Coast of British Columbia
We have grown accustomed to rain so wet, wet, wet, wet, wet was neither a surprise nor a deterrent for our morning’s outings. In the early morning the Sea Lion passed close along the shore of Prince Royal Island in search of the spirit bear, a light variant of the black bear found only on this and a few adjoining islands. The Inland Passage along the coast of British Columbia is lush and luxuriant beyond imagination and our expedition stop for the morning was all this and more. Water falls bursting with rain water, dense rain forest straight up from the waterline and life abundant. We were able to choose how we wanted to experience beautiful Khutze fjord and meadowland: by foot, by kayak or by Zodiac. Some of us even did two of the three possibilities. Harbor seals abounded in the water along with a huge number of spawning chum salmon, some of which were well over 20 pounds. Also feeding on the salmon were bald eagles and hoards of gulls. One young brown bear was sighted by those on the longer hike well up the valley. Although the activities were all exertive, most of us took the time to stop and just inhale the beauty and grandeur of this wilderness place with the mists and clouds on the mountains, the expanse of coastal meadow and the wildness of it all. We were all too aware that from here south, we will begin to be more and more surrounded by civilization and our time in the wilderness will become a dearly held memory.
The afternoon was spent exploring the Inland Passage southbound. At first we were again along the shoreline of Prince Royal Island looking for spirit bears. No spirit bears, but we had a wonderful look at a large, healthy black bear walking along the steep shoreline on its way to a rushing salmon stream for a bit of a meal. The rain let up periodically so we could enjoy time on the bow of the ship watching Dall’s porpoise, harbor seals, a few elephant seals and a variety of seabirds, all with the spectacular backdrop of the densely forested, shear sides of the fjords through which we passed. Darkness comes earlier each day as we make our way south and as night approaches, we are happy to be snuggled in our warm, dry cabins or passing the time with our shipmates on our cozy little ship.
We have grown accustomed to rain so wet, wet, wet, wet, wet was neither a surprise nor a deterrent for our morning’s outings. In the early morning the Sea Lion passed close along the shore of Prince Royal Island in search of the spirit bear, a light variant of the black bear found only on this and a few adjoining islands. The Inland Passage along the coast of British Columbia is lush and luxuriant beyond imagination and our expedition stop for the morning was all this and more. Water falls bursting with rain water, dense rain forest straight up from the waterline and life abundant. We were able to choose how we wanted to experience beautiful Khutze fjord and meadowland: by foot, by kayak or by Zodiac. Some of us even did two of the three possibilities. Harbor seals abounded in the water along with a huge number of spawning chum salmon, some of which were well over 20 pounds. Also feeding on the salmon were bald eagles and hoards of gulls. One young brown bear was sighted by those on the longer hike well up the valley. Although the activities were all exertive, most of us took the time to stop and just inhale the beauty and grandeur of this wilderness place with the mists and clouds on the mountains, the expanse of coastal meadow and the wildness of it all. We were all too aware that from here south, we will begin to be more and more surrounded by civilization and our time in the wilderness will become a dearly held memory.
The afternoon was spent exploring the Inland Passage southbound. At first we were again along the shoreline of Prince Royal Island looking for spirit bears. No spirit bears, but we had a wonderful look at a large, healthy black bear walking along the steep shoreline on its way to a rushing salmon stream for a bit of a meal. The rain let up periodically so we could enjoy time on the bow of the ship watching Dall’s porpoise, harbor seals, a few elephant seals and a variety of seabirds, all with the spectacular backdrop of the densely forested, shear sides of the fjords through which we passed. Darkness comes earlier each day as we make our way south and as night approaches, we are happy to be snuggled in our warm, dry cabins or passing the time with our shipmates on our cozy little ship.
