Grand Tour 2026 - pt 3

Grizzlies

Grizzly mum with cub born earlier this year

Not uninvited ones you'll appreciate, but wild nevertheless.  More later.

A relic at the awful 'one night only' campsite - 
a project probably long planned and never started

We've been exploring the top of Vancouver Island in the last few days, having driven up via four nights at Qualicum Beach.  

In fact we had an extra day there as we escaped the previous camp a day earlier than planned.  Not a location we felt comfortable in.

Our past visits to southern Vancouver Island, largely along the coast road, have not been that inspiring, so this trip we were determined to explore more widely and inland and some islands. 

With the exception of our first night's campsite it has been much more rewarding.  

The main town of Qualicum Beach, as distinct from the part of town on the coast highway, was full of character and though the RV resort was ok, it gave us a good base to explore from.  

Nice piece of quarter sawn Oak
alongside the toys!

We were in town on Farmer's Market Day, which had a real buzz to it and a great townsfolk get-together by all accounts.  Great boutiques and cafe culture, plus an opportunity to stock up on local produce and for me to get a haircut!  

Out of the 110 or so stalls, they also had a bunch of craft stalls including a fella that made amazing wooden toys.  

We discovered a lovely area of woodland, trails and river alongside the camp that had secluded beach area on to the Little Qualicum River; a great cooling off spot in clear water and with just a few people there at the weekend, but during the week it was empty!

After a few days of exploring and hiking around the Qualicum area we drove up to Seal Bay just North of Comox.  

With a Toyota dealer in Comox it was a chance to get the brakes checked on my truck.  Bad news, all brake discs (rotors out here) and pads needed replacing due to overheating.  Ouch!  Worse, they suggested getting the trailer brakes checked. I managed to get it done the following day with a local specialist which resulted in another bill!

Seal Bay was one of the most beautiful campsites we have been to and we had an amazing pitch looking over the lake and a local, and noisy, bullfrog colony.  

Seal Bay Camp - view from our trailer

The camp was next to a forest that provided some great walks including down to the water in Seal Bay itself.

We got chatting to our neighbours over a few 'beverages' who were great source of information about our onward destinations in Vancouver Island North.

They warned that our next campground at Alder Bay was not quite as pretty with RV's a bit more packed in.  They were right, though we had a good, roomy spot with great views across the bay to Cormorant and Malcolm Islands.  Fred had booked a 'premium' site so it was worth it.

Alder Bay, our last stop on Vancouver Island, is 2.5 hrs further north from Seal Bay.  It's near Port McNeill, a short distance from Vancouver Island's most northerly town of Port Hardy.  

While wildfires rage in other parts of BC, the weather here has been distinctly cooler... fire-free and wet. Camp fires are still permitted and the countryside is green. We left Seal Bay in 30c and arrived at Alder Bay to an overcast 14c.  Alder Bay proved to be a good base for exploring the north of the island.  

Telegraph Cove

First stop was Telegraph Cove - a quaint fishing harbour and marina a few clicks south of us.  

It is one of the top destinations in 'North Island' as its referred to here.  Many of the old historical buildings on the far side of the harbour are rented out as holiday lets.  

Sadly a large chunk of the Cove burnt down in 2024 after an electrical fire.  The green building and everything to the right, in the distance were destroyed, including all the boardwalk. 

The red whale information centre (far right) is still to be finished, as well as a dwelling on the hill behind the middle red building which is still a charred remnant.  It was from the Cove that my Grizzly boat trip departed at 0700 the following morning.  

Grizzly Girl - our steed for the day

Jack loves boats but was not allowed; Fred doesn't love boats, so they kept each other company while I was out on the boat for just under 10 hours heading up the Knight Inlet.  A round trip of 130 nm watching Orca, Humpbacks and Grizzlies.   

The trip did not disappoint.  We saw two mother Grizzlies and cubs.  The first with a 'Cub of the Year' (COY) about half way out on our trip.  

They were feeding on the inter-tidal zone eating a mix of barnacles, clams (shell and all), crabs, mussels and a type of sea cucumber.  

Mum and COY

Further up the Knight Inlet in Glendale Cove, where they feed on Sedge Grasses, we saw a mother and yearling.

Mum and yearling

The trip was run by Tide Rip Grizzly Adventures and on our boat of 12 we had a skipper and a naturalist who took us through the Grizzly ecology.  When not leading tours in BC our skipper spends her winter leading marine excursions in Antarctica helming a Zodiac; the other in NZ leading adventure tours.  On our trip they went above and beyond. In the reed beds of Glendale Cove, they donned waders to drag the boat into the reeds to get closer to the bears (though still a safe distance).  It was an amazing day.  

As well as exploring Port Hardy, Port McNeill and Port Alice we took a BC Ferries ferry - the Island Aurora, a hybrid electric vessel, very smooth and quiet - across to Malcolm Island.  A 25-minute crossing from Port McNeill.  

The island was an Utopian Finnish Colony at the beginning of the 20th century, when in 1901 the main town of Sointula, meaning 'place of harmony' in Finnish, was formed as a co-operative, self-sustaining utopia.  It was a short-lived experiment as after a fire in the community hall in 1903 which killed 11 people, the colony collapsed in 1905 though the town retains strong Scandinavian connections.

There was a quirky arty feel to much of Malcolm Island.  From campsites with a makeshift chess table fixed to a log, to driftwood art and pieces of artwork nailed to power poles along the side of the road.

The 24km main highway which stretches along the backbone of the Island is a dirt track and the total population is only around 700 people.   Nowadays the island is dependent on fishing, forestry and tourism.  By coincidence, my voice (singing) coach knows the area well, his father was a fisherman in the area and was born in Sointula.  As a boy he helped his father on the fishing boat and knows Malcolm Island, Port McNeill and Port Hardy well.  

Beachside mobile

As we have driven round this part of Vancouver Island we have been struck by how quiet the beaches, some campsites, towns and trails have been at the height of the holiday season.

Wednesday 29th we head back to the Coast, to Lund, 18km north of Powell River for 6 days to explore the top of the Sunshine Coast.  Powell River is only accessible by ferry.  Either from Comox, on Vancouver Island (our inbound route) or from Earl's Cove (on our bit of the Coast) to Saltery Bay, which will be our route home. 

Yearling checking out the area!

Yearling getting too much attention

Looking out the corner of his eye

Mum and COY

Fuzzy cub

Mum

Cub

Reflections - Big Lake on Malcolm Island

Big Lake on Malcolm Island

Northern Resident Orca on Grizzly trip

Knight Inlet

Telegraph Cove

Telegraph Cove

Telegraph Cove - In need of TLC

Alder Bay - sunny the day before

Malcolm Island - House sign

Designer outdoor shower

Malcolm Island Hwy

Malcolm Island

Seal Bay sunset