Our first day of the voyage dawned bright with our first wildlife sighting of the day, a humpback whale logging near the surface. Those who ventured out of breakfast in time, got a sighting before it disappeared beneath the surface to find its own meal of plankton or forage fish. The rest of the morning was spent in briefings, staff introductions, and how things work aboard the ship, while we cruised northward to our destination at the northern end of Georgia Strait. After lunch we ventured out into Desolation Sound Marine Provincial Park to explore a beautiful wilderness of sheltered bays and islets by Zodiacs, kayaks and paddleboards. A few hardy travelers went ashore to bushwhack their way from cove to cove. Towards the end of the day, we cruised northward to our next destination at Alert Bay, British Columbia.
10/8/2024
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National Geographic Venture
Desolation Sound Marine Park
Mr. Vancouver must have been having a bad day back in 1792 to call this place “Desolation Sound,” because our day was relaxation-bound in this beautiful corner of the British Columbian coastline. We sailed the morning into the forever waters of the Tla’amin, leaving Vancouver’s island and historical misery in our wake. Windows of blue skies peeked out from behind billowing nimbus and wispy cirrus as we arrived at Tenedos Bay. Some went on hikes through the explosion of maple leaves in full fall color and into the lush forest filled with recently sprouted mushroom fruits. Others explored the islands via their own paddle power beneath the bald eagles and kingfishers as they kayaked around the steep cliffs of the interior batholiths. And still others chose to cruise the bay aboard Zodiacs, using vortices from the prop to bring the boiling moon jelly bloom closer to the surface to investigate. We also saw touring harbor seal haul outs in the stunningly quiet, resplendent Desolation Sound. Now, onward to Alert Bay to continue the ad-Venture!