Our final day of exploring the inland waters of the Pacific Northwest! It has been an incredible journey and we took a final chance to fill our memories and camera cards to capacity. An exploratory day, we began by arriving to Wallace Island. An islet not far from Nanaimo, British Columbia and a Canadian provincial park we landed ashore at the dock and took walks along the trails to discover some of the old resort history there. Some were fortunate enough to see mink and otter, while others were quite happy to find sea stars in the intertidal area. The afternoon saw National Geographic Venture reposition to De Courcy Island where a final opportunity to kayak was offered, as well as walks ashore. It has been a beautiful adventure and the Pacific Northwest has certainly worked its way into everyone’s heart.
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!