August 8th - Day 11 - Port Hardy to Prince Rupert

Firstly, an update on how we are going. We have now driven more than 2,000 miles since we left Malibu on July 29th. So, in driving distance we are about halfway. We have visited three US States: California, Oregon, Washington and one Canadian province, British Columbia. We have crossed one border from the US into Canada, with three more crossings between the countries to go. The weather until today has been more or less all sunshine. We knew it couldn't last and now a Pacific low is coming across southern Alaska and north-west Canada, bringing rain. The good news is that it is forecast to pass within a few days.

Today we drove a total of 7 miles and sailed nearly 300 miles by ferry from Port Hardy at the northern end of Vancouver island to Prince Rupert on the west coast of British Columbia. It was a very early start as we had to be at the ferry terminal by 5.30am. In the event we rose early and checked in to the terminal shortly after 5am. We then waited more than two hours before we were loaded.

The ferry left on time at 7.30am. The ferry, the Northern Expedition is a brand new ship, built in Germany to replace the ship that sunk three years ago. Apparently there are still unanswered questions concerning the sinking of the Queen of the North in March 2006 and the enquiry set up to investigate the accident has failed to determine what exactly occurred on the bridge at the time of the accident. Two people died and 99 were rescued.

Waiting to board the Northern Expedition with her bow doors open.


Underway on the top deck of the Northern Expedition.

The sailing from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert follows the Inside Passage a series of channels that winds its way up the western coast. It is the most beautiful cruise you can imagine through wild scenery with mountains towering above the water. The low clouds and mist created a slightly surreal atmosphere.

Here are a few photos which I hope show how marvellous the trip was.

We had been told that there was every possibility of seeing humpback whales, and we were not disappointed. About three hours into the trip there was an announcement from the bridge that a whale was breaching on the starboard side of the ship. Everyone ran to the decks and we then had ten minutes of watching, taking photos and filming this humpback 'performing' very close to the ship.

Two photos taken from the video I filmed of the whale rising out of the water.


We passed several small communities on the way. These were mainly fishing and logging towns with a few hundred people. The majority of other sea traffic in the Passage is fishing vessels with one or two private yachts.

One of the many remote lighthouses on the voyage.


Towards the end of the 15 hour journey we saw some more humpbacks, but no orca whales. Arriving at Prince Rupert in the dark and passing the container terminal.


We arrived in Prince Rupert at 10.30pm and drove about two miles to our hotel. We are staying here for one night and then tomorrow afternoon we technically enter Alaska when we board the Alaska ferry at the Prince Rupert terminal. We clear US Customs at the terminal and then have a 36 hour journey to Juneau, where we change ferries, and then on to Skagway.