Lesli’s Vancouver Island Wildside Expedition
This July our adventure specialist, Lesli, spent a week exploring Vancouver Island’s rugged and beautiful northwest coast. Often, when we think of spending time on Vancouver Island, our first images are of waves crashing off the coast of Tofino, or images of our capitol, Victoria, and its beautiful gardens and museums. We think of visits to Cathedral Grove, and Pacific Rim park. But this trip was spent in a part of Vancouver Island that most don’t get the opportunity to venture to. For starters, it is not accessible by car. The highway ends at Port Hardy so just getting to these sounds and inlets requires a boat.
Photo Credit: Philip Stone
Travelling with Maple Leaf Adventures aboard a 138-foot Catamaran named Cascadia, Lesli began her adventure. This vessel holds only 24 guests, with a 2-1 guest-to-crew ratio, and it is not your stereotypical day boat. This is an expedition vessel, built specifically for high-quality, boutique cruises, and capable of travelling to wild, remote areas teeming with wildlife. This ship was selected in part for its limited impact on the environment it sails through. Not only does it provide luxurious comfort to guests on board, but it desalinates its own water daily, and filters all grey water on board (meaning soaps, shampoos, body oils, toothpaste, BOD’s, phosphates, nitrates and more are all removed prior to overboard discharge).
Photo Credit: Philip Stone
Anytime you travel to a remote area like Northern Vancouver Island, wilderness is front of mind, and this expedition was no exception. When I asked Lesli to describe the trip to me, her first response was “it was all about nature”, and the itinerary really speaks to that.
There is a day-to-day that the ship will loosely stick to, taking you through Quatsino Sound, Cruising to Klaskish and East Creek, making your way out to the continental shelf region, Solander Island, Kyuquot Sound, and more. But when you’re in an area like this, you tend to follow the action. You might find yourself changing course to trail a pod of orcas or humpbacks, exploring the waters with them. If you come across a lovely, calm cove and get the urge to kayak, just ask. As Lesli learnt, if there is time, the captain will stop and let you explore in the various watercraft they carry onboard. The point of this adventure is to get to know this remote landscape, make connections with it, soak it all in. What better way to do this than to see where the waters take you?
Photo Credit: Philip Stone
All of Lesli’s highlights focus on the amazing nature and wildlife of the region. From kayaking through kelp forests, to cruising in the company of humpback whales, to spotting black bears on the shore – nature just never ceased to amaze.
Photo Credit: Philip Stone
They learnt all about the reintroduction of sea otters to the area; virtually extinct a few decades ago due to over hunting, they were brought down from Alaska and you can literally see the success of this reintroduction in action. There were sea otters everywhere they turned, and it was hard to tire of their curiosity and hilarious behaviours! As Lesli said, “you really can’t help but smile when you see them”.
Photo Credit: Philip Stone
Peaceful coves, windswept beaches, and turquoise waters dominate the landscape in this area. It’s hard to believe water that colour exists off our coast; colours normally associated with tropical locales like Hawaii. Who knew you could have that experience so close to home?
Photo Credit: Philip Stone
Of course, all of this exploring and fresh sea air leaves you quite hungry at the end of the day, and the food onboard Cascadia did not disappoint. It was quite varied, and the crew did a great job at catering to all diets. Most of the food on the ship is loaded the same day as the guests, and it was all very fresh. Lesli was fortunate enough to even get a tour of the galley and was surprised at how much larger it was than she expected. They baked amazing pastries for snacks, and paired all meals with a red and a white wine. Even better is that all of this is included in the cost of your cruise. In fact, the cruise is fully all-inclusive – you just need to get yourself to Port Hardy!
All in all, this was a special and memorable trip for Lesli. Something that went way beyond the normal whale watching tours, and nature hikes that you might associate with Vancouver Island. This was true wilderness, like you’ve never experienced, on our very own coasts.
To learn more about this trip check out Vancouver Island’s Wildside with Canadian Geographic and get in touch with Lesli Heron. And don’t forget to follow along on Instagram @lloydstravel to see more of our team’s exciting adventures!