THURSDAY 14th AUGUST 2014 KENAI - ANCHORAGE ALASKA

Black bear, Wolverine Creek

Black bear, Wolverine Creek

Brown bear, Wolverine Creek

Brown bear, Wolverine Creek

Cessna Caravan plane, Soldotna

It rained during the night so it was unfortunately a case of packing up wet tents after our final camping night. This would leave poor Charlie with the task of extracting the wet gear comprising our nine tents and drying it without assistance.

After breakfast we drove around to Soldotna and met up with our float-plane pilots who were to fly us across Cook Inlet to the West Foreland region and land us on a small glacial lake that drains into the Inlet.

The group split into two and the four of us flew in a Talin Airlines 1200 HP, eight seater Cessna Caravan together with an Indian family of four now living in San Francisco.

The flight across Cook Inlet took about thirty minutes and the view below, particularly on the western shore was quite amazing. The area consists of a huge flood plane of green reeds surrounded by an utterly random intertwining of small rivers of dark water and white sandy banks. From the air, the pattern produced was that of a paisley tapestry of great beauty.

After landing on the lake we transferred to an open, flat bottomed, aluminium dinghy powered by a 50 HP Yamaha and headed across the lake to a western corner where the Wolverine River flows into the lake.

This is the point where the salmon congregate before heading up to a further lake which is their spawning ground. Fishers come to this point not to see the bears but to catch the salmon.

This location provides a near limitless supply of fresh salmon for the bears and sure enough, as we arrived we were immediately in the company of three brown bears, a sow and her two, two-year old cubs. This will be their last season in her company as from next year they are independent.

The bears seemed unperturbed by our approach but nonetheless we still maintained about 50 m space so as not to disturb their feeding. One of the cubs was in the water with only his head showing but the other two were on the river bank grabbing fish as they made their desperate attempts to swim up this fast flowing rocky creek.

In addition, masses of noisy and squabbling glaucous gulls waited around the river bank picking up pieces of discarded salmon flesh.

The bears prefer to eat the gonads, head and skin as these have the greatest fat content and the bears need to load up with fat as fuel for their forthcoming winter hibernation.

We took lots of photos and then without warning the bears departed.

We then sat and waited for another two hours and then out of the dense surrounding rain forest appeared three black bears, again a sow and two cubs. These are smaller bears and avoid contact with the larger and more aggressive brown (“grizzly”) bears.

Further photos were taken and then it was time to return but just before leaving, a bald eagle swooped from a tree above us and grabbed a salmon from the water in front of us. This largish fish made the task of lifting off from the water very hard work but the eagle just managed it!

We returned to the plane in our open boat in heavy rain but despite these miserable conditions, we were all thrilled with the experience we’d just had.

The final part of the day was to drive back the three hour trip to Anchorage where we joined in a celebratory dinner marking the end of this remarkable camping adventure in northern Alaska and Canada. We said farewell to our nine travelling companions and leader Charlie and established email contacts so we can all keep in touch in the future.

Tomorrow we start phase two of our adventure by heading south to Juneau, the capital of Alaska.  

FRIDAY 15th AUGUST 2014 ANCHORAGE - JUNEAU ALASKA

This was to be a day of some travel but mostly rest so as to prepare for our ten day boat cruise that commences tomorrow afternoon.

We arrived at the Anchorage airport with plenty of spare time and had coffees and relaxed before boarding our Air Alaska flight to Juneau. This was a ninety minute flight and despite the cloud we were able to see a number of the high and jagged snow-peaks of the Rockies as we approached Juneau airport.

We grabbed a taxi and headed to the Westmark Baranof Hotel which is in central Juneau. The taxi driver was an eccentric character who had a series of conspiracy tales to entertain us for the journey. Amongst his fanciful repertoire was the story that Osama Bin Laden was a CIA spy and that he’d been dead for 10 years at the time when the US government announced his capture and death.              

Juneau is often described as a little San Francisco due to its hilly setting situated between Mount Juneau and Mount Roberts along the Gastineau Channel.

Gold was discovered here in 1880 and it also served as a strategic location on the route to the Klondike goldfields. This importance led to it taking over the role of capital from Sitka in 1900.

SATURDAY 16th AUGUST 2014 JUNEAU ALASKA

Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau

Corinne Sally, Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau

Franklin Street, Juneau

A heavy fog early in the morning soon cleared and sunshine made a welcome change for the past day’s of cloudy and sometimes rainy weather.

Juneau is a town of 30,000 and although originally a mining town it is now, as the capital of Alaska, the administrative headquarters for Alaska having the parliament and the main government offices here.

Juneau also serves as a major tourist destination and gauging from the harbour scene, tourism is thriving. There were three huge luxury liners in port this morning and others due later in the day.

We wandered along the waterfront section of Juneau city and were surprised how small the town centre was with only a few streets where shops were present. These shops were principally directed towards tourism being cafes, lounge bars, souvenir shops and a multitude of jewellery shops.

After coffee and a light breakfast we headed back to our hotel and packed up and prepared for the next phase of our Alaskan adventure which is to be our boat cruise for ten days.

We were collected from the hotel by bus and taken to the Juneau Icefield area. This icefield feeds about 40 large glaciers and 100 smaller ones. Of these glaciers, only one namely Taku Glacier is continuing to advance with all the others receding quite rapidly.

We visited the large Mendenhall Glacier which spills from the valley above into Mendenhall Lake. The 50m high toe of the glacier was particularly deep blue and adjacent to the glacier is a big waterfall making for an impressive scene.

The glacier was named in honour of Thomas Mendenhall who surveyed the international border between Canada and Southeast Alaska.

There was a visitors’ centre nearby offering information on glaciers and icefield geology. There was a 15 minute video showing some stunning footage of the icefields and their associated ecology.

At 5.30 p.m. we boarded the Sea Bird and were immediately impressed by the hospitality and organisational skills of the crew and staff.

There are 62 passengers on board and we are in a lower deck cabin which two single beds, a double wardrobe and a small but well appointed bathroom.

Our very first activity on board was a well co-ordinated life-boat drill where we went through safety procedures including the donning of the large life jackets which are to be used only for abandoning ship. We are each provided with a more comfortable, smaller life jacket for use when we head out in the zodiacs.

A cocktail party with champagne and nibbles provided an introduction time when we heard important information and briefings from the crew and tour leaders.

The Expedition Leader is Cindy Manning who now resides in Galapagos, Ecuador. The staff on board include five wildlife specialists, an undersea specialist, a video chronicler, a photography instructor and a fitness specialist.

The ship’s captain is Captain Andrew Cook, a very likeable man and his self-introduction; “I’m Captain Cook” induced some wry grins and merriment!

A fabulous smorgasbord style dinner was served and we then sat around and chatted with other guests most of whom are from the USA. There are two couples from England, one couple from Germany and another couple from Melbourne.

One of the couples from London has been on five previous Lindblad Expeditions including Antarctica and The Galapagos Islands. This is a pretty strong recommendation for Lindblad and everything so far suggests this is to be a period of utter luxury; quite a contrast from our previous three weeks of camping and cooking for ourselves!

