Kayaking the Nuchatlitz Islands

Immediately following the Marble Meadows trip, a trip that already required my kayak to cross Buttle Lake to meet the trailhead, I arranged a kayaking trip in the Nuchatlitz Islands. I spent two nights in an AirBnB in Campbell River between trips having a reset. I then met my friend Mat in Campbell River for travel to Tahsis to meet our water taxi out to the islands.

Day 1: Tahsis to Rosa Island

We traveled to the Nuchalitz islands Marine park via water taxi at midday. It was a bumpy ride as the afternoon winds had come up by this time. The drop off at Rosa Island was easy on a sand beach. We decided to spend the night here and set of the following day for our adventures.

The Island was busy, but we found a nice South facing private site to setup on the opposite side of the island on a shell beach with rugged rocks and headlands. We enjoyed a chicken curry that Mat prepared and watched several minks collecting their dinner from the low tide area. In the late evening a sea otter came into the cove and munched on some urchins.

Day 2: Base Camp Island 40 North

We traveled a short distance to Island 40 north and found it uninhabited. We claimed the southeastern point, an established campsite. After setting up we did a short paddle in the afternoon to explore some of the neighboring islands.

We found a trail that goes around the Island through a series of headland trails. I imagined the Island was much larger than it was and was surprised to arrive back home after only about 1km of walking.

In the evening, a heavy fog set in. We had limited visibility for the evening, but it was still and humid warm. We had our second shared meal, gnocchi with spinach, pesto, bacon, parmesan. It was a hit and we both enjoyed our meal and a few glasses of wine.

Day 3: Storm Day and Explorations South

We were woken by high winds. My tent was in fact folding over due to a South East wind on the broad side. I lay in bed listening to the rain, holding my tent up, hoping it would not collapse. A banana slug had climbed up on the underside of the fly and was now experiencing the wildest ride on this island, bouncing around in the wind like mad. I went outside to check on the boats and our tarp. Everything was secure so I went back to bed and slept another two hours as the storm relented.

We continued our day as the storm had passed leaving us with favorable conditions. We came upon a large raft of sea otters hanging out in the surf. We explored the South Eastern most Island and Mojito point. Lots of great well protected places to camp on each Island.

We were treated to an outstanding sunset that evening as the skies opened up. We used the Island trail to find a West facing headland and snapped some pictures of the sun setting over the ocean amongst dramatic clouds.

Day 4: Kayaking Around Island 40 and Rosa Island

We watched another party pack and depart this morning before heading out for a paddle around the remaining islands we had not yet explored. We passed through narrow channels at low tide affording us many opportunities to see sea life along the rocks.

In the afternoon, we followed the sun and took the opportunity to jump in the ocean when it finally peeked out.

Day 5: Rosa Island for Pick up to Tahsis

We woke to another storm that was blowing in from the South East again. We needed an early start to break camp and paddle back to Rosa Island for a pick from our water taxi at 9am. It was a short paddle, but we left at about 7:30am to ensure were able to make it. Conditions were fine in the protected waters of the Nuchatlitz but I imagine they would have been quite hectic out at sea. We made it to Rosa in good time and had a chance for coffee and a walk around before our water taxi arrived early for pick up. The ride back was cold and wet but soon we were back in Tahsis.

Trip Video