Desolation Sound
The Sea Bird spent most of the night anchored near the mouth of the Toba River, which is located at the eastern-most extremity of the fjord system that makes up the inappropriately-named Desolation Sound. I say this because Desolation Sound must surely be one of the most beautiful regions in British Columbia. The river located here at the head of the fjord is a salmon breeding river and we had high hopes of seeing some spawning salmon and perhaps some predators (seals, bears, otters, eagles, etc.) hanging around, too. Thinking this location was very far off the beaten path, we were surprised to find temporary buildings and trucks moving about on a recently constructed road here in the river valley. A quick check on the ship’s internet led us to information about a hydro-electric project being worked upon on the Tabo River. Let’s hope they can avoid damaging the water quality for the salmon who utilize this river.
Right after breakfast, the kayaks were launched and people went off to explore two arms of the river system. There were many harbor seals swimming about hunting salmon near the mouth of the main river, and one eagle was sighted sitting on a tree stump overlooking the same waterway. Several salmon were observed jumping near the two river mouths, and we managed to identify a couple of them as humpback or pink salmon. We encountered misty conditions this morning, with intermittent drizzle, which added a mystical quality to the experience. The left arm of the river led us into dense forest and right up to a series of cataracts which obviously wouldn’t create as much hindrance to spawning salmon as it did to our kayaks. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see what lay farther upstream for the salmon working their way inland. The other arm of the river, the main one, is located in a low, flat, wide, shallow area bordered by both grassy areas and forest edge. One aspect to this forest that was noticed by all was the luxuriant growth of Old Man’s Beard, a hanging, light green-colored, moss-like lichen that is only found in areas with very pure air…it is extremely sensitive to most air pollutants and smog. As the tide came in during our morning stay, the exposed mud banks disappeared beneath the water and we found that even the Zodiacs could go upstream.
The rest of the day was spent cruising through exceptionally scenic inland fjords and channels, punctuated with a brief sighting of four killer whales. Unfortunately, they disappeared behind a group of islets where we couldn’t follow and only a very few of us got to see them. We finished the day at the town of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, where the Sea Bird berthed for several hours in the middle of the night in order to take on some supplies and water.
The Sea Bird spent most of the night anchored near the mouth of the Toba River, which is located at the eastern-most extremity of the fjord system that makes up the inappropriately-named Desolation Sound. I say this because Desolation Sound must surely be one of the most beautiful regions in British Columbia. The river located here at the head of the fjord is a salmon breeding river and we had high hopes of seeing some spawning salmon and perhaps some predators (seals, bears, otters, eagles, etc.) hanging around, too. Thinking this location was very far off the beaten path, we were surprised to find temporary buildings and trucks moving about on a recently constructed road here in the river valley. A quick check on the ship’s internet led us to information about a hydro-electric project being worked upon on the Tabo River. Let’s hope they can avoid damaging the water quality for the salmon who utilize this river.
Right after breakfast, the kayaks were launched and people went off to explore two arms of the river system. There were many harbor seals swimming about hunting salmon near the mouth of the main river, and one eagle was sighted sitting on a tree stump overlooking the same waterway. Several salmon were observed jumping near the two river mouths, and we managed to identify a couple of them as humpback or pink salmon. We encountered misty conditions this morning, with intermittent drizzle, which added a mystical quality to the experience. The left arm of the river led us into dense forest and right up to a series of cataracts which obviously wouldn’t create as much hindrance to spawning salmon as it did to our kayaks. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see what lay farther upstream for the salmon working their way inland. The other arm of the river, the main one, is located in a low, flat, wide, shallow area bordered by both grassy areas and forest edge. One aspect to this forest that was noticed by all was the luxuriant growth of Old Man’s Beard, a hanging, light green-colored, moss-like lichen that is only found in areas with very pure air…it is extremely sensitive to most air pollutants and smog. As the tide came in during our morning stay, the exposed mud banks disappeared beneath the water and we found that even the Zodiacs could go upstream.
The rest of the day was spent cruising through exceptionally scenic inland fjords and channels, punctuated with a brief sighting of four killer whales. Unfortunately, they disappeared behind a group of islets where we couldn’t follow and only a very few of us got to see them. We finished the day at the town of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, where the Sea Bird berthed for several hours in the middle of the night in order to take on some supplies and water.
