding to research any of the whales anymore.

While watching the pod we spoke to people on the other boats and two local guys told us they have been seen in here a few times so in return Shay identified them for the guys. After awhile we saw kayaks approaching and there were 3 pairs all together having followed them from lunchtime having now just caught up again. Amazing.

After over an hour of following them and watching them in this amazingly beautiful setting, we made for the local government dock to have a land based lunch. Climbing off the boat was interesting and soon we weren’t just peeling our all weather suits off, but our other layers too. The sun was out!

We had a quick lunch...well not what I call a quick lunch. It was actually about 45mins in all but soon enough we were headed back to the Orcas. When we made it back to them they had quietened down and were slowly travelling back to the main passage ways. From what we know of this arm, it s a big fishing spot which then attracts seals and sea lions and that in turn, the Orcas.

We leap frogged ahead of them a few times and even used our boat to block the paths of others speeding through not paying attention. All the wildlife boats have flags which when up identify whales in the water. Unfortunately not everyone knows or cares what they are so at one point Shay was waving it over the side of the boat like his life depended on it. Luckily that time those approaching recognised it and slowed immediately.

Once we left the Orcas to make the hour drive back to Campbell River we had a pretty smooth ride. The sun was still out so despite the open water we had beautiful views with the forested islands fading into the distance. The water itself was almost glass perfect.

We saw another few humpbacks on the way back. Ending the tour with two humpbacks tails in perfect synchronisation as they made their dive.

Our official count for the whole day was 13 humpbacks and 5 Orcas. But if we only count the ones we spent time with, it was actually 11 humpbacks.

This day was amazing and I loved it. The only downside had been as we made our way to the dock for lunch. I was sat at the back of the zodiac so I heard it come across the radio even before Shay told us.

The black bear that had ended up on the breakers had swam across to the docks and began running around. Given the zero tolerance for those in the town, he was shot. Shay was pretty pissed off as i expect a lot of locals were judging from everything that was said in person and on the radio from the get go of the bear being spotted that morning. Despite BC having such a large amount of wildlife, they don’t have a system in place to try and go e fair chances to these animals. Ontario has a 2 strike rule where they get thanked and relocated the first 2 time but on the 3rd strike there shot. It appears to be a sore point with a lot of locals as we are encroaching on there home, not the other way around. Quite often how I look at the new forest back home. They were here long before me. Unfortunately not everyone sees it that way.

Back on land I headed home trying to make it in time to give Jamie a call about kayaking. Unfortunately by the time I got back it was only an hr until dark so there wouldn’t be enough time. Quite annoying since I was actually going to do something I’ve avoided for a long time!

Still a great day was had.