The orca whale, also called the killer whale or blackfish, is a magnificent creature. Its erect black dorsal fin knifes through the water like the tower of a sub. A curling wake and a series of blowhole plumes mark its course. This powerful animal has a playful, gentle side. It loves to jump and splash or scratch its back against shoreside rocks. The kayaker is well-positioned to view the whales. Although at first it is slightly unnerving to paddle near these large animals, familiarity breeds trust and the camera-clicking kayaker soon wants to get as close as possible. On occasion we have been within a paddle-length of juvenile orcas. We have heard of no boater on the coast being harmed by orca whales. For further information about the whales, The Whale Called Killer by Erich Hoyt.
The trip from Tofino to Hot Springs Cove and back is fast becoming one of the most popular on the coast. It is easy to understand why. The natural environment is enchanting. The mountains are shaped like volcanoes and you almost expect a belch of smoke from the top of these huge cones. The land frequently greets the sea with a golden smile - a curving sandy beach. Gentle underwater monsters haunt the sea, breaking the surface to display their geometric anatomy: the delta flukes of a grey whale, the triangular fin of a basking shark. And in the midst of all this, a hot spring boiling out of a rocky peninsula and spilling down through a series of natural pools into the sea.
Tofino is a charming village. Fishermen, artists, tourist, Indians, loggers, pilots, and bureaucrats - the personalities here are colorful and most of them seem to visit the government dock.
The sandy spit on Stubbs Island, a half mile north of Tofino, was once a grim landmark. After vanquishing the Kyuquot tribe in 1855, in the last battle fought between natives on the coast, the Clayoquots beheaded eighteen victims and displayed the trophies atop poles on the spit. For years, passing mariners observed these macabre sentinels.
At Wickaninnish Island, named after the great Clayoquot chief, the natives skirmished with the American fur-trading ship Tonquin in 1811. Thanks to the the fur trade, the richly-furred sea otter which inhabited the west coast of Vancouver Island was exterminated. So were the crew members of the Tonquin. A mysterious explosion sank the ship.
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Take the power of the big swells rolling in from Japan, add in winding channels between tree-bristled islands, sprinkle in easily-accessed solitude, and you have Clayoquot Sound on the west shore of Vancouver Island. The Sound promises a mixture of protected and exposed water, for easier to more challenging paddling; and the town of Tofino has made efforts to establish facilities and put-ins for kayakers over the past few years. Black bear, deer, and a few wolf packs wander the sandy beaches and thick forests, and a group of 15 to 20 whales sometimes lingers in the Sound. The main part of the gray whale migration moves through this region's waters every March, and since the Clayoquot aligns with the Pacific Flyway, an astonishing number of birds pass through the area in the spring.