Inside Passage

To take the ferry from Vancouver Island to the mainland (from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert), we had to get up early: The alarm clock rang at 4:30 am, departure from the motel shortly after 5 am (equipped with a rather meager breakfast package, but at least with a coffee or tea), in order to check in at the ferry by 5:30 am as specified by BC Ferries, which then left punctually at 7:30 am.

The journey between the mainland and many offshore islands is about 520 km long and should take 16 hours, and we expected a lot of scenery and "whale-worthy" moments.

The scenery was indeed very beautiful, accompanied by frequent weather changes, so that rain, low-hanging clouds, and bright sunshine were all present from time to time.

From time to time, a humpback whale appeared within sight, and there were also a few porpoises to be seen. Overall, there were surprisingly few animals for such a long time. However, the highlight was that one of the humpback whales demonstrated a so-called bubble net feeding technique. He traps a school of fish by creating a net of air bubbles, then dives beneath them and shoots out of the water with his mouth wide open to suck in the entire school of fish at once. That was very cool, first you see the bubbles and then the whale rising up!

We arrived in Prince Rupert around midnight, quickly found our motel, and just collapsed into bed...