My Summer Road-trip - part 4 

(it still is going to get more exciting as days go on, trust me)

note: pictures are taken with mom's phone, my little camera, and mom's camera... feel free to click on images, including maps to see them larger. 

Hello Everyone... 

Welcome to the next part of my road trip. We are still on the northern part of Vancouver Island staying in Port McNeil, B.C. 

This morning we woke up to get ready to go whale watching with Mackay Whale Watching (The Mackay's). It was a little overcast and definitely on the chilly side, but you could see blue sky breaking through, and we hoped the temps would warm up. 

After everyone got on the boat, and before we left the dock, Captain Bill did his presentation and let us know that they will be serving us lunch during the trip.  

Yummy.. 

Leaving the dock, mom took this photo of Port McNeil (looking behind us).  It is a small town. 

Heading out towards Malcolm Island, this lighthouse sits on the northwest end of the island which is across the northern end of Port McNeil on Vancouver Island.  We had just gone around that point, and looking in the distance is Vancouver Island (green trees) where we left from. 

The water was like a lake as we headed east out into Queen Charlotte Strait towards the Numas Islands. 

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We came across the A30's (a sub group of A-pod of the Northern Resident Orcas) heading north / west towards Taylor Banks. 

This little one was so playful... 

It was so nice outside, I got to sit outside with everyone. A couple of Orcas came up right in front of me next to the boat. It was so cool.

On our way in, we saw a cruise ship traveling from Alaska to Vancouver (big city on the mainland). 

(the star is where we left from.. the stamp of two whales in the water is where we saw the Orcas)

This is Captain Bill, Nicole and me in front of the boat we went on. It was a really cool and fun boat. Mom and I highly recommend Mackay Whale Watching for all your wildlife tours on the northern part of the island. Plus you get a free, delicious lunch. 

We just chilled the rest of the day.. :) 

The next morning we planned to go to Malcolm Island to hang out at a popular spot to see Orcas, but it was foggy, drizzly, and cold, so we opted out on that idea and went to Telegraph Cove instead.

The weather was pretty nice there. Warmer than Port McNeil, and not drizzly, but high fog for a while until later when the sun came out. 

On our way to Telegraph Cove, you pass a logging area called Beaver Cove. It is just outside of Telegraph Cove. 

An overview of Telegraph Cove from one side. 

Photo below shows the beginning of the entrance into the cove/harbor from Johnstone Strait. Mom and I are facing the cove with the strait behind us. 

In the photo above, we would be standing on the right side where you can see the pathway just below the trees as we took this photo below, and the one below it. 

We walked all around the "cove" (horseshoe shaped) and went to the whale museum. Very educational. :) 

I got to sit under a juvenile Fin Whale skeleton. It was so long, and to think it was just a juvi. Fin Whales are the second largest animal on earth growing to a length of 80 feet long.

There was bones of a Blue Whale jaw that stood on its end wrapping around a skeleton of a Minke Whale (the smallest of the baleen whales)

After spending a good portion of the day in Telegraph Cove, we decided to leave. On our way out, just as you enter Beaver Cove area, there were a ton of people parking and stopping in the middle of the road, side of road, basically anywhere there was pavement. Mom assumed there was a bear as that is a popular spot to see them, so she drove down the steep hill to a parking lot to park and we walked back up the hill to see what was going on.

This is the view we were looking at with the bears in the tree on the right. You can't see them in this photo as mom didn't include enough of the tree, but wanted to show you the gorgeous view.. 

Sure enough, there were two bears up in the tree sound asleep. People started leaving because the bears were "boring" to watch, but mom and I hung out talking to a nice family from England while waiting for the bears to wake up. 

About 3/4 down the photo, you can see one of the bears lying on the branch sound asleep in the first tree from the left. :) 

Mom and I walked back to the car to get my canopy as the sun was starting to come out and it was getting warm. Guess what? While we did that, the one bear woke up and climbed down the tree. Once they climb down, you can't see them due to all the brush and trees. However, this one bear was awake, and still in the tree, but already down a branch or two from where it was asleep. 

This bear didn't do very much for a while, so mom and I once again decided to run down to the car to get something, but by the time we returned to the viewing point, they were both down the tree and in an area we could not see them. We waited a little while to see if they would come out into an area we would be able to see them, but they never did, so we moved on. :) 

Mom took this photo of a lone tall tree on the hillside that was behind us while watching the bears. 

 

That pretty much covers those two days.. The next day is another fun adventure, so keep your eyes out for that post coming soon.. :)

Love,
Kayla