The National Geographic Sea Bird left the docks of Juneau just on mid-night and headed off overnight for Tracy Arm.

SUNDAY 17th AUGUST 2014 TRACY ARM – WILLIAMS COVE ALASKA

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Iceberg from kayak, Williams Cove

Intertidal zone, with Sea Bird, Williams Cove

Iceberg from kayak, Williams Cove

Waterfall from kayak, Williams Cove

Our overnight travelling on board the Sea Bird was southwards from Juneau through the beautifully calm but icy cold glacial waters of Stephen’s Passage.

At 6.00 a.m. we awoke to find ourselves now heading up into Tracy Arm, a 35 km long fjord which in some places is only 100 m wide. On either side of the boat we had incredibly steep mountains with smooth near vertical cliffs plunging in some places 600 m into the fjord. With plenty of recent rain, these glacial carved fjord walls were dominated by numerous waterfalls.

When we reached sight of South Sawyer glacier we stopped. With the depth of water being on average 300 m deep, dropping an anchor was not a possibility.

The four zodiacs were unloaded from the top deck area and we prepared for our visit by dressing in thermals, thick jumpers, beanies, gloves, parkas and gumboots.

With ten people in our zodiac we headed up towards the glacier’s toe taking a weaving path in amongst the icebergs that were dotted here, there and everywhere. Some icebergs were very large but most were small and of fascinating sculpted shapes with some having slender stems and large tops making them look like gigantic ice mushrooms.

The ice floes just off the toe of South Sawyer glacier were home to a large number of harbour seals that seemed oblivious to our presence. The zodiac took us to a point where we were quite close to the iceberg but sufficiently clear if there was to be a large calving where massive waves can be produced.

South Sawyer glacier was impressive with its deep blue ice walls and the pendulous cliffs of ice overhanging the sea. We were informed that the toe of the glacier extends underwater to a depth of over 60 m.

On three or four occasions, massive blocks of ice, some the size of a multi-storey building tumbled into the sea and the deafening sound associated with these falls echoed around the fjord. The forces of nature were certainly on display this morning and our guide said that these were amongst the best calving ice falls he’d seen this summer.

We returned to the boat and after lunch moved down the fjord to near the entrance to Tracy Fjord and went into a side branch called Williams Cove.

We took a zodiac into shore and with Gretchen as our naturalist guide, did a one hour walk in the rain forest following a so called ‘bear trail’ in amongst the giant western hemlock and arctic spruce trees.

After our walk we kayaked (in a two person kayak) out into Williams Cove and photographed a reasonable sized iceberg being acutely conscious of the dangers in being too close and of icebergs rolling without warning. We then ventured another kilometre or so across to the furthest shore to view an impressive waterfall that due to the recent rains was in full flow.

With rain being a near constant for much of the day, it was then nice to return to our cabin and dry out a bit before cocktail hour started in the lounge at 6.00 p.m.

Despite the rainy weather today we’ve had some amazing experiences and look forward to many more to come as the activity lists for future days looks equally enthralling.

MONDAY 18th AUGUST 2014 IDEAL COVE & PETERSBURG ALASKA

Rainforest walk, Ideal Cove

River, Ideal Cove

Spruce cones before & after squirrels feeding, Ideal Cove

Spiranthes romanzoffiana (ladies tresses) orchid, Ideal Cove

Fishing boat hydraulics, Petersburg

Boats in harbour, Petersburg

Leconte Glacier from the air, Petersburg

Our floatplane

Leconte Glacier from the air, Petersburg

Petersburg

Crab feast on Sea Bird

Our overnight travels had taken us further south down the Stephens Passage, past Admiralty Island and the Kootzoowoo Wilderness into Frederick Sound.

At daybreak we awoke to find ourselves just off the coast of Mitkof Island in a small inlet called Ideal Cove. This cove was just across from the Stikine Leconte Wilderness area and close by to the major Alaskan fishing town of Petersburg.

We elected to join in a naturalist walk ashore at Ideal Cove. This was along a duck-boarded hiking trail through dense rain forest. The weather was fine but the track was very wet from the previous day’s rain.

The main large trees are spruce and western hemlock although as we climbed to higher altitudes there were increasing numbers of smaller pine trees.

The border of the track was a continuous carpet of mosses, lichens and ferns, many of which seemed similar to those one might see in Tasmanian rainforest. There were numerous other plants that were completely new to us including skunk parsnip, berry plants and a type of arctic rhubarb.

To our great joy, we did find a terrestrial orchid in flower. It was a white ‘Spiranthes romanzoffiana’ that the locals call ‘ladies tresses’, similar to our local Tasmanian Spiranthes.

In the afternoon Captain Cook took the boat, with great skill into Petersburg Port and tied up in an area where there was barely room to fit our vessel. Oh the wonders of bow and stern thrusters!

During our stay in Petersburg we spent quite a deal of time wandering around the dock area where the fishing fleet was made up of purse seiners, long-liners, crab-potters, gill-netters and drop-liners. The boats still in harbour were obviously serious fishing vessels with all the possible lifting gear for nets and lines plus the refrigeration equipment for storing catches. We were informed that on a good day, an average purse-seiner boat may lift five to ten tonnes of salmon. Most of this is brought into the Petersburg port and processed at the huge cannery for sale around the world as “Alaskan Pink Salmon”.

The drop-liners specialise in the catching of halibut (like a giant flounder), some of which can weight up to 200 kg.

In recent times the fishery has been severely affected by the influx of male sperm whales to the area. These whales have quickly learnt that long lines with their attached catch provide an absolutely unsurpassed smorgasbord. Even more remarkable is the fact that these sperm whales have learnt which fishermen are the ones most likely to get a good catch and thus follow them to the outlying fishery.

In the late afternoon we did a one hour flight over the town of Petersburg and followed up the fjord to the Leconte Glacier. The flight was spectacular in that the pilot took us within close distance of the fjord cliffs and did circles over the glacier, despite the 60o tight turns required. The scenery was awesome and the size of the glacier was enormous with many smaller glaciers feeding into this one.  

Harbour seal lions and some steller seals were clearly visible from the light plane which was a De Havilland Beaver.

On return to the boat we took photos of the harbour scenery in a beautifully soft evening light. After a crab-feast dinner and some socialising in the lounge we set sail for Hanus Bay where our adventures will continue tomorrow.

TUESDAY 19th AUGUST 2014 HANUS BAY & CHATHAM STRAIT INSIDE PASSAGE, ALASKA

In the early morning the cloud lifted and we were pleased to see patches of blue sky and bright sunshine. During breakfast we were amazed to see another vessel heading past us on its way up Chatham Strait. This was a pure white hulled privately owned cruiser called ‘A’ that looks somewhat like a submarine. The cruiser is 112 m long and when moving at 25 knots leaves no bow wave due to its revolutionary ‘Starck’ designed hull. It’s owned by a Russian billionaire and reputedly cost over $300 million to build. It was built in Germany and launched in 2004. The Russian oligarch and his wife both have given names commencing with ‘A’, hence the name of this super luxury boat.

