Sunshine & Discovery Coast Explorations
of the Inside Passage BC
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
The winds will blow their own freshness into you...
while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.
John Muir
You will board the MV Sea Wolf at Port McNeill, British Columbia
Once aboard we head to Alert Bay. Alert Bay is historically significant as the oldest community on North Vancouver Island, and is well known as a centre for the powerful resurgence of Native culture. The Kwakwaka’wakw have been instrumental in spearheading a movement to reclaim their birthright to traditional art, dances, songs, legends, ceremonies, and language. The U’mista Cultural Centre is an internationally known facility that houses one of the finest collections of historical artifacts depicting the Potlatch Ceremony of the Kwakwaka’wakw.
The waters of Johnstone strait are amazing for the variety of marine life and the tidal currents. Vivid images of a protected inner ocean rise from above and below the surface of the water. South of Johnstone Strait is the ecological reserve of Robson Bight, where up to 200 orcas arrive each summer and fall to rub on gravel beaches at the mouth of the Tsitika River. We are hoping to also visit the research station on Hansen Island. Throughout this journey we will be using our underwater camera and hydrophone to hear and see the orcas underwater as well as above as they surge through the sea.
Bald eagles sit atop giant cedar trees, kingfishers dive from the air plunging below the water surface and emerging with their catch grasped in their beaks. Harbor seals haul out on rocky outcrops, Stellar's sea lions feed in the tide rips, and Dall porpoises sometimes com bow-riding, darting from side to side of the boat . Humpback whale "blows" can be seen from miles away, and hopefully also at close range.
A list of possible species sightings:
- Majestic bald eagles and nests
- Dall porpoises
- Seabirds by the dozens
- Harbor porpoises
- Minke whales
- Stellar's sea lions
- Gray whales
- Humpback whales
- California sea lions
- Playful Pacific white-sided dolphins
- Black bears feeding on the beaches
