With
nearly 1,000 Provincial Parks, National Parks, Marine Parks, Regional
Parks, Protected Areas, Conservancy Areas, and Ecological Reserves. Some
from volcanic rock and full of beauty and natural splendor, Vancouver
Island and the BC Gulf Island and Discovery Islands offer magnificent
rain forests, towering mountains, sparkling blue seas, remote shell
beaches, and secluded bays.
Rugged Central and North Vancouver Island
feature a largely uninhabited wilderness of forests, lakes and
snow-capped peaks. The Pacific Rim on the West coast delivers wild
landscapes, old-growth forest, and never-ending sandy beaches, with
wildlife residents such as black bear, cougar, Elk, bald eagles, a
variety of whales, Vancouver Island is a unique, natural paradise
awaiting exploration through your lens.
The
first area I want to highlight is the Tofino area. Tofino is a pretty
fishing village at the tip of Esowista Peninsula near the entrance to
Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It is here where
you step into the land of the “Group of Seven” painters and capture the
essence of the Pacific Northwest… The Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere
Reserve, typifies the majesty of the Pacific Northwest, boasting
flawless natural beauty accentuated by a tapestry of vibrant
communities.
This area
inspires many renowned artists and artisans, who honor the magic of this
land by bringing it into the physical realm. Add to that a climate that
summons outdoor enthusiasts from all corners of the Earth and it is
clear that this area is poised to please the photographer.
An
ancient settlement on the northern edge of Barkley Sound, Ucluelet
takes its name from the Nuu-chah-nulth phrase, Yu-clutl-ahts, the people
with a good landing place for canoes.
A
bit further south is Ucluelet. Ucluelet is situated in the Long Beach
of Pacific Rim National Park, located between the villages of Tofino and
Ucluelet – the most accessible and most developed component of the
Pacific Rim National Park. Named for its 12-mile stretch of surf-swept
sand, Long Beach is open year-round and offers outstanding beach hiking,
surfing, storm watching and whale watching. The open sea stretches off
unbroken and vacant, while the elemental forces at play here, the winds
and tides, the sun and rain, excite within visitors a deep-seated
resonance, a sense of belonging in this place.
Both
Tofino and Ucluelet are excellent areas to observe, and photograph
numerous whale species, bald eagles that dot the shoreline, and black
bear.
As we move east, we
always visit the charming and picturesque seaside village of Cowichan
Bay. Cowichan Bay is located on the east coast of southern Vancouver
Island, British Columbia. The Cowichan Bay settlement started in the
1850s as a Hudson’s Bay Company fort. The original site was located at
the flats at the top of Cowichan Bay. Cowichan Bay was the earliest
development north of Victoria, with Europeans settling on the secluded
Cowichan Bay to farm and trap, and eventually moving into fishing and
logging. In 1862 the HMS Hecate arrived with a boatload of settlers. A
store and hotel soon followed, and by 1900 Cowichan Bay was a tourist
mecca with steamboats calling regularly at the government dock.
Cowichan
Bay draws its name from an Island Halkomelem word meaning warm country
or land warmed by the sun. The name originated because of a large rock
formation on the side of Mount Tzuhalem that supposedly resembled a frog
basking in the sun. Originally both Cowichan Lake and the settlement
were known as Kaatza, the Cowichan word for big lake. The Cowichan Bay
area and much of the southern Strait of Georgia is the traditional land
of the Cowichan First Nation.
Today,
the village of Cowichan Bay and the surrounding area is home to
historic buildings and a host of artists, craftspeople, unique shops,
and cottage industries – including some fine local wineries and organic
farms. Take a step back in time to enjoy the slower pace of life in this
community that embraces the values of local resources and
sustainability.
But this is
much more than that. All you have to do is look towards the ocean. Its
home to dozens, if not hundreds of transient and resident Orca Whales.
This area has always been our favorite, and first choice to take zodiac
tours to follow the orca pods to watch them frolic, hunt and breach
amidst some of the most photogenic islands in the Pacific Northwest.
The
viewing of wildlife on and around Vancouver Island and the Gulf and
Discovery Islands of BC offers something for all nature lovers and
wildlife photographers. Whale watching requires little introduction, as
British Columbia is well known as the place on earth to watch migrating
and resident whales feeding, breaching or spy-hopping. The phenomenon of
salmon spawning draws people from all over the world to the Pacific
Northwest to watch schools of salmon return from the sea to lay their
roe in their ancestral spawning grounds. Vancouver Island happens to be
conveniently located on the Pacific Flyway for the millions of migrating
birds that miraculously find their way north and south with the
changing of the seasons. Vancouver Island supports black bears, cougars,
wolves, elk, deer and many other mammal and bird species, both abundant
and threatened in numbers.
Whale
watching around Vancouver Island in British Columbia is an exceptional
experience that will leave you awestruck after watching whales that
weigh thousands of pounds frolic in their natural habitat. Killer whales
(Orcas), Gray whales, Humpback whales and Minke whales ply the waves
and perform their watery rituals. Whale Watching tours are operated
along the east coast of Vancouver Island, from Victoria to Campbell
River and Port Hardy, on the west coast of the island out of Tofino and
Ucluelet, and from the BC Gulf Islands and Discovery Islands. Whale
watching at its best!
And
finally, there is Campbell River. Campbell River marks the spot where
the open waters of the Georgia Strait narrow down and fill with a tight
cluster of islands. The BC mainland’s coastal mountain range looms large
to the east.
The
Discovery Passage runs north along the coast of Quadra Island through
Seymour Narrows (famous for its surging tides) and onwards to the
Johnstone Strait. This is prime whale watching and salmon fishing. In
fact, this area has been called the salmon fishing capitol of the world…
and it’s just not humans that know it. The bears know it too.
That
is why I lived in BC for three years, and why we still visit the area.
We go to photograph the black bear and Grizzly Bear as they feed on the
surging salmon coming inland to spawn.
We
have numerous trips running on Vancouver Island… Please visit our
Canadian workshop page as we are constantly adding tours for wildlife
and for landscapes. http://northof49photography.com/photo-workshops/
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