Click below to view a short film of this spectacular area
Monday, 7 December 2009
Bella Coola - destination clip
A friend has produced this short film on Bella Coola which is the focal point of the adventure tours we offer throughout the summer. It is a real gem hidden deep in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia. Take a few minutes to check it out by clicking the link below...
Click below to view a short film of this spectacular area
Click below to view a short film of this spectacular area
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwuYpnNiy
Friday, 30 October 2009
Thursday, 1 October 2009
Some of the faces of summer 2009
Fraser Koroluk, Bella Coola River guide taking a break from oaring during guide induction.
Guide training in the spring. Kevin leads Blue as he carries Chris the 'casualty'.
Michelle, one of our french guests on the trail.
Ryan, local guide outfitter, cooking up breakfast during a three day trail maintenance expedition.
Mikey 'Mears' and friends. Always a cheeky grin.
Dave, local legendary horse packer, always good for some fireside chat.
Sir Christopher Kelly, on a rather blustery day hiking in the alpine.
John and Patricia Griffin, lovely folks and always good for a chat on the trail.
Heather, one of the assistant guides, ready for anything!
Friday, 18 September 2009
Fresh Wild Salmon
This Coho Salmon was fresh out of the Bella Coola River and a real treat for our guests in Bella Coola. We like to make sure our guests eat as much local produce as possible. And it doesn't get much better than a salmon straight out of the river. This Coho was filleted and BBQed for the last night of the Canoe Safari this month. Yum.
Bella Coola Alpine
It was a real treat to be able to take a group into the alpine of Bella Coola Valley. The Canoe Safari in September had to be cut short by a few days as the forest fires continue to burn. In order to fill the extra days I decided to guide the group along some of the alpine trails accessed high up on some of the old logging roads. The photos don't do it justice...stunning.
Fishing with a Grizzly!!!
As the forest fires had closed down business in Bella Coola Valley for a couple of weeks I thought it was a good idea to tackle the fires and check out the damage. On the way back out of the valley I decided to try a few casts with the rod, see if I couldn't catch a salmon...I thought I might be in for some competition from one of the local grizzlies...but this grizzly was far more interested in the berries - it's been a killer season for berries with the consistent hot temps. Check out these photos!
Trekking with Wolves
One of the most exciting moments this summer was walking into two large grey wolves on the Chilcotin plateau. We were on our way out of the stunning Rainbow Mountain wilderness park when two wolves calmly trotted into view before slinking into the shadows of the trees. I must have been within 50 feet of the wolves as I guided the group of 8 hikers walking quietly behind me enroute back to the trailhead after 7 days in the backcountry.
After weeks of forest fires, which continue to burn, we had to reroute our popular Mackenzie/Grease Trail trekking trip and explore some new wilderness areas in the Rainbow Mountain range. And we were not disappointed. The first day from the trailhead was a big challenge to guide. It is always intimidating, for me atleast, having the responsibility of looking after a group of tourists, and exploring a new wilderness below the treeline. Due to the nature of the terrain, below the treeline can be tough going. There is a mix of bog, streams, fallen trees and thick bush. This is real wilderness to me...nothing but an old horse trail to follow and some old game trails. After a few challenging guiding moments we managed to get into camp in plenty of time although a longer day than expected.
On these trekking trips I use a local horse packing outfit to carry all the gear. In this case it is the Dorsey family that runs one of the most well known and respected horse packing and hunting outfits in the region. Riding ahead of us they always arrive in camp early to put the horses out to pasture in the meadows and get the fire going ready for tea and coffee. The Dorsey outfit have been using these wild campsites for years. So while the camps are fully wild and remote they do have fire pits and a drop toilet! And they are always in a stunning location.
From the first camp we explored Dark Peak behind the camp and walked the alpine ridges to afford spectacular views. From the high point of the day we descended to alpine lakes, watched by a family of hoary marmots. A short stroll back to camp through alpine meadows we made it back to camp in plenty of time for tea and biscuits before a dinner of steak and mash.
Our second camp of the trip was a challenging day hike over Mary's Pass and over alpine ridge into a forested valley with a series of small creeks flowing into a main river. The camp was adjacent to the river with views across the horse meadows to the mountains. The day hikes from here were stunning and offered some of the best alpine views I have had the pleasure of enjoying.
What is such an treat is being the only group in a vast wilderness of mountain, forest and valley. There are no other hikers in these areas and with the horse support we are given the advantage of travelling light and exploring the area umimpeded by heavy backpack.
I have only scratched the surface of this area, somewhere I would like to bring more groups over the coming years to add to the range of adventures that Wild Earth Adventures offers.
After weeks of forest fires, which continue to burn, we had to reroute our popular Mackenzie/Grease Trail trekking trip and explore some new wilderness areas in the Rainbow Mountain range. And we were not disappointed. The first day from the trailhead was a big challenge to guide. It is always intimidating, for me atleast, having the responsibility of looking after a group of tourists, and exploring a new wilderness below the treeline. Due to the nature of the terrain, below the treeline can be tough going. There is a mix of bog, streams, fallen trees and thick bush. This is real wilderness to me...nothing but an old horse trail to follow and some old game trails. After a few challenging guiding moments we managed to get into camp in plenty of time although a longer day than expected.
