It wasn't long after I got settled in when I got a phone call from the Moresby Island Explorers. Even though my four day tour was cancelled, there was enough people for a 2 day tour. I indicated that I was very interested in the tour and after chatting about a few technicalities I found myself in a much different state of mind than earlier that day. What a whirlwind of a day, from disgruntled and dejected, to excited and enthusiastic. I'm glad I didn't take that ferry back over to Graham Island.
The day of the tour with the Moresby Island Explorers had arrived. 7:30 am sharp I was picked up by a white van. Laura, our guide for our trip as well as the owner, came and knocked on the door of the Bay View Garden bed and breakfast. I and my little bit of luggage (that I did not need) got put into the van and off we went. In the van was a lovely Australian lady named Diane we then had to drive to the Alliford Bay ferry terminal to pick up two more people who wanted to go on the tour. When we got to the ferry terminal the two people we were supposed to pick up ended up being only one. Elrich from the Netherlands was our only other companion for our expedition.
As we made our way down the logging roads to Moresby Camp, where Moresby Island Explorers kept there Zodiacs, Laura regaled us with the history of the local points of interest along the way. Elrich really wanted to see bears when he was in Canada, he thought that bears would make his Canada trip complete. Diane was on a bit of a bear themed trip, she was already on Kodiak Island in Alaska and after this trip she was off to Churchill Manitoba to see some polar bears.
Bears!
Well it seemed bears were the first order of business on our trip. Just before we got to Moresby Camp we turned off into a fish hatchery where the salmon were blocked from going up stream to spawn by a large metal gate spanning the river that had a little bridge over it. This spot was popular for fisherman and bears, lots of bears! There was mothers with cubs and solo male bears as well, and as far as we could tell they were all getting along.
We stayed here for about a half an hour or so until a larger male decided he wanted to fish in the spot we were in, well we kind of scared him off first when we arrived. Retreating to the van we decided to leave the bears alone and continue on our adventure. What a start to our trip, we had not even got on our boat yet and we were already seeing wildlife. Elrich, now had his bear sighting under his belt with a few pictures to boot had now met his criteria for what a tourist should see when visiting Canada, that is until he heard there might be a whale sighting. Well that was just to much for him, a bear sighting and then a possibility of a whale sighting, well as far a Elrich was concerned that would be the cherry on top for his trip to Canada.
We reached the boat launch, we dawned our outfits and Laura tended to the Zodiac. The boat was a fine vessel indeed, it had a rigid hull with inflatable pontoons affixed to it, there was two rows of saddle like seating that popped up and revealed an area for dry storage. If the boat was full of people there really would not be much room for storage, but since it was just the four of us there was plenty of room, and like I said before, we did not even really need all that space anyways. We ended up wearing just about all of our clothes and we had our cameras and water bottles out with us. The only reason we used the dry storage is if we were too hot we might have thrown a sweater we were wearing down there.
While the other guests choose their spot on the saddle seating I opted to be facing backward on the bow. Being that I have rode in Zodiacs before I knew the bow was a comfortable place to be, with a cushion of course, and that I would not be facing the inevitable wind that blows like crazy in your face. The only slight downfall to be facing backwards is that you do not get to see the beautiful scenery coming before you, but the the scenery out the back of the boat is in actuality just as breathtaking.
Even on the hottest days in summer is a good idea to be properly dressed for the boat tour. Out on the water the breeze can be very cold and in your eyes. You should always have layered polyester clothing, NO COTTON, a hat like a beanie, hunters cap or toque that can come down over your ears, gloves, thick wool or polyester socks, sunscreen and sunglasses to block the wind and sun from getting into your eyes. Taking the time to bring these items can save you from a great amount of discomfort and thus make your expedition more enjoyable.
Eagles!
Once we were out in the Zodiac it wasn't long before “hawk eye” Laura spotted some eagles perched on some poles sticking out of the water from an abandoned logging camp. She slowed down the boat and ever so slowly and quietly approached the pole the eagles were perched on. She had obviously done this many times before as we were able to get very close to the eagles and get a good look and pictures as well. Eventually we got a little too close for comfort as far as the eagles were concerned and they flew off up into a tree where there was another adult eagle and a juvenile one too. It was only after we had our fill of eagle watching that Laura fired up the motor and we headed toward our first landing at Mathers Creek.