Green Inlet and Butedale
This morning we sailed through the forest of a wilderness area known as Great Bear Rain Forest. It was wonderfully calm and the mists lingered in the treetops accenting the stunning scenery. We arrived in Green Inlet Marine Park under blue skies and lovely warm sunshine. There were two options for the morning’s activities, kayaking or Zodiac cruising. The kayakers launched from a little beach near a waterfall. It was the perfect morning for people to experience the joy of silently paddling along this wonderful rainforest in this stable watercraft. It was a chance to spend some time exploring on your own searching for wildlife and for a moment to just stop to listen to the wind in the trees or maybe the lovely song of the varied thrush.
Others decided to enjoy this beautiful morning by going for Zodiac cruises. The natural history staff did a wonderful job of explaining about the ecology of the rainforest while slowly cruising along the inlet. Seals, bald eagles and marbled murrlets were seen by both kayakers and Zodiac cruisers. When everyone was back on board, we all enjoyed a delicious lunch open air style on the top deck. The yummy chocolate cupcakes were a big hit!
After lunch the Sea Lion cruised along Grenville passage. Intermittent rain showers did not stop many people who were out on deck searching for the white coated sub-species of black bears known as the Kermode. While we were not rewarded with a sighting of this rarely seen “spirit bear,” it was interesting searching the cliff tops, meadows and beaches of this temperate rainforest.
Later in the afternoon we arrived just off Butedale to a sight of the ramshackle ruins of the old salmon cannery. Some people walked amongst the old buildings as natural history staff member, Tom McAllister told us about cannery operations during the summers from 1907 until 1967. He also showed us the stream driven turbine that powers the small generator used by the current caretaker of Butedale.
Many of us decided to have a good leg stretch and go for a hike led by staff member Sharon Grainger. It was wonderful walking through this ancient temperate rainforest discovering species of wildflowers and mosses. We made our way along the trail through stretches of boot sucking mud and were rewarded with the stunning sight of a mountain lake. Adventurous staff member Larry Hobbs decided to keep hiking towards a waterfall and to discover a new way back to the landing site. We made a couple of stops to take photographs of the cascading waterfall and enjoyed the excitement of not going back the way we came.
We remained anchored just off Butedale during dinner as we celebrated the twins, David and Jonathan Kaufmann’s fifth birthday. During the evening we slowly cruised towards Kumealon Inlet, the start of tomorrow’s adventures.
This morning we sailed through the forest of a wilderness area known as Great Bear Rain Forest. It was wonderfully calm and the mists lingered in the treetops accenting the stunning scenery. We arrived in Green Inlet Marine Park under blue skies and lovely warm sunshine. There were two options for the morning’s activities, kayaking or Zodiac cruising. The kayakers launched from a little beach near a waterfall. It was the perfect morning for people to experience the joy of silently paddling along this wonderful rainforest in this stable watercraft. It was a chance to spend some time exploring on your own searching for wildlife and for a moment to just stop to listen to the wind in the trees or maybe the lovely song of the varied thrush.
Others decided to enjoy this beautiful morning by going for Zodiac cruises. The natural history staff did a wonderful job of explaining about the ecology of the rainforest while slowly cruising along the inlet. Seals, bald eagles and marbled murrlets were seen by both kayakers and Zodiac cruisers. When everyone was back on board, we all enjoyed a delicious lunch open air style on the top deck. The yummy chocolate cupcakes were a big hit!
After lunch the Sea Lion cruised along Grenville passage. Intermittent rain showers did not stop many people who were out on deck searching for the white coated sub-species of black bears known as the Kermode. While we were not rewarded with a sighting of this rarely seen “spirit bear,” it was interesting searching the cliff tops, meadows and beaches of this temperate rainforest.
Later in the afternoon we arrived just off Butedale to a sight of the ramshackle ruins of the old salmon cannery. Some people walked amongst the old buildings as natural history staff member, Tom McAllister told us about cannery operations during the summers from 1907 until 1967. He also showed us the stream driven turbine that powers the small generator used by the current caretaker of Butedale.
Many of us decided to have a good leg stretch and go for a hike led by staff member Sharon Grainger. It was wonderful walking through this ancient temperate rainforest discovering species of wildflowers and mosses. We made our way along the trail through stretches of boot sucking mud and were rewarded with the stunning sight of a mountain lake. Adventurous staff member Larry Hobbs decided to keep hiking towards a waterfall and to discover a new way back to the landing site. We made a couple of stops to take photographs of the cascading waterfall and enjoyed the excitement of not going back the way we came.
We remained anchored just off Butedale during dinner as we celebrated the twins, David and Jonathan Kaufmann’s fifth birthday. During the evening we slowly cruised towards Kumealon Inlet, the start of tomorrow’s adventures.