By 9.00 a.m. the weather had warmed up even further and when it came time to start our kayaking the air temperature must have been around 18oC. We’ve been warned to expect the likelihood of rain in Alaska any day, any time irrespective of the present conditions so we covered up with waterproof pants and parkas and then sweltered in the mid-morning warmth.

Our first activity was to kayak around from Hanus Bay into a lagoon. This area of Baranof Island is subject to big tidal shifts so we were lucky to enter the lagoon with still a reasonable depth of water. The lagoon was about 500 m across and in single kayaks we weaved in amongst reefs and submerged logs to a river that flows into the lagoon. We travelled up the narrow river, working against a fairly strong current until we reached a small rocky cascade where the sea-water ended and the fresh water started. We were hoping to find salmon leaping up the small waterfall but none was seen although there were fish splashing around in the small lake (Lake Eva) at the top of the cascade. No bears were present and that was a good indication that the salmon run was not occurring at present.

Whilst kayaking we had a harbour seal frolicking around quite close to us and a bald eagle swooped a couple of times to catch a fish.

After kayaking we joined a nature walk through the dense rain forest that’s adjacent to the lagoon and stream. The scenery was impressive with the giant spruce, yellow cedar and hemlock trees filtering sunlight onto the mossy forest floor. We travelled 3 km up to Lake Eva where we turned around. Along the way we found specimens of a ‘coral-root’ terrestrial orchid which had gone to seed and now had pink capsules but no actual flowers were found.

The afternoon period was spent in the close company of nine humpback whales. For over four hours we watched them go through a repeated feeding strategy called bubble curtain fishing.

The nine whales descend and at a depth of around 20 m surround a school of herring and start to release air forming a wall of bubbles that the fish won’t swim through. The leading whale then releases a shrill call and the whales in perfectly co-ordinated style surface together with their mouths wide open and take in a huge volume of water containing the herring.

We watched this procedure from a relatively close position for the afternoon during which time the whales did thirty or more surfacings.

On some occasions a whale would show delight in the success of their hunt by leaping from the water and breaching before slapping back on the water’s surface with a thunderous noise.

During the whole four hour encounter with the humpback whales, they stayed within the same region of Chatham Strait and ventured no further than a kilometre.

Humpback whale tail #3, Chatham Strait, Alaska, 19 Aug 2014

Humpback whales #11, Chatham Strait, Alaska, 19 Aug 2014

Humpback whales flipper #1, Chatham Strait, Alaska, 19 Aug 2014

Humpback whales #8, Chatham Strait, Alaska, 19 Aug 2014

Humpback whales #7, Chatham Strait, Alaska, 19 Aug 2014

This was a most memorable afternoon’s entertainment.

Humpback whales

Chicken fungus, Lake Eva, Chatham Strait, Alaska, 19 Aug 2014

Berry, Lake Eva, Chatham Strait, Alaska, 19 Aug 2014

Forest, Lake Eva, Chatham Strait, Alaska, 19 Aug 2014

Waterfall, Lake Eva

Tony kayaking, Lake Eva

WEDNESDAY 20th AUGUST 2014 PORT ALTHORP & INIAN ISLANDS INSIDE PASSAGE, ALASKA

Port Althorp

Bear prints, Port Althorp

Lowering zodiac from Sea Bird, Inian Islands

Kayaking, Port Althorp

Fairweather Mts from Inian Islands

Selection of Alaskan beers, Sea Bird, Inian Islands

Cave in cliffs, Inian Islands

Sea otter, Inian Islands

Steller seals, Inian Islands

Steller seal bull, Inian Islands

Sea Bird, Inian Islands

Sunset, Inian Islands

Sea otter, Inian Islands

Over night we sailed northwestwards up Icy Passage between Chichagof Island and the Chilikat Range of the mainland. At breakfast time (0730) we anchored at Port Althorp, an area explored in 1794 by Captain George Vancouver in the ‘Discovery’.

With a brilliant blue sky and warm conditions (10° C at 7:30 am) we used the zodiacs to cross over to a rocky beach where there were signs of former human activity; supposedly an old fish cannery but all that remained were a rusty barge and large log linked pontoons.

The view back towards the entrance to Port Althorp was dominated by the Fairweather Range with its snow-capped high peaks of Mt. Crillon and Mt. Bertha. This stunning vista gives a hint of what’s to come as this is part of the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve that we are visiting tomorrow.

The first activity for the morning was to walk with our guide Carlos around the head of the bay, across boggy flats and small streams to a river where pink salmon were spawning.

The mud flats we crossed had numerous paw prints indicating the recent presence of brown bears.

At the river, activity in the water was frenetic with hundreds of salmon going through their desperate spawning ritual prior to dying.

Quite a few were already dead or near death as indicated by their change in colour and the progressive decomposition of their bodies soon after they spawn.

Then we kayaked in the bay for an hour and returned to the river we’d visited previously from its banks and observed the salmon from above. It was a fascinating, although a distressing scene, seeing all these beautiful creatures hell-bent on dying.

The open waters of Port Althorp were home to many hundreds of sea-jellies, most of which were large ‘lions mane’ jellies.

In the afternoon we spent an hour out in a zodiac meandering and searching in amongst the Inian Islands.

We managed to photograph a number of marine birds and sea otters but the most interesting encounters were with the steller seals, reputedly the largest of all the seal family. These were mainly juvenile males at a ‘haul-out’ where amongst them was one large animal that was still not mature. The male steller seals can grow to a massive size, apparently twice the size of a grizzly bear. We later encountered a single mature male on its own and it was about the size of a large elephant seal.

Our afternoon of natural history travel brought us into close contact with more humpback whales but these were moving and thus a fleeting glance was all we achieved. Many porpoises were sighted too but they showed no interest in us.

We then sailed to a small town called Gustavus, just outside the boundaries of the Glacier Bay National Park, to pick up a ranger and Tinglit cultural interpreter who will stay onboard overnight and be with us tomorrow.

THURSDAY 21st AUGUST 2014 GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK INSIDE PASSAGE, ALASKA

Lamplugh Glacier, Glacier Bay

Mt Fairweather, Glacier Bay

John Hopkins Inlet, Glacier Bay

Topeka Glacier, Glacier Bay

Tufted puffins, Gloomy Knob, Glacier Bay

Mountain goat, Gloomy Knob, Glacier Bay

Corinne & Jak, John Hopkins Inlet, Glacier Bay

Sea lions, South Marble Island

Bog orchid, Bartlett Cove

This was to be another glorious day, with the bluest sky imaginable and not a cloud to be seen till later in the day.

At dawn we awoke to find ourselves anchored at the toe of Margerie Glacier at the northernmost part of Tarr Inlet at the top of Glacier Bay.

