Recently, I headed north out of Victoria to visit Port McNeill. My mother had decided that a fitting way to spend her birthday was to sit on a boat in the Johnstone Strait watching orcas. My parents live in Scotland. It's a long way to come, but I'm not complaining that they decided to visit their son. Luckily, I have friends in Port McNeill, and even better, they run a resort there. Yes, we got a good rate for the rooms we stayed in due to that connection, so there's the full disclosure.
We left late enough to avoid any commuter traffic on the Malahat, and had a long clear run up to Parksville. An average cup of coffee was had at the Pacific Brimm Cafe (the pun is better than the java), and then a change of drivers at the Tim Horton's in Campbell River. Then scenery started get interesting. Long sweeps of highway, wending through the pine forests. Great fun to drive, a single lane highway, but on a lovely sunny day I was starting to wish for a convertible.
We hit Port McNeill mid-afternoon and checked into the Black Bear Resort, which is on the hillside above downtown Port McNeill. Or in my English parlance... the town centre. Port McNeill is a town of around 2,600 folks. Not very big, but up here the nearest next major place is Port Hardy, with 4,000 people, 40km away. It's the distance between places that gives them their own specialness, not the just the size.
Port McNeill exists on a mix of tourism, forestry and the working a big gravel pit. The town has a marina for pleasure craft, a BC Ferry that serves Sointula and Alert Bay, and a few shops and restaurants. Everyday there started with a low mist over the strait, which rose as the day went on revealing the coastal mountains on the mainland of BC. Sointula is on Malcolm Island, pretty much the last island of the coast of Vancouver Island before the open water of Charlotte Sound, and the Pacific. As such, it's cold water out there. I declined to take a swim.
We got in, refreshed after the drive, and hit the Northern Lights restaurant at the Haida Way Inn (Hide-away, get it? No? Neither did I for about 24 hours). There was a wide range of specials and standard meals, all towards the fine dining end, but not quite into the gourmet end. Actually, the menu reminded me of a British bistro circa 1995. Nothing now seems that adventurous, but it's not pies, burgers and fried food, either. Being by the sea, I went for the Seafood platter. Halibut, Salmon, Shrimp and Scallops, with corn bread and vegetables. The shrimp and scallops were excellent. Moist, tender, exactly what I want in seafood. The fish was okay. As a friend tells me, fish is so often over cooked when you dine out. And this was no exception. The salmon had just started to dry out, leaving it just the wrong side of done for me. Same with the halibut, which was just getting to the flaky stage. Still, a meal with family, on the hill above the ocean with good service.
An early night, with the joys of cable television to entertain me for a couple of hours. I don't have cable at home, so a diet of Discovery Channel and Food Network was nice to just browse around. Morning was a buffet breakfast (with make-your-waffles...) and plenty of coffee. Sorted me out perfectly, and we took a stroll down to the ferry, and made our way to Alert Bay.
Alert Bay is on Cormorant Island, but the village pretty much takes the whole of the island, and is home to part 'Namgis first nation. Features of the island include a traditional Big House, used extensively for band meetings, the world's tallest totem pole, a nice little high street and the Everglades. No crocodiles in the Everglades, but a fresh water swamp at the top of the hill above Alert Bay, man made a few decades ago when the salmon cannery dammed the stream, and caused the spring to flood the hill. We took a walk around their, and back along the board-walk in time for a coffee, bun and the boat back home. Where I cooked steaks on the BBQ with home-made salads for the family and our hosts (green salad and potato salad). Later on, several drinks by myself were had in the Haida Way Inn. And that's all you need to know about that.
I took a run the next day to work of the night before, while the folks took a massage in the spa. My morning was not as relaxing, but well needed... and there's worst places to go for a jog around. Though I suspect I'd not have taken the woodland paths if I'd been told before hand of the local bear and cougar currently walking around. Mind you, I might have broken my own record for the mile if I had come across one.
Refreshed, we took a walk to the logger sports day. Presented by a New Zealander, this was a group of half a dozen gentleman and half dozen ladies cutting up big and small bits of timber as quickly as possible under a variety of different conditions. No limbs were lost, despite the use of chainsaws, and axes swung (and thrown) around. The best event was the chainsaw drag race... souped up chainsaws waved through chunks of white pine as fast as possible. Quiet and serene it was not.
Dinner was had at the Sportsman, a Greek restaurant, also advertising steak, chicken, pizza, curry, pasta.... I'm usually sceptical of that many styles. Here it was only partly justified. I had a great piece of roast chicken, and a nice pile of veg from the salad bar. We came back the next night (as the other option was closed on Sunday) and had decent ribs with a insipid lasagne. The prime rib my father had was judged okay, but far too large for a normal appetite. The halibut my mum had was deemed good. So a mixed bunch. Service the first night was spotty (slow, monosyllabic yet rushed the first night, spot on the second with a different waitress). I'd go again for the salad bar and ribs.
Finally, though, the big day arrived. My mother's big trip out on a boat, to see whales. McKay's Whale Watching were our hosts on the 'Naiad Explorer', an aluminium hulled twin engined boat designed to run fast, but silent under water. Our hosts Nicki and Bill at first intended to head out west to see if the local resident pod of orcas was coming back down the strait. But a change of plan after a call from another boat in the area, and we were treated to a 30 minute display of orca hunting a porpoise and dolphin along the shores of Vancouver Island. The big Mother orca first flicked a porpoise about 10 foot in the air, and while her brood trailed behind, she gave chase to dolphin, which tried to keep ahead, but was eventually caught after circling around.
We had the view of the big whale breaching several times, with her companions (including a small calf) struggling to keep up the chase. And then after this display of the brutality of nature, we got too see a couple of hump back whales, a Dall's Porpoise and it's tiny calf, a whole load of lazy harbour seals and nesting Golden Eagles. I love harbour seals. They look so content on land, like a big snoozing dog, and so happy when in the water. Of course, these guys weren't being chased by a killer whale...
Bill and Nicki served up a decent pot of soup, and some cakes for a snack later on the trip. Both were highly informative of the local wildlife, what was happening around us, and a bit of history of the area. And on the way back, we saw a black bear, ambling along the sea front... just about where I had been running the day before.
Next day, it was goodbye to Black Bear (who I'd recommend even if I didn't know the Manager... clean, comfortable, great shower, great service, nice pool and tub for a relax in as well) and back down the island.
We stopped briefly in Telegraph Cove and looked around the whale museum, complete with skeletons of the sea life we'd seen the day before. While sitting and watching the world on the pier, we also saw more Dall's Porpoises in the mouth of the cove, gallivanting around. The cove has a very nice series of heritage houses, converted for short stays, and plenty of information about the history of the place. It seems to be a popular jumping of point for adventure kayakers heading into the Broughton Archipelago.
The only place I'd note on the trip back was Sue's Place, about 5 kilometres north of Campbell River. Huge doorsteps of sandwiches for a good price. Or a perfectly sized hot dog... if you have a big appetite (I often do when driving). I'd recommend it as a place to stop before or after the 200 km tip to the North End of island.
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