Trip Reports & Photos

For years I have been wanting to take a kayak trip in the Vancouver Island area base on an article I read about Clayquot Sound. I decided that this past July was time to do it. Instead of Clayquot Sound I decided on the Broughton Archipelago area based on conversations I had had with paddlers who had been or knew paddlers who had been to several areas around the island. I think I made an excellent choice.
I had no interest in going on a guided trip as they usually cater to beginners and paddle 3-5 miles a day but in going through the different Paddling company sites I came across one that had an 8 day kayak camping trip for experienced kayakers only. I contacted them and decided this would be an excellent option for a short notice trip. I had to provide my paddling creditials to qualify as they wanted to make sure all participants were experienced and would not burden the group. This was another selling point for me. We had a great guide and a great little group to paddle with.
Our trip began out of Telegraph Cove which is a quaint little village on the upper end of the island. It began in spectacular fashion. We paddled out of the cove and headed across the Johnstone Straight and around the western end of Hanson Island as we curled around the north side we decided to stop for lunch in a large cove. As we were paddling to the island I kept hearing “thumps”. I looked around to figure out what the noise was and saw a huge splash as a humpback hit the water. I yelled out to the others who were ahead of me and we all turned around to watch whale after whale breach. We decided to abandon lunch and head toward the whales that were across Blackfish Sound. This was a mile and half to two mile crossing and the roughest water we had all trip. We enjoy the continuous show the entire trip across. The whale ended the show just as I was beginning to get worried that we were getting too close. We camped nearby the first night on Swanson Island in the outfitters private camp that had preset up tents on platforms and an outdoor kitchen with a huge tarp over the kitchen and long picnic table. This was nice a nice touch for the first day especially since we had a good rain storm. We constantly saw humpbacks from this location and had a seal that liked to come by shore and check us out whenever we were without our camera. One of the pics in the slide show attached shows a picture of a whale tail and this seal. I had no idea he was in the pic until I viewed it at home. Hanson Island could well be named Whale Island as the humpbacks frequented the north side in Blackfish Sound and Orcas in the Johnstone Strait.
It was a beautiful trip with lots of weather changes and constant wildlife encounters which made for interesting pictures. We saw lots of humpbacks, orcas, seals, sea lions, Pacific white sided dolphins, Dahls porposes, mink, eagles and a bear. I highly recommend this area for the abundant wildlife and beauty. Please view the attached link to pictures and I think you will agree.
Steve Meyer
Picture link:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10203707498121144.1073741838.1628480745&type=1&l=34945e8fc7

Steve,

Great photos and trip description. Thank you.

Sandra and I were at Telegraph Cove a couple of years ago, just after Labor Day, and went whale watching there. We want to go back and paddle. What a thrill to be up close to Orcas, whales and sea lions in a kayak.

Rob Plenderleith