As the sun rose higher in the sky the 800 m long glacier face which is 80 m high became totally bathed in sunlight causing the ice to glisten and some melting resulted in pieces calving off. The largest ice fall we observed in the hour we were present would have been a piece 50 m by 30 m which topped from near the iceberg’s top leaving a huge hollow section. The wave produced by this calving caused nearby icebergs and the boat to ride a big swell for a minute or two.

After breakfast we headed back down Tarr Inlet and rounded Russell Island by passing through a tight squeeze where the state of the tide enabled us to pass safely. The depth was not the concern but the huge water flow between high and low tides causes dramatic currents in this narrow channel. We observed a bear and her 2 cubs strolling along the foreshore but they disappeared into the trees before we could get close enough to see them properly.

Our next manoeuvre was north-west past Lamplugh Glacier and around Jaw Point into John Hopkins Inlet. Another very large cruise ship (3000 passengers?) was in the area but it was too large to proceed beyond Jaw Point.

We then headed further up the inlet to a point some 500 m from the John Hopkins Glacier’s face to a point where the number of small icebergs made further movement difficult for the ship’s captain.

The scene was unsurpassed in terms of ice colours, sky clarity and mirror calm waters so our cameras worked flat out for quite a time. On either side of the fjord were towering mountains with several smaller glaciers perched on high cliffs. Forming a backdrop to the John Hopkins Glacier were two pyramidal shaped, snow-capped peaks being Mt. Wilbur and Mt. Orville. (I hope that’s ‘Wright’?)

Just sitting there quietly in the sunshine was a magic experience and we felt blessed with the perfect weather as others had told of days where nothing was visible here due to rain, fog and gloom!

After a light luncheon we cruised down Glacier Bay searching the shoreline, islands and inlets for wildlife. There were the usual porpoises, otters, many different sea-birds, a humpbacked whale and several fluffy white mountain goats wandering high on the precipitous cliffs above us. A group of seven tufted puffins were sighted in the water ahead of the boat but they fled as we approached.

After a brief detour into Geikie Inlet to search for more puffins we then passed by South Marble Island where a very large steller sea-lion colony was located and then sailed further south to Bartlett Cove where the “Sea Bird” tied up.

After dinner we went ashore and did a one-hour twilight walk through the forest behind the visitors centre. Our naturalist guide William, found four different species of orchid and showed us glacial ‘kettles’ which are shallow ponds formed by different levels of earth rising after a glacier melts.

At the visitors’ centre was a large and very well presented skeleton of a female

humpback whale which was unfortunately killed by being hit with a cruise boat propeller!

We then spent an enjoyable hour or so at the Glacier Bay Lodge in Bartlett Cove chatting with fellow travellers before heading back to the boat which was due to depart port at 2300. This has been a day of visual superlatives; the scenery inside John Hopkins Inlet and Glacier Bay was more spectacular than one could have ever imagined. Wow!

Overnight we’ll head south out of the 134,000 km2 Glacier Bay National Park and move down towards Chichagof Island.

FRIDAY 22nd AUGUST 2014 PAVLOF HARBOUR, FRESHWATER BAY, INSIDE PASSAGE, ALASKA

Waterfall, Pavlof Harbour

Corinne, Pavlof Harbour

Lunch on Sea Bird, Pavlof Harbour

Killer whale, Chichagof Island

Killer whale, Chichagof Island

Humpback whale, Chichagof Island

The bridge, Sea Bird, Chichagof Island

How lucky are we? Another glorious day greeted us as we headed up into Freshwater Bay on Chichagof Island in early morning sunshine. At breakfast time we dropped anchor in Pavlof Harbour.

With the zodiacs for transport we all moved across to a rocky beach where we entered kayaks and explored the bay until a bear came out from within the forest and moved around to the river and waterfall. We followed in the kayaks and the brown bear seemed unsettled by our presence even though we were fairly close.

We watched him catch, or attempt to catch fish for an hour or so until another larger brown bear appeared on the scene. Being intimidated by this more powerful preditor, the smaller bear retreated and then the other bear did too, leaving us with just memories of an encounter of serene power and magnificence.

In the afternoon we had the great joy of being surrounded by killer whales (orcas) who moved continually around the boat as if on a mission to capture fish that were invisible to us.

The pod of about six orcas followed the boat for an hour, moving in unpredictable paths backwards and forwards, usually on the surface for three breaths before descending and then resurfacing. We had much fun predicting where they would appear next and on some occasions they were right under the boat. The high dorsal fins with their notches and height were quite different for each animal and enabled us to recognise the orcas that were following closest to our boat.

Humpback whales were frequently sighted during the afternoon and on one occasion a few started performing tricks with corkscrews from the water, breaching twists and tail slapping.

After an entertaining day of photographing wildlife we were entertained to a final night’s cocktail party and dinner hosted by Captain Cook.

A magnificent end to an unbelievably wonderful trip!!

SATURDAY 23rd AUGUST 2014 SITKA, ALASKA

After a night of farewells, much celebration and plenty of nice wines, (compliments of the Captain & National Geographic) we left Chatham Strait and started the tricky bit of navigation through Peril Strait which separates Baranof Island from Chichagof Island. Peril Strait apparently got its name from the circumstances where in 1799, about 150 Aleuts perished from eating poisonous mussels.

Although the passage through Peril Strait is too narrow for large vessels, our “Sea Bird” could get through at the correct tide (slack-water) time. The challenging part is Sergius Narrows which is impassable at full ebb or flood tides due to the dangerous whirlpools that form.

By 0600 we had arrived at our final Lindblad destination, Sitka. After breakfast with inevitably more farewells, we disembarked from the “Sea Bird” for the last time feeling a sense of sadness after a week of brilliant action and great friendship amongst our group of 62 travellers and the boat’s crew.

Sitka sits on the outer coast of Alaska’s panhandle, on Baranof Island. “Sitka” is a corrupted pronunciation of “Shee-Atika” a Tlingit word relating to their people living by the Shee which is their name for this quiet and beautiful harbour.

The indigenous Tlingit people have inhabited this region for thousands of years and fought in battles against the Russians who invaded the area in 1802 in quest of furs, especially the otter pelts that were classified as ‘warm gold’.

The Russians occupied Sitka until 1867 when the USA purchased Alaska for a mere $8 million.

There’s still plenty of evidence of the Russian presence in Sitka, most notably the St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral which is in the centre of town.

Our first activity in Sitka was to visit the Alaska Raptor Centre where injured eagles, owls, falcons, kestrels, hawks and other birds of prey are treated after accidents associated with power lines, cars, animal attacks, oil spills, gun-shot wounds,… Birds are brought in from all over northern USA and the veterinary facilities are those of a top class hospital. About 200 birds are rehabilitated each year.

Where possible, after recovery and flight training, the birds are released back into the wild although some with serious injuries have, by necessity become permanent residents of the park.

