One of the downsides of moving to Vancouver Island just before COVID is that I felt very stuck. Even after travel restrictions lifted, I started to realize how much money and effort it can take to get off the island – in my case, ferries, planes, taxis, or rental cars must be involved. But upon reflection, I haven’t actually explored much of this island that I live on, an island that is not by any means small. This summer, my sister drove up from Arizona and the two of us set off on a whirlwind adventure to Vancouver Island North.

We started our journey by driving up to Campbell River, home of the Laich-kwil-tach Peoples, which include the Wei Wai Kum and We Wai Kai First Nations. We eventually landed at Quinsam Campground, but spent most of the day meandering our way there; first by taking a walking tour of Victoria with my husband, saying goodbye to my elderly dog who is no longer up for such a journey, and stopping in Nanaimo for my sister’s first-ever Nanaimo Bar. We arrived at the campground in the late afternoon, then started our journey the next day with a quick stop at Elk River Falls. One of the highlights of the Elk Falls Provincial Park is the 60 meter long suspension bridge that hangs over a steep canyon and overlooks the falls. Neither of us are big fans of heights, but it’s worth the jelly knees to walk across the bridge and get a better glimpse of this spectacular falls.

The primary reason for visiting Campbell River was to go out on a whale watching tour. I chose Aboriginal Journeys because it is locally owned and the tour operator has more than 40 years of experience on the water. This ended up being an important factor because we started the day following a pod of orcas that decided to swim the Seymour Narrows, a dangerous waterway where two tides meet to form a treacherous collision of waters involving riptides and whirlpools. As the orcas struggled to fight the strong currents, we were able to watch them at a distance for a couple of hours. The orca sightings were punctuated with glimpses of sea lions, seals, terns, cormorants, loons, and gulls.

In late afternoon, we headed south to more open waters and found a spot near Mitlenatch Island Nature Provincial Park where we were, according to our guide Garry Henkel, “floating in humpback soup.” This was my favourite part of the day, sitting silent on the still water, surrounded by cool mountains and a blue sky. It was like floating through clouds, the only sounds the slap of water against the side of the boat and the puff of humpbacks spouting in the distance.

We watched their dorsal fins arc across the surface of the sea several times, then the flick of their tails at before they disappeared into the depths. While awaiting sightings, we floated around the island, looking at the birds, seals, and sea lions that come there to rest. I could have stayed in that dreamland for the rest of the trip.

Between adventures, we enjoyed exploring the trails through the campgrounds and the Canyon View Trail across the street, which runs along the Campbell River. We came during Labour Day weekend, in the early parts of the annual coho salmon run, and the banks of the river were crowded with fisherman and wildlife looking for their next meal.

While I hoped to spot a bear (from very far away), we were mostly treated to visits with birds, including a vulture, a heron, and a raven that lead us down one of the trails. A small rabbit peeked into our campsite on multiple occasions, nibbling fresh grass while watching us prepare meals and play cards in the evenings.

Due to Labour Day weekend restrictions, we were obligated to spend three nights at the same campground and missed many great sights on the drive up. The day after whale watching, we backtracked a little to Nymph Falls in the Comox Valley. This beautiful series of waterfalls is just a short hike from the parking area, and the crystal blue water was just warm enough for a quick dip on a hot day. I had an underwater case for my phone, and was able to snap a couple of photos of the little fish living at the base of the falls.

On the drive back we noticed signs for Seal Bay Regional Nature Park, and stopped hoping they might have washrooms in the parking lot (they did). But they also had a beautiful trail looping through a fern-covered forest. One arm of the trail winds down a cliff to the seashore, full of birds and seals sunning themselves on the rocks and in the shallow water.

Even with three days to explore, we barely scratched the surface of all there is to do in this region, but it was the perfect start to our road trip.