A new day, a new month & a new destination. Sydney & Calgary were ticked off the list. Next stop, Vancouver Island.
After an early start we dropped off the truck to Enterprise (car rental) who were good enough to show up to work a little early & drop us at the airport so we could meet our flight (above). We made it in good time. During the flight to Vancouver we were treated to a great view of the Rocky Mountains. It was a bit sad to say good-bye to the mountains as we knew it would likely be quite a few years before we would be back.
We had a short stop over in Vancouver were there isn't much to do except watch the aircraft come & go (above). Our little Dash-8 (below) finally arrived for our 15 minute flight over to Nainimo on Vancouver Island. It seemed pointless to fly for 15 minutes but the alternative is a lengthy bus then ferry ride that would lose us half a day. The around the world ticket meant that it wasn't a costly exercise anyway.
In hindsight we should have flown to Campbell River instead of Nainimo
. I'm not too sure what was going through my head when I was planning this part of the trip, but it was too late to change by then. Nainimo Airport is quite a distance from the township so it was a fairly lengthy (and expensive) cab ride to pick up the hire car. We hadn't even left the airport concourse before our driver ran into the back of the cab in front! My poor planning decision was turning into a nightmare! We picked up our hire car (and it was a car this time) & set off for Campbell River about 140 kms to the north.
An hour & 45 mins later we arrived at our hotel. It was a great spot right at the marina overlooking the waters of Discovery Passage & Quadra island. After getting settled in the place we'd be for the next four nights we jumped back in the car & drove 10kms up Campbell River to the Elk Falls provincial Park. There are a number of trails in the small park & we chose a short loop that takes in Elk Falls (below). The park is full of old growth cedar & redwood trees. It was awesome to be surrounded by such colossal trees.
Elk falls is close to the car park & after a couple of photo opportunities we continued along the circuit.
A couple of hundred metres along the path, I spotted movement across a pond. A black bear! It came down to the edge & jumped in! It took a little while to work out what it was doing, but it soon became clear. During the salmon run
, the fish spawn, die & float down river. The black bear was scavenging the fish floating along the river. I guess it's easier to catch dead fish than live ones. Smart!
The bear left the water with the fish & melted back into the bushes.
Upstream toward the end of the circuit the river opens out into a large pond. This is where we met 5 o'clock Charlie (above & below). At 5 o'clock on 3 different afternoons, the same bear came out of the bushes, snacked on a few fish & continued along his daily path. This guy didn't even have to jump into the water because there was a raft of fish right next to the bank. He simply fished them out with his paw, ate the choicest bits & moved onto the next one. Judging by the piles of fish on the bank, this bear had a productive routine going.
After he'd had enough, he walked up beside the waterfall (Moose Falls) & disappeared out of sight.... until 5pm the next afternoon.
A new day, a new month & a new destination. Sydney & Calgary were ticked off the list. Next stop, Vancouver Island.
We had a short stop over in Vancouver were there isn't much to do except watch the aircraft come & go (above). Our little Dash-8 (below) finally arrived for our 15 minute flight over to Nainimo on Vancouver Island. It seemed pointless to fly for 15 minutes but the alternative is a lengthy bus then ferry ride that would lose us half a day. The around the world ticket meant that it wasn't a costly exercise anyway.
Elk falls is close to the car park & after a couple of photo opportunities we continued along the circuit.
The bear left the water with the fish & melted back into the bushes.
Upstream toward the end of the circuit the river opens out into a large pond. This is where we met 5 o'clock Charlie (above & below). At 5 o'clock on 3 different afternoons, the same bear came out of the bushes, snacked on a few fish & continued along his daily path. This guy didn't even have to jump into the water because there was a raft of fish right next to the bank. He simply fished them out with his paw, ate the choicest bits & moved onto the next one. Judging by the piles of fish on the bank, this bear had a productive routine going.
After he'd had enough, he walked up beside the waterfall (Moose Falls) & disappeared out of sight.... until 5pm the next afternoon.