We then visited the Sitka National Historic Park which was established in 1910 to commemorate the 1804 Battle of Sitka where the Tlingit warriors initially defeated the Russians. There is a visitors’ centre and a museum but most interestingly there are trails that lead through the rainforest past a dozen or more totem poles. A guide explained some of the information to be gained from the figures comprising these elaborate wooden structures, some of which would have been 12 m high.  

After checking into our hotel which, to our great joy had a laundry, a good deal of washing and drying of clothes was undertaken.

We then had an early evening meal in a nearby tavern and retired for a quiet night. Tomorrow is a free day in Sitka prior to boarding the local ferry that will take us down towards Prince Rupert to start a new phase of this North American adventure.

Totem pole, Sitka National Historic Park, Sitka

Wild rose, Sitka National Historic Park, Sitka

Owl, Raptor Park, Sitka

Forest, Raptor Park, Sitka

Pink salmon, Indian River, Raptor Park, Sitka

Bald eagle, Raptor Park, Sitka

SUNDAY 24th AUGUST 2014 SITKA, ALASKA

View over Sitka from Castle Hill, Sitka

Harbour, Sitka,

Aletski House, Sitka

Wild rose hip, Sitka

This was to be a lazy and generally rainy day spent in the township of Sitka. After breakfast we packed up our things and put them in storage at the hotel to be collected later in the day when we head to the Alaska Marine Highway ferry.

A short walk had us in the main street of Sitka (there’s really only one) and some retail therapy ensued prior to a coffee break. The town has many touristy shops specialising in wooden, stone and bone souvenirs. After much deliberation, some silver articles, 20,000 year old carved mammoth bone, books and a skein of super fine musk-oxen wool were purchased. The highly prized musk-oxen’s under hair called qiviut is incredibly soft and warm.

In the street adjacent to our hotel is the house where James A. Michener lived for two years during the time he was researching and writing his novel “Alaska”.

We then visited the docks where the “Sea Lion” (sister ship to the “Sea Bird”) was preparing to depart later this afternoon. We chatted with some of the crew who were keen to hear of our recent cruise and to know that we’d sighted whales, bears, orcas, puffins,….

In drizzling rain we climbed to the top of Castle Hill, an early stronghold of the native Kiksadi clan and later a succession of Russian buildings were erected on this site. It was the place where the formal ceremony for the transfer of Alaska to the USA occurred on October 18th 1867.

We visited the Sitka Historical Museum and saw a great deal of information relating to the role of the U.S. Coast Guard in both peace and wartime.

With our enthusiasm somewhat dampened by the drizzly rain, we headed for a local pub and had a mid-afternoon meal which was to serve as both lunch and dinner.

At around 1900 we gathered our luggage and caught a bus and headed for the ferry terminal which was about 8 km north of central Sitka.

With minimum fuss we boarded the ferry (the MV “Matanuska”) and found that there were very few fellow passengers (only 78 on a vessel that takes 500). The lounges and decks seemed quite empty so we chatted for a while until the ship left dock and then retired for the night.

Our marine highway travels tonight take us back through Peril Strait and then tomorrow we once again visit Petersburg on our way south to Prince Rupert.

MONDAY 25th AUGUST 2014 ALASKA MARINE HIGHWAY, SITKA - KETCHIKAN ALASKA

Wrangell

Buildings, Petersburg

The bottle shop, Petersburg

Bojer Wikan Memorial Park, Petersburg

Fishing boats, Petersburg

Fishing nets, Petersburg

Crab pots, Petersburg

M V Matanuska, Petersburg

We awoke to misty skies and low cloud which persisted for much of the day although the air temperature was quite pleasant.

Our first port of call was Petersburg, where we arrived at 10 a.m. After the ferry tied up we had an hour and a half shore time where we walked 1 km back into the town centre.

During our last visit here one week ago, we didn’t find the true centre of town as it was pouring with rain and we didn’t venture past a café in a little side street.

This town is so heavily involved in commercial fishing and practically everywhere you look there are signs of this industry with shops specialising in fishing equipment, boats, engines, marine radios, all-weather clothing and tourist trips for catching fish or whale spotting. King salmon are a popular choice for the fishers with catches apparently often exceeding 20 kg. Large V8 utes dominate the roads and are usually towing boats or loaded with crab-pots or seine nets.

The local houses are all made from timber boards and show signs of the very wet climate as many have moss growing on the roof as well as having mould and dampness on the lower weatherboards. Most houses don’t look to be too well insulated either.

Back on the ferry we left harbour at mid-day and headed south down the Wrangell Narrows between Mitkof Island and Kupreanof Island. The channel was so narrow that at times there was only 20 m between us and the shore on both sides. The ferry MV “Matanuska” draws 7 m and on some occasions the channel markers were practically touching the sides of the ship!

After about 30 km of this tight navigation, we then entered Summer Strait and headed east towards the town of Wrangell where we stopped for 50 minutes without going ashore.

The complex waterway we followed after leaving Wrangell weaved between Woronkofski Island and Etolin Island and then past Zerembo Island into the Clarence Strait. On approaching Gravina Island we entered the Tongass Narrows and this brought us down to the city of Ketchikan situated on the south-western end of Revillagigedo Island.

Although Ketchikan has its origins in fishing and paper pulp production, it is now a major tourist port, particularly for large cruise liners as it’s the first Alaskan city that visitors see on their way north from Canada.

Overnight we’ll leave Ketchikan and enter the open waters of Dixon Entrance before heading into Chatham Sound and leaving the USA.

Tomorrow is Max’s birthday and we’ll start early by disembarking the ferry at 0700 at Prince Rupert with us then being back in Canada.

TUESDAY 26th AUGUST 2014 PRINCE RUPERT CANADA

Boats in harbour, Prince Rupert

Sally & Corinne, Prince Rupert

Max & Sally, Prince Rupert

Flowers, Prince Rupert

Max’s birthday!!

The very early morning weather as we arrived at Prince Rupert harbour was less than encouraging with low fog and hints of rain all about.

Prince Rupert was the son of Frederick V, King of Bohemia and Elizabeth Stuart, the daughter of James I of England. Prince Rupert is acclaimed as the most talented Royalist of the English Civil War (1642 -1651) and became the first Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1670.

After a desperately slow customs processing we grabbed a taxi and headed into Prince Rupert town centre which is about three kilometres from the ferry terminal. It was still only 0800 so we put our luggage in temporary storage at our hotel and enjoyed breakfast and coffee whilst catching up on all the news as it’s a while since we had access to wifi.

As if by magic, when we ventured outside we found the cloud had lifted and it was now sunny and surprisingly warm and here we all were, rugged up in jumpers and parkas!

A quiet stroll along the waterfront was delightful with colourful flower beds and marine artefacts aplenty. The picturesque but busy wharf area was occupied by container ships, professional fishing vessels and many classy luxury yachts and cruisers. In a setting similar to Hobart’s docks, there are quite a few old but revamped wharf buildings now featuring trendy restaurants along the way.

We had a birthday lunch for Max in a local hotel where we sat out on a terrace overlooking the harbour. A pleasant snack and a bottle of delectable bubbly were consumed while sitting in bright sunshine and taking in the action on the harbour below.

