Road Trip: Days 9-12 (Hornby Island & Telegraph Cove)

Sorry for the huge lapse in my trip report - I hope I haven't left anybody hanging in total suspense for too long! I have been busy settling into our new house, job hunting, volunteering and enjoying the last few weeks of amazing weather we had here in Calgary. During the week of my birthday, September 24, we actually had highs in the 80s and lots of sunshine. Quite UNLIKE today, which finds us with snow on the ground and a temperature hovering around the freezing point. Sigh, how quickly things change...

I figured I better finish writing about our trip before I forget what it felt like to be outside in nice weather!! So here goes, picking up at day nine I will try to speed up my summary to catch us back up to present time...

DAY 9:
We were up early today to catch our ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island. The first of many ferry rides, we were treated to absolutely gorgeous, sunny weather with crystal clear views not only of the Vancouver skyline to the east, but also of the small mountain ranges of Vancouver Island to our west. After a quick ride to the main part of Vancouver Island, we drove an hour north and caught another ferry, this one much smaller, to the tiny Denman Island just off the coast. From there, one last little ferry took us to our home for the following two nights, Hornby Island.

Many Canadians we had spoken to before our trip had no idea what or where Hornby Island was; I selected it based on a TV show I'd seen that painted Hornby Island as an idyllic, hippie-haven not yet discovered by tourists. At 8.85 square miles, and with a population of just over 1,000, we felt we'd discovered a hidden treasure as we drove into our campsite located on a peaceful bay off the Pacific Ocean.


DAY 10:
I woke up uncharacteristically early the next morning, feeling invigorated, and headed down to the beach with a towel to do some yoga, and a crisp new journal I had purchased on Granville Island in Vancouver, and wrote the following, my first attempt at poetry in quite some time:



Happy Hippie on Hornby Island:

I want to take a photograph with words, express the peace here-
the solemnity of the Pacific as it reaches this remote bay,
the happy way it laps at the shore,
playful yet serene as it takes a break from its usual toil
of churning waves and doing battle with storms.

Here things are quiet.

Purple starfish spread out in the sun on shallow rocks,
untainted by the hands of humans;
Sea animals call out at night, safe in these natural harbors;
Trees shiver off their bark, rustling gently
as they stretch out and up to enjoy the view.

And me?
I sit, try to be still.
__________________________________












__________________________________

Here's more from my journal, if you're not yet tired of my ramblings about Hornby Island!

"Hornby Island is just a happy place! It feels instantly peaceful, perhaps because of the remoteness of it. Life is slower here - people seem to take everything in, to appreciate their natural surroundings, and to really live off the land.

On our first stop for the ferry, we found a seafood shop and sampled local smoked wild sockeye salmon. Yum! On Denman Island, waiting for our next ferry, the snack of choice was ice cream sold from an old VW van painted yellow. It was clearly home-made and very creative: I tried cherry-plum-chocolate. The tart fresh plum and cherry chunks mixed with rich chocolate made for one of the best ice creams I have ever had! Ben had chocolate rhubarb, another unique and delicious flavor.

Once on the quiet Island, we set up camp and got down to the hard business of laying on the beach with a book. The beach by our campground is actually comprised of hard sandstone rocks and the sea life seems very healthy. We immediately noticed a plethora of purple starfish, scuttling crabs and jellyfish among other things. We heard some strange, bellowing sounds arise from the bay waters and wondered if there might be porpoises - or even whales - in our midst.

After a decent night's sleep, I made my way to the beach for some yoga - bliss! - and to enjoy a solitude that is rarely found in life, away from the sounds of lots of people, or electricity, or music, or sirens, or any of that hubbub that becomes so normal in our lives. Now I only hear water lapping against rocks, the occasional kayaker paddling by, or maybe a lone boat way off in the distance. What a way to start the day!"

After a great morning, we whiled away our day with a slow-paced, 5k hike that took us through old-growth forests and along a stunning cliffs that jutted over the bay. We went into the tiny town, which seems to be mostly based on a barter system, with a co-op forming the commercial center, eventually returned to our campground where we bought a pizza, toted along a cooler with inexpensive local beers and planted ourselves on the waterfront to take in a spectacular sunset.

It was tough to leave this little sliver of paradise the next morning, but we knew the next leg of our trip, set aside for whale watching in Telegraph Cove on the Northern tip of Vancouver Island, would be equally wonderful!

DAYS 11 & 12:
(from the travel journal)
"Luck was on our side in Telegraph Cove! As we drive out right now, on bumpy gravel and barely-paved roads that were until recently used strictly by logging trucks, the sky is gray - a sort of whitish-gray cloud cover that promises nothing. Not the threat of rain nor hope of sun, but simply hanging in the damp air, stating its presence.

Yesterday's whale-watching tour, though, was nothing but clear skies and crystal blue waters. The whales were so active that our enthusiastic guide extended the trip by two hours! We first spotted a lone, transient male Orca, and soon after that cruised in amid two clans of resident Orcas. Apparently it was rare to see them all out socializing together - maybe even mating. Our wonderful guide Bill dropped a microphone into the water so we could listen to them talk. We could distinctly hear the different calls of the two clans - the "eeh-aww" sound of one, versus a high-pitched, cat-like sound of another.

We watched as they played, napped, fished and swam right beside our boat - what magnificent creatures! I am even more in awe of them, these intelligent, human-like sea-dwellers.

As if seeing at least 10-15 Orcas frolicking in their natural habitat was't enough, we moved on to a gorgeous, remote part of the straight and found a Humpback whale - as well as a young Humpback calf.

At one moment, everybody on the boat was looking toward a flock of birds on the water, where our guide expected to Humpback to emerge to feed ... suddenly it surfaced immediately beside our boat, its huge mass as long as the boat, giving us a total scare - with a few passengers getting sprayed by the blowhole! It was magical to see its gray, bumpy hulk up close and in action. After giving us a show, the humpback went on to hunt for about ten minutes. We watched it surface several more times, mouth open, trying to catch birds for lunch.

Not only did we see these really lively whale interactions, but we also saw several bald eagles, northern sea lions and harbor seals, and to top it off, two Minke whales on our way back to the harbor.

The mossy, old-growth forests of Telegraph Cove were different than anything I'd seen before - our campground was covered in a canopy of old, twisted, gnarly pines that blocked out any sliver of sunlight, leaving us shrouded in an eerie green light the whole time - very interesting!"

Click Below for More Photos:
Roadtrip Part 3 Photo Album