25 April, 2006 (Tuesday)

Hot springs tour. Canadian wildlife.

An early morning wake up and check out. Emily had a shower and left half a bathtub of water on the bathroom floor. Apparently she doesn't believe in drying off, just wraps a towel around herself and drips dry.

The girls had been pretty excited to go whale watching while we were in Tofino, but the late night motel gal suggested doing a hot springs tour instead. So Lauren and Emily had a dilemma, whale watching or hot springs with the chance of whales? Lauren ended up making the call, so it was at 9am that we found ourselves outside the Ocean Outfitters signing up for across-Island hot springs tour. (Picture: Sea lions off Seagull Guano Rock)


$100 investment
One hundred dollars (each) later we were skipping across the waves on a dual motor boat, a first nations guide at the wheel. The boat held 12-tourists, mainly middle-aged Albertan women with pierced noses. A bumpy ride, the girls spent most of the ride out in the open back section of the boat. We glided by sea lions and an island of seagull guano. Canadian seagulls are huge.

The boat ride to the hot springs island took an hour. From the jetty it was a further 20 minute walk through rain forest to the springs themselves. The rainforest walk was over a well maintained boardwalk, all green and peaceful. It was warm in the sun, with just a hint of a breeze. (Picture: Rainforest walk)


Hot Springs
The hot springs are located in a sheltered cove. A side-effect of volcanic activity, they bubble up amongst igneous and metamorphic rocks under intense heat and pressure. upon reaching the surface the water starts to cool, running into the cold ocean. The hot springs are a regular tourist attraction with dozens of tour groups stripping off each day. We had two-and-a-half hours to enjoy them before we were due back at the boat.

All four of us stripped down to our swimming togs and splashed into the sulfurous waters. Initially the smell of rotten egg was dominant, but it soon faded. The inner waters were too warm for me, so I stretched out in one of the pools closer to the ocean. The heated warmth made my legs tingle and toes burn.

Before too long I started to feel too warm, light headed and slack limbed. Scaling the uneven walls of the pool I carefully picked my way to the ocean edge. The waves were lapping fitfully up to the rock shelf, barnacles providing an uneven surface for my feet. I shuffled over the edge and into freezing water. Almost immediately my legs were numbed and my head cleared. Sean and the gals refused to step too close to the ocean edge. (Picture: Hot Springs running into the ocean)

Lunch was pre-made ham sandwiches as we took in the view. The wind picked up and clouds covered the warm sun. Emily dozed.


On the way back
We were back on the boat promptly at 3pm. Nobody was left behind, although for one of the Albertan piercing ladies it was a close thing. The ride back was less bumpy. Along the way our guide pulled part-way into an underwater cave, pointing out a group of starfish.

We briefly parked in a small bay where he pointed out a large eagle's nest in the heights of a pine tree. A fishing line was pulled out from a storage compartment and our guide bid us join him on the back deck. He threw his line into the waters of the bay, and before 10 seconds had passed was reeling in a fish. A few strikes of a mallet and the fish went still. Our guide then started to whistle, two sharp bursts, and an eagle appeared and began to circle the boat. With a quick flick of his wrist our guide launched the fish into the waters, where the eagle dove and snatched it with it's talons, taking it back to it's nest in the tree. We all couldn't believe it. Lauren asked what it takes to tame an eagle. Our guide laughed, "about twenty years".

Another ten minutes of bumping over waves and our guide bid everybody to quieten, "there's a bear over there drinkin'. If you guys pipe down I'll try and get closer. Maybe close enough to poke it in the ass." I wasn't sure if i wanted to poke a black bear in the ass, or for that matter anywhere, but we all quietened. Well, all of us but the Albertan piercing ladies who seemed to have a need to cackle uncontrollably. The boat glided closer to shore and we all got to see a black bear in the wild.

Further along we saw a convoy of boats hugging the coast. It was a few minutes before we saw the first Orca. Orcas, also known as killer whales, are a species of toothed whale. There are stories of their aggressiveness as well as playful natures. Stories of flailing porpoises alive for their blubber, of them playing volleyball with hapless sea lions using their tails, of them dancing in celebration after a kill. Killer whales are predators, and the Clayouton Sound area (that Tofino is part of) often plays host to gangs of Orcas.

There were three Orcas in the gang that we followed, two large bulls and a smaller female. Our boat paralleled them as they leapt and dove, their great bodies rising out of the water one after another. The cameras went wild in a bid to capture their movements in digital. It was awe inspiring. (Picture: Orca rising for air - courtesy Sean)

After our day at the hot springs we were all tired. Emily passed out early, but Lauren, Sean and I made it out after dinner to a small cocktail lounge hidden upstairs at The Schooner. Tastefully decorated with an Eastern influence, lighting was subtle with soft candles adding atmosphere. We lounged on leather sofas and ordered drinks - a cocktail for Lauren, beer for Sean and I indulged in a single malt. We wandered back to the hostel around 11pm.