ThePADDLER 94
As part of the discussions
with local guides and by looking at the weather forecast for the next few days , I planned a journey which would start by crossing Johnstone Strait and on into Blackfish Sound — from there , touring and stopping around the many approved camping spots before heading into the Broughton Archipelago Provincial Park . Having the archipelago of islands was great as I could paddle out of the wind with simple route selection and try and make the best use of the tide between the islands . As it turned out , predicting the tidal flow between the islands was tricky , and I found myself paddling against the flow at several places , but the current was not too strong , and there were plenty of eddies at the sides of channels which meant progress was never impeded when paddling against the tide . The regular weather updates provided by Canadian Marine forecasts were very accurate .
BROUGHTON ARCHIPELAGO PROVINCIAL PARK The Broughton Archipelago Provincial Park , British Columbia ' s ( BC ) largest marine park , a collection of undeveloped islands and islets between Queen Charlotte Strait and the mouth of Knight Inlet , is a sea kayaker ' s dream . Relatively sheltered waters , with a backdrop of magnificent mountains and the chance to spot orcas and humpback whales .
These islands have been home to First Nation peoples for thousands of years . Much of the land and islands in the area have been ceded back to the First Nations peoples as part of treaty agreements . It is vitally important to respect these initiatives , and some of my research with local guides focused on whether camping is allowed as part of these arrangements .
After setting out from Telegraph Cove , it was only 20 minutes before I spotted the stiff , erect black fins of two orcas swimming through the main channel of Johnstone Strait . These were quite recognisable about a kilometre from where I was kayaking . I remember thinking , “ Wow , that was great , seeing an orca at the start of my journey .” Over the five days of my expedition , I saw orcas on four days . One of the closest sightings was when I saw three orcas feeding off Flower Island , where I camped for a couple of nights ; they were only 200m offshore .
ROBSON BIGHT What a fantastic site , the island is tranquil , and I was alerted to the orca ' s presence by hearing their blowholes , and when I looked out of my tent , the orcas were just offshore . The other close sighting was on my return crossing of Johnstone Strait back to Vancouver Island , about 3.5km , when a party of five orcas passed within 300m of my kayak . This family group of orca were heading south to the world-famous Robson Bight . Robson Bight ( Michael Bigg ) Ecological Reserve was established to provide a sanctuary for orcas . The reserve protects key habitats for killer whales , prevents their harassment and provides unique research opportunities . The area is famous as an orca ' whalerubbing beach ', where the orca rubs their underbellies on the pebble beaches to remove parasites .
I had hoped to see orca and was happy to see them virtually every day , but I was surprised to see so many humpback whales . I saw them every day of the trip and in good numbers . I was usually alerted to them by the noise of their blowhole expelling air as they surfaced . On the calm days , this could be heard several kilometres from where the whales were . There were single humpbacks , mothers with calves and areas where two or three would feed together .
HUMPBACK WHALES The Pacific population of humpback whales , which spend much of their time in BC waters during the summer months , have experienced a remarkable recovery in the past few decades . They had been hunted to near extinction by the mid-1900s , but since hunting was banned in the 1980s , their population has slowly recovered . There are now anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 humpbacks in BC waters . There are
now so many whales in coastal waters that they are hazardous to ships ! They are listed as a species of ' special concern ', now frequenting fishing hot spots , shipping lanes , and busy harbours where they are likely to run into nets or collide with boats .
There was plenty of other wildlife around in the water . Steller sea lions , up to nine feet long , are the largest sea lion in the world and swam right up to my kayak . Various species of dolphin and I spotted plenty of species of birds , including Pacific loon , harlequin duck , scoters , tufted puffin , a couple of species of auklet , as well as lots of bald eagles .
Weather-wise it was generally calm for three of the five days of my trip . A heavy fog developed in the late afternoon and evening on calm days , and this stayed overnight and precluded early starts . During my stay , these fog banks burned off by mid-morning , so there were problems with navigation , but I was always watchful of fog banks forming in the late afternoon as I was heading to my camping destination . On the days when there was a southwesterly wind , I paddled