0007 10th May - Elk Falls to Port Hardy

Woke up to a brilliant blue sky and 9 deg C.   I am not sure how long this weather can last – I so did not expect this mostly sunny weather up here at this time of year !!    Anyway, a leisurely breakfast and pack up, a quick stroll around the camp site to get the blood flowing before we sat in the car, and then we continued north towards Port Hardy at the top of Vancouver Island, from where we were due to catch our BC Ferries overnight ride to Prince Rupert.

The road changed from the ocean-side drive we had enjoyed most of yesterday to driving through dense forest which meant that there were not a lot of scenic views to be enjoyed.  Even the enormous Nimpkish Lake was hidden from view by the trees with their heavy spring growth.   But my mountains were back !  Snow covered peaks visible in the distance – I felt quite at home once I could see them again – I have missed them so much for the past two years.

Road signs for deer and elk became more common, although we didn’t see any – Janet thought she saw some kind of bush turkey alongside the road, but I missed it !  The traffic was getting less, which made driving easier after the rush of Seattle, and then Victoria – Which is in fact the State Capital of British Columbia, for those of you who thought Vancouver was the capital !! 

We came to a small town called Woss and decided to stop for a coffee – but all there we could find was a gas station and an empty pub offering Sushi Burgers (??).   And a sign there claiming that this was “Woss Vegas” !!!    So we got a cup of coffee from the gas station and moved on……………..

Lots of logging in this area – At one stage we passed a very long train with just logs on it – Tried to get a photo of it because there were SO many trees on that train, but it didn’t come out too well.

At Port McNeil we sidetracked into town, and after a quick visit to the Information Centre to look for information about camping and things to do in Prince Rupert, found a sunny bench near the ferry terminal to have some lunch.  The air temp is only about 12 deg C, so quite cool, but when in the sun, it is actually quite warm and pleasant.  So we sat there eating our lunch, watching the small local ferry come in, load up a few cars, and set off again.  A very pleasant spot.

After that,  just 50 kms into Port Hardy.  We went into town, and found little but a half eaten carrot (see photos for proof !!), so as it was now 3.30 pm, and we had to check in by 4 pm, we drove round to the ferry terminal and joined the lines.  As usual, various people saw our car and came over for a chat – some locals, some overseas people – All wanting to find out what we were up to !!  The sign writing on the car is really good for getting chatting to people along the way.

At about 5 pm we started loading, and after the slick procedure on our last ferry in Anacortes, this one appeared to be a shambles.  First of all everyone with a trailer or a large motor home had to reverse on because they couldn’t turn round on the ferry – And some of the people were TOTALLY incapable of reversing a caravan or a big motorhome !!  Bit of a farce really.  Anyway, once we had boarded, we sat up on the stern and watched them continue their highly inefficient loading – Surprisingly we managed to leave the docks only 15 minutes past the scheduled 6 pm !! Just before we left we saw an otter scurry cross the rocks, unfazed by all the activity around him.

A quick supper on board, chatting to a few people, and blogging !  Just need wifi to be able to post all this in my blog – I am now 5 days without wifi, which is almost the longest I have gone on a trip without posting !  So apologies to all, but beyond my control !!

We have a cabin on board for the night (we reach Prince Rupert at 4 pm tomorrow), so plan to get up at 5 am when it gets light, and we will be in the interesting section where the Inside Passage really begins.  Can’t wait – I have wanted to do this section of the trip for SO long, and finally am doing it. 

Photos here : https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0007CampbellRiverToPortHardy?authkey=Gv1sRgCICf97PL39eQKw#