Discovery Islands (Surge Narrows)

Tidal rapids and currents, sea urchins, star fish, sea anemones and emerald waters are highlights of our recent paddling trip to this area.

Quadra Island - If you drive up to the northeastern part of the island towards the area of the Surge Narrows rapid viewing trail, you'll encounter a boat launch from where you can start your paddling trip.

A nice day trip takes you through Surge Narrows Marine Park where you can paddle into little bays and rocks. Lots of starfish and bat stars to be seen around the rocks. We puttered around from 11am till 4pm and had lots of time to play in the current.

Discovery Lodge is a great option for hard-roof lodging.

More to follow...

Brooks Peninsula Version 2014

 

The road to Side Bay is now easier to access. Remember to bring a tire repair kit and make sure to check your spare tire before starting off on this adventure.  Sometimes roads get decommissioned by the logging company. Before even heading out of town, you may also want to call the logging company that holds the contract for the area. Refer to the latest Backroad Map Book (Vancouver Island). You still have to watch out for logging trucks. 

We were going to paddle over to Guillaume Bay but ended up staying at Heater Point due to weather. 

 

 

 

Revisiting Vargas Island

(September 21 to 27 ) A new campspot for us on Vargas. A new experience.

Launched from Tofino inlet.
We paddled through the inside/inlet in order to get to the northern part of the island. This route ensured a flatter and safer way to travel especially with kids and paddlers new to ocean kayaking. This route also meant we paid attention to the tide changes as hitting the current flowing in the opposite direction isn't anybody's idea of a picnic. It still meant a surf landing on our sandy beach...but all was fine.

There is an established campsite here. There is a toilet in the woods. There is also a food cache/locker.

This is the rainforest. It rained a lot.
There was a storm that brought high swells that flooded our beach (and our tents). The storm also brought pro surfers.

After watching the surfers for hours, it was our turn to play in the water. We changed to our swimsuits and we ALL went for a swim.

We went for a hike from our beach to the beach just north of Ahous Bay.

The seemingly endless days of rain cut the trip short for some people. The kids had no more dry clothes. Our party of 14 dwindled down to 7.

We stayed for 2 more nights.
We fished and played in the water.

The day we left, the sun shone.

Paddling back, the route we took was on the west coast of the island. There were swells but nothing out of the ordinary. It was a beautiful sunny day.

Almost the Brooks (August 2014)

We launched from Side Bay and headed towards Heater Point. We decided Heater Point would be our base camp as we were quite rusty with all of our sea skills haha. 3 nights here and we didn't see any boats ...not a soul. 

We were told by a campsite neighbour (a former logger and wilderness guide) at Side Bay that August has been the best window of time to hit the north Brooks weatherwise.

Another trip to Guillam Bay and Crabapple Islets awaits.

Arriving at Heater Point