Sea planes leave here to travel across to Haida Gwai, the name now given to the Queen Charlotte Islands which lie off the west coast of Prince Rupert. We’d considered doing this as a day trip but to hire a plane for the day was to cost over $2000 so we decided to stay on the mainland and enjoy the township which had a lot to offer.

During the afternoon we wandered further afield and were continually impressed with the relaxed and pleasant ambience of this spotlessly clean fishing town. The local museum had a highly interesting collection of exhibits relating particularly to the period in which Europeans first intermingled with the local indigenous tribes in the late 17th century. The displays were very well presented and the labelling of the exhibits was first class and highly informative.

The day finished with a proper/slap-up meal in a popular and highly recommended seafood restaurant as a celebration for the two boys’ birthdays.

(Max & Jak). A fine cognac and liqueurs made for a top class ending to a superb day in this delightful city of Prince Rupert!

We have another very early start tomorrow morning as the ferry to Vancouver Island leaves at 0730 and we are required to be at dockside, ready for boarding two hours prior to departure!!

WEDNESDAY 27th AUGUST 2014 PRINCE RUPERT – PORT HARDY INSIDE PASSAGE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Mist behind Northern Expedition, Inside Passage, Canada

Waterfall near Butedale from Northern Expedition, Inside Passage

Butedale from Northern Expedition, Inside Passage

Birthday drinks on Northern Expedition, Inside Passage

Boat Bluff from Northern Expedition, Inside Passage

Liferaft, Northern Expedition

Shore at Klemtu from Northern Expedition, Inside Passage

Jak, birthday celebrations on Northern Expedition, Inside Passage

A 4.20 a.m. start was certain to ensure that Jak’s birthday was going to be a long day if nothing else.

In pre-dawn darkness we caught a taxi to the British Columbia BC Ferry terminal and finalised arrangements for our journey southwards to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island. We thought we’d booked ‘reserved’ seats but somehow there was a misunderstanding. However we were lucky on a ‘first come, first in’ basis to acquire four reclining seats with full length windows on the port side. There didn’t seem to be very many passengers on board this morning but nonetheless the prized window seats were quickly snapped up.

Leaving Prince Rupert at 0730 we were once again blessed with fine weather and quite a deal of blue sky. The smooth waters of the Prince Rupert’s port were blotched with pools of sunshine and the mirror surface reflected the few patches of fog that clung to the hillsides nearby.

The “Inside Passage” route initially follows the spectacular Grenville Channel southwards for 70 km. The narrowest part of this fjord is only 400 m wide but being mostly 500 m deep or more, allows large vessels such as our ferry (‘Northern Expedition’) to travel close to the shore.

After passing Gil Island and Whale Channel we passed the remains of Butedale located on Princess Royal Island. This shoreline town was established in 1918 as a fishing, mining and logging centre with a fish cannery operating there until the mid-sixties. At its peak, the town of Butedale had a population of over 400 but since the closure of the cannery the village has become a ghost town and now all that remains are dilapidated buildings and a wharf in disrepair. Nearby is an impressive waterfall. The ferry slowed down and did a slow 360o turn as we passed Butedale and the scene made for some interesting photographs.

The next point of historical interest was Swanson Bay which was once home to one of the first sulfite (SO2 bleaching) paper pulp mills on the B.C. coast. The mill eventually ceased operation in the mid-1930s and now all that remains are some rotting jetty piles and a tall cylindrical brick chimney that protrudes as a stark relic in amongst the now regenerated spruce forest.

A barbecue luncheon of salmon or chicken was served on the rear deck (level 6) and so as to continue the birthday celebrations the four of us shared a bottle of white wine.

At the half way mark between Prince Rupert and Port Hardy in bright sunshine we passed Boat Bluff located on Sarah Island. There are several brightly painted buildings and a navigation light at this point as Boat Bluff marks the southern entry into the very narrow Tolmie Channel. The light is visible for approximately 32 km on a clear night.

Just south of Boat Bluff our large ferry was manoeuvred very skilfully into the port of Klemtu which is the centre of an aboriginal group of people called the Xai’xai. The ‘Northern Expedition’ spent around an hour unloading and loading vehicles and passengers before proceeding on its way south.

We spent quite a deal of time out on the decks of this very large and modern ferry. Travelling through such narrow channels meant that both sides of the vessel provided numerous photo opportunities. Several humpback whales were sighted in the fjord as were countless hundreds of salmon jumping from the water.

By 6.00 p.m. we had passed Ivory Island and Dryad Point Lighthouse and were two thirds of the way to Port Hardy. Just beyond the small prosperous fishing town of Bella Bella on Campbell Island we cruised by Denny Island on our port side! As was the case for practically all of our journey down the Inside Passage the shores of Denny Island were a mere metre or two of rocks leading to very steep hillsides covered totally with spruce, white cedar and western hemlock; (countless millions of ‘Christmas trees’!).

As it was now dark, we left our viewing seats and headed to the dining room for an excellent buffet meal and some nice B.C. wines as a birthday party celebrating Jak’s 67th.

After disembarking in Port Hardy at 11.30 p.m. we caught a bus to our B&B which was in the town of Port Hardy, 10 km from the ferry terminal. Despite the late hour, we were greeted by the proprietor (Mayela) at midnight and as soon as possible were asleep after a long day that started at just after 4.00 a.m.

The ferry trip down the Inside Passage was very scenic and once again we’d been fortunate to have such pleasant, balmy weather for our travels.

As a footnote to our ferry journey, our B&B hostess Mayela informed us that the B.C. Ferry we’d travelled on was quite new having been built to replace the previous ferry that sank six years ago. On a calm evening, two hours south of Prince Rupert it hit rocks in the Passage. Of the 150 people on board two people drowned because they were asleep and not informed of the emergency! The verdict on the accident was ‘gross negligence’ on the part of the captain as apart from navigation errors, apparently they were not even sure of the numbers of passengers on board.

Not surprisingly, our voyage was very adequately covered in terms of safety considerations!

THURSDAY 28th AUGUST 2014 PORT HARDY - COURTENAY VANCOUVER ISLAND CANADA

Harbour at Telegraph Cove, Vancouver Island

Telegraph Cove, Vancouver Island

Drinks with Walter at Belle Vue B&B, Courtenay, Vancouver Island

After a well earned night’s sleep we had a hearty, home prepared breakfast served by Mayela with lots of chat and merriment. She’s a Peruvian and has lived in Canada married to a Welshman for over 30 years. She obviously enjoyed chatting and was keen to hear of our travels and to give friendly advice on things to see and do on Vancouver Island.

The local Budget Rent-a-car man, Rob picked us up and drove us to his depot and organised all the formalities for us hiring the car (a near new red Dodge Caravan). The car has six seats but we’ve put the two back seats down to give ourselves a station wagon which turned out to be absolutely ideal.

Our drive down the eastern side of Vancouver Island followed the main highway with a diversion out to Telegraph Cove for lunch.

