| WEATHER: What can we say? Sun is out, weather is warm. Life is good. With another week of wonderful weather here at King Pacific Lodge we quickly forget about the cold rainy days of winter and embrace the warm sun on our faces. The wild flowers are happy and the baby black bear cub often found in Cameron Cove enjoys these days of sunshine playing with his mother in the estuary, without a care in the world.
WILDLIFE/ACTIVITES: Whales, whales, whales! We got our fix of ocean life out on the water this week . With some more stunning close up views of enormous groups of humpback whales bubble net feeding and our new additions to the BC coast the Fin Whale. It seemed every way we went out on the water this week, we were overwhelmed with whales. Fishing ended up being put on the back burner to stop and watch when to our left a pod of 20 plus transient orcas came threw the channel and to our right 12 plus humpbacks were feeding next to the boat. An incredible sight.
We have 2 types of Killer whales here in the Great Bear Rainforest. Resident Orcas and Transient Orcas. The Resident Orcas feed on salmon and transient orcas feed on other smaller whales, sharks, sea lions and seals. But when witnessing these magnificent creators, it’s easy to forget the harsh reality of nature. The day following the transient orcas passing through our waters, we unknowingly adopted an orphaned baby seal. The seal was no more than a few weeks old and mother was killed by these transients the day before. The seal pup managed to seek shelter behind our lodge, safe from any dangers lurking in deeper waters. But being orphaned at such a young age, the seal would not survive on its own for too long. Luckily close by in Prince Rupert, we have a animal rescue center and we were able to bring the pup into caring hands.
King Pacific Lodge shares this land not only with the local wildlife in our backyard but also with many different First Nations communities that have lived and survived here for thousands of years. The early peoples of the BC coast lived on the bounty that the sea and what the forest provided them. We still see remnants of past memories of these people who at once flourished these parts without the troubles of the modern world by stumbling across old burial grounds, petroglyphs and ancient totems carved into giant cedars which now lay quietly coated in moss amongst the forest floor. But the way of life as not been forgotten here on this remote coast. Many communities close by still keep their traditions and language alive through appreciation of what knowledge their ancestors left for them. Many guests take interest in our culture here in British Columbia and are able to take part in seeing some of these secret and sacred villages that haven’t changed for hundreds of years.
OCEAN FISHING: Salmon fishing brought excitement to the dock this week, when a 12 year old girl came back with the biggest Chinook of the season! A 49 pound beautiful salmon! Her younger twin brother will forever be tormented until he comes back with one bigger!
FLY-FISHING: These pristine rivers are teeming with life these days. Cut-throat trout, pinkies, coho and chum are in the thousands swimming upstream, on the Khutze, Gamble, Altanash and Green Rivers this week. Guests caught endless fish on the fly, fulfilling all expectations and enjoyed the Great Bear Rainforest at its most bountiful. Grizzlies and coastal wolves joined many of us on the river this week, fishing beside one another, man and beast together enjoying the feast of the day.
CONCLUSION: Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books. –John Lubbock |