This inlet is a delightful spot with a well-protected marina surrounded by steep hillsides covered with dense forest for all but the narrow entrance to the cove. At the cove there are a few houses, a resort and a shop where we sat in warm sunny conditions and relaxed whilst enjoying a bite to eat and some coffees. The temperature would have been about 25oC. There was a small jewellery shop nearby and the girls bought locally made blown glass pendants with marine motifs in other coloured glass inside.

We then continued on our southwards journey past areas of high mountains and hillsides where large areas had been logged for both timber and paper pulp production. Being close to the sea means that many of the spruce logs are transported by floating them in large rafts towed by tug-boats.

After leaving the main highway and following a coast road to the town of Courtenay and we arrived at ‘Belle Vue’ which is the B&B recommended by Rae and Malcolm Wells. We quickly realised why their recommendation was made. The Jordan’s home is right on the waterfront with beautiful gardens, spacious rooms and excellent facilities.

We joined Walter (Haideh, his wife is away at a dog show for three days) for drinks on the front terrace and he advised us of a nice restaurant (‘Locals’) for dinner and of possible activities for tomorrow.

The restaurant specialised in produce from the local area and was quite up-market and obviously very popular gauging from the number of people present.

After a very pleasant dinner we returned to ‘Belle Vue’ for an early night and an opportunity to catch up on emails etc.

FRIDAY 29th AUGUST 2014 COURTENAY VANCOUVER ISLAND CANADA

Nymph Falls, Puntledge River, Courtenay

Feather, Nymph Falls

Rocks Puntledge R, Courtenay

Old man's beard, Nymph Falls

Bison & calf, Oyster Bay, Vancouver Is

View from garden, Belle Vue B&B, Courtenay, Vancouver Is

After a breakfast feast served by our host Walter, we organised some washing and then drove to a scenic reserve area called the Nymph Falls.

These are extensive cascades rather than actual high waterfalls on the Puntledge River with dense and dark spruce forests on either side.

There are a number of walking tracks within the reserve area and about a 2 km section that run adjacent to the river from near the car park. We spent several hours in this idyllic spot following the cascades and walking out onto vantage points where possible. The river was about 50 m wide and flowing fast with treacherous whirlpools and small waterfalls. There were many signs along the river bank warning potential swimmers of the extreme danger associated with undercurrents, submerged hazards and slippery rocks.

Even the thought of rafting down this section of the river’s cascade would be very difficult and only for the absolute experts.

There is a weir and hydroelectric power station further upstream and in warm sunny conditions we walked through the forest upstream until we reached this point which was where the track terminated.

Despite the water being crystal clear, there was no sign of any salmon or other fish moving upstream even though ladders had been installed at the weir for the fish to use.

We then drove towards Campbell River town and stopped for lunch at a small coastal resort and marina. The person serving us lunch was a bit gruff and plonked plates of soup and cups of coffee down on our table without a smile or a pleasant manner. It made us contemplate this fact when we were still expected to give a 15-20% tip on top of the bill.

We then went to a farm that grows bison and water buffalo for their meat. There were 150 or so of these large beasts grazing close to the road and we managed to get close enough for some photos. The farm shop attendant told us of the dietary value of the dark lean meat and its special taste so we bought some processed sausage meat (cabana style) to try. It was very much like standard beef but darker in colour.

Along the road near the bison farm we laughed when we saw a sign on the side of the road offering ‘organic firewood’ for sale. We assumed that this was evidence of a sense of humour rather than the words of an extreme greeny.

To finish off the day we drove back into Courtenay for an evening meal in a popular local eating place which was packed out on a Friday evening.

SATURDAY 30th AUGUST 2014 COURTENAY - VICTORIA VANCOUVER ISLAND CANADA

Breakfast time at Belle Vue B&B, Courtenay, Vancouver Island

Breakfast starter at Belle Vue B&B, Courtenay, Vancouver Island

Belle Vue B&B, Courtenay, Vancouver Island

Display at Aiforce Museum, Lomox, Vancouver Island

Breakfast was once again a gastronomic speciality with Walter making a delicious quiche as well as zucchini loaf bread with fruits and cream.

Prior to leaving Bellevue we took a photo of Walter’s 1930s Gibson guitar that was previously owned and played by his mother.

After more photos and farewell hugs we set forth for Comox where we spent an interesting hour at the local air-force museum. The displays were first-class and focussed extensively on the role played by the RCAF during WWII. An hour’s wandering around the museum wasn’t really adequate for seeing all the displays but gave us some insight into the aircraft and ancillary equipment used and the role that Canadian men and women played during this time of world conflict.

We then drove down the coastal road (Highway 19A) stopping at Qualicum Beach for a coffee and a change of driver.

The coast road route was very scenic with clear views out across the Strait of Georgia towards the mainland of British Columbia.

The coast road ended and became the main highway (Highway 19) and after a wrong turn, we inadvertently ended up heading back north again! After rectifying this problem we once again travelled south to the town of Duncan where we turned off towards Lake Cowichan which was 30 km to the west. This large lake offers a very popular holiday resort area for water sports and apart from the many power boats and yachts, the marina had several large house-boats for hire.

With daylight waning we then drove back to the main highway and down into Victoria, the capital city of Vancouver Island to rest for the night. However, when we went to check in to our booked accommodation we found that there was a problem with the booking dates and the place was unavailable tonight.

We then had to find alternative accommodation and amongst the nearby city hotels was one in downtown Victoria offering a room for four (double bed plus trundle bed) for a mere $1495 per night. Needless to say we declined the offer!

After many further phone calls to other hotels and B&Bs all of which were booked out, we eventually found a hotel room at Sooke, 40 km southwest of Victoria. It turned out to be a gem! The Sooke Harbour House is right on the waterfront and our room (shared by the four of us) was very comfortable with a deck leading out onto a lawn and garden going down to the water’s edge. There’s even a tall totem pole in the garden!

As it was too late to go to the restaurant we had G&Ts in our room and ordered some pizzas and planned our day in Victoria tomorrow.

SUNDAY 31st AUGUST 2014 VICTORIA VANCOUVER ISLAND CANADA

Panorama of harbour area, Victoria, Vancouver Island

Boats & Empress Hotel, Victoria, Vancouver Island

Homestead, Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island

Rose bush, Rose Garden, Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island

Ross Fountain, Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island

Pink dahlia, Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island

Fuschias, Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island

Sunken Garden, Butchart Gardens, Victoriia

We wandered around the Sooke Harbour House hotel grounds and took photos of this lovely seaside location and the hotel’s gardens.

We then followed the main route back towards Victoria but diverted towards the Butchart Gardens which we’d been told not to miss if we were in this neck of the woods.

The entry fee for the four of us was a cool $136 and we were somewhat taken aback at this unexpected price but pretty soon we realised that it was certainly not an unreasonable charge at all.

The gardens occupy 53 hectares and began from an idea Jennie Butchart had to beautify the worked-out limestone quarry that supplied the raw material for her husband’s nearby Portland cement works.

The sheer magnificence of these gardens is beyond adequate description. The numbers and varieties of plants in flower is extraordinary and equally impressive is the setting in which these extensive gardens have been developed. There are sunken gardens with ponds and seemingly acres of flowering annuals, trees and shrubs. In amongst these meticulously manicured gardens are elaborate fountains, small pavilions and hideaway corners where the beauty of the gardens can be appreciated in relative tranquillity.

We wandered for several hours in amongst rose gardens, dahlia gardens, Japanese gardens and specialised Mediterranean gardens where horticulturalists had blended plants to flower in a complementary fashion. The lawns and surrounding garden beds were devoid of weeds and the fountains and ponds were tastefully placed in amongst this unbelievably glorious floral extravaganza.

In order to maintain these gardens in their pristine state requires 60 full time gardeners, hence the cost of entry being high.

The gardens were crowded beyond belief being a public holiday weekend but nonetheless we thoroughly enjoyed the visit and now understand why a visit to Victoria must incorporate a visit to the Butchart Gardens.

In the afternoon we wandered around the harbour of Victoria in glorious sunshine and joined the many thousands who were here for the annual Victoria Classic Boat Festival. This was somewhat reminiscent of our Hobart Wooden Boat Festival but for larger cruisers many of which were wooden and built in the 1960s or there abouts.

Amongst the hundreds of boats on display were a dozen or more luxurious wooden boats with perfectly varnished and polished timber superstructures, brass portholes and brass window frames plus million dollar fit-outs. Most were twenty metres in length or more.

It was a day for the super-rich to exhibit their wares and with the gloriously picturesque Victoria Harbour being at its very best in sunshine and glassy waters it was hard to do anything but look upon the scene and say ‘wow’. Our walk along the kilometre of waterfront was past buskers, jazz bands and numerous market stalls selling all sorts of touristy wares from the usual souvenirs and massages to ‘organic’ rock pendants!

During the afternoon there were cruise boats large and small continually taking visitors out onto the harbour and close by there were sea-planes landing and taking off every few minutes.

Right on the road forming the perimeter to the Victoria Harbour are many impressive buildings most notably the famous Empress Hotel, the Dutch Carillion and Government House.

With absolutely perfect weather it was visually spectacular for us to be in this city and the dockside crowd seemed to be in agreement as there was a vibrant party atmosphere apparent. We had heard from others that Victoria is a very special and beautiful city but now we had first-hand experience to support this totally.

To finish the day we bought food from a nearby supermarket and returned to our luxurious and spacious Isabella’s Apartments on the waterfront. These two units are the ones we were supposed to have had last night but due to a booking problem that didn’t eventuate.

Tonight we’ve indulged ourselves in luxury in our self-catered facility and tomorrow, being September 1st means that we start the final episode of our North American adventure when we will have a week travelling across the Rockies by car to Banff and then two days coming back on the train to Vancouver.

MONDAY 1st SEPTEMBER 2014 VICTORIA - VANCOUVER CANADA

This ended up being pretty much a day of car, ferry and bus travel in order to get us back onto the North American continent.

Our accommodation at Isabella’s Apartments entitled us to breakfast in the old bakery downstairs which is also owned by our landlord. The bakery dates back to the 1880s and although now modernised, it has retained much of the old-world character of its 19th century establishment.

After a sumptuous breakfast we drove north from Victoria following the coast road which afforded expansive views across the intertwining waterways to the east. The Gulf Islands off the coast of Crofton make the navigation through the Strait of Georgia potentially complex but offer numerous safe and appealing anchorages for boats venturing across from Vancouver or up from Victoria.

BC Ferry, Vancouver

BC Ferry 'Queen of Cowichan' life belt, Vancouver

Departure Bay, Vancouver Island

On arrival at Nanaimo we dropped the car off at the Budget office and obtained a shuttle ride to the ferry terminal nearby.

We boarded the BC Ferry, ‘Queen of Cowichan’ and an hour and a half later arrived at Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. Today is a public holiday in Canada and the ferry was loaded with passengers and cars coming back from Vancouver Island after the long-weekend.

After retrieving our luggage we boarded a bus into the centre of Vancouver and then walked two blocks to our accommodation for the night at Moda Hotel. The city was very crowded and the central mall area was packed with holiday makers, shoppers, food stalls and musicians. Apparently the beginning of ‘fall’ and the long-weekend had brought everyone out into the city to celebrate.

We relaxed in our hotel room for a while, caught up on some washing and then headed out to a local Chinese restaurant that had been recommended to us.

Our meal was delicious as evidenced by the fact that the vast majority of the restaurant’s discerning customers were Chinese or Asian. After walking the kilometre home it was time for bed.

Tomorrow we begin our Rocky Mountain traverse to the east and we’ve decided to take a route that follows highway 99 through Squamish and then via Whistler to Lillooet where we’ll probably stay tomorrow night. Let’s see what eventuates!!

TUESDAY 2nd SEPTEMBER 2014 VANCOUVER - LILLOOET CANADA

The Brewhouse, Whistler

View, road from Whistler to Lillooet

Mountain bike trails, Whistler

Olympic rings, Whistler

At 0830 we had breakfast in a nearby coffee shop and then gathered up our possessions from the Moda Hotel and walked in drizzling rain to the main Vancouver AVIS office which was fortunately quite close by.

After a very protracted time of coping with officialdom and form signing etc we were assigned a Dodge Caravan (just as we’d had before with Budget) and commenced our journey out of Vancouver towards the Rockies.

For the first time in a week we had light rain as we headed north on highway 99 towards the ferry terminal we’d been at yesterday. We then diverted towards Squamish and then headed on towards Whistler where we stopped for lunch.

Fortunately the rain had stopped so we were able to spend two hours in this glitzy tourist town that exists purely due to its position as a central location between the two most significant ski fields in North America.

Whistler in the summer season as we found has no skiing activities going on but the town planners have been incredibly inventive by converting the ski slopes to mountain bike tracks that vary in steepness from the ‘beginner’ slope to the ‘double black diamond’ slope for the very adventurous.

Whistler town was full of tourists just wandering and taking in the scene which captivated the world for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The lower ski slopes were visible but with the rainy weather the massive peaks above us were hidden in cloud.

After visiting Whistler we travelled on towards Lillooet in the Rockies. The road was a winding and incredibly steep road for a hundred kilometres through spectacular mountain passes and around precipitous curves where the side of the road was a mere metre or so from falls into the river valley below. The vast chasm through the Rockies that we followed has been cut by glaciers countless millennia ago and now all that remains are near vertical cliffs and meandering rivers at their base.

The road through to Lillooet was affected by rocks that had fallen during the present rain storm and to add to the driving dangers, a large deer jumped out on to the road to be narrowly missed by traffic travelling in both directions.

We finally arrived in Lillooet and made arrangements to stay at the Four Pines motel which turns out to be a remarkably good place to stay in this isolated part of the world. (Lillooet is the native word for wild onion.)