On these trekking trips I use a local horse packing outfit to carry all the gear. In this case it is the Dorsey family that runs one of the most well known and respected horse packing and hunting outfits in the region. Riding ahead of us they always arrive in camp early to put the horses out to pasture in the meadows and get the fire going ready for tea and coffee. The Dorsey outfit have been using these wild campsites for years. So while the camps are fully wild and remote they do have fire pits and a drop toilet! And they are always in a stunning location.
From the first camp we explored Dark Peak behind the camp and walked the alpine ridges to afford spectacular views. From the high point of the day we descended to alpine lakes, watched by a family of hoary marmots. A short stroll back to camp through alpine meadows we made it back to camp in plenty of time for tea and biscuits before a dinner of steak and mash.
Our second camp of the trip was a challenging day hike over Mary's Pass and over alpine ridge into a forested valley with a series of small creeks flowing into a main river. The camp was adjacent to the river with views across the horse meadows to the mountains. The day hikes from here were stunning and offered some of the best alpine views I have had the pleasure of enjoying.
What is such an treat is being the only group in a vast wilderness of mountain, forest and valley. There are no other hikers in these areas and with the horse support we are given the advantage of travelling light and exploring the area umimpeded by heavy backpack.
I have only scratched the surface of this area, somewhere I would like to bring more groups over the coming years to add to the range of adventures that Wild Earth Adventures offers.
Monday, 13 July 2009
Researching New Frontiers
It's work. Honest. It just happens to be exploring new areas and discovering new frontiers, all in the name of research and development. I have been looking at new alpine touring areas with floatplane access and going on horseback into remote corners of the coastal mountains to consider new trekking options. These new trips will be featured in 2010 through our travel agents and on our website...really exciting to be able to offer these unique trips that no other companies are able to offer...it's all about who you know! So below are a few shots from the last three weeks.
Meanwhile on the office front things are looking good...bookings still coming in for the summer which is pretty full. And we are looking at being the west coast agent for a large UK wildlife holiday company.
Meanwhile on the office front things are looking good...bookings still coming in for the summer which is pretty full. And we are looking at being the west coast agent for a large UK wildlife holiday company.
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
It's a different way of life....part 2
The continued extracts from the diary of our guest and friend Simon Osbourne during a Canoe Safari in 2009
08/09/08
Not only did the early sunrise wake us, the whole animal kingdom woke to and the chance of a sleep on has gone. Leaving the warmth of my sleeping bag, I get up and find the mist is, once again delicately covering the lake. Anyway, we all survived our first night in the wild, which was met with some relief. After a stunning morning feast of breakfast burritos, we pack up camp and load up the canoes and set paddling down Lake Turner. This transitory camping is something that we'll get the hang of soon enough. Our paddling is slow at first, mainly because of our ineptitude and subsequent zigzagging but we persevere reaching a small creek at the other end. We slowly paddled up the creek and really got a sense of adventuring with the forest bearing down on either side of the river bank.
It is a lovely warm day and we venture for quick and chilly swim in the river. To be honest, it was much of a swim more a in and out.
Then, quick lunch it is time to portage... Canoeing up all the creeks isn't possible (paddling up stream!) and we have to unpack the canoes and carry all the kit to the next launch pad. Fortunately, our sturdy guides take the canoes, which was handy because they are rather quite heavy and we, the poor minions, are left doing shuttle runs with backpacks. But the portage is short and we are soon back in the canoes for some more fun on the river. The first task is to canoe up a rapid - okay, to me its almost a waterfall but in reality a fast stream of water going over a rock. The first two canoes go up easy enough, then Ben and I try. And that's it, we try. After 10 long minutes we eventually get stuck on the rock, but we are not defeated yet, and on the next attempt we make it. We could have just walked the canoe around but this was much more fun. But soon enough we are back to the task in hand which is making it to the campsite on Lake Junker and pass through Cut Throat and Vista Lakes.
Our canoeing is becoming better and armed with our newly learnt strokes (classic j, gunnel (?) and draw strokes) we start traveling in straight lines. Then after a couple more portages we make it onto Junker. We travel around a headland and see the campsite, a sandy beach at the end over looking the whole lake. On the beach we make camp and relax after a tough day. The view from our tent is just unbelievable and we sit down and watch the sun set over the mountains.
09/09/08
Result! I managed to sleep the whole night and as I lie in my warm sleeping bag, I can hear the forest waking and the sounds of little waves breaking on the beach. Once we are up, we have to pack up the tents and equipment and load the canoes, but now it's almost routine and we kind of know what we're doing.
Out on Lake Junker, we follow the coast in the hope of spotting some early morning wildlife when a small opening in the forest entices us to some exploration. Behind the dense folliage of the shore line we find some wolf and moose tracks. Wow.
We head on, our destination today is Kidney Lake - no prizes for guessing why (it looks like that on the map). Passing through Widgeon Lake and another long portage we arrive at Kidney Lake. The campsite is much more rustic and you begin to realise the volume of human traffic up here really is small. At our campsite we are treated to a natural setting that one couldn't imagine. A hole in the bushes gives a border to a view of the lake and the snow capped mountains.
The forest here is amazing, not only for the shear size of it but, as we paddled up the banks it looks that there is nothing happening. Once inside, stand still and you can hear underground sounds pop out: the chipmonks, whiskey jacks (birds) and loons (another bird). The other thing I can't quite get my head around is the density of trees and the field of view - talk about not seeing the wood for the trees.
10/09/08
Today we hike up to Sunshine Lake and this really epitomised this whole trip. Everyday I keep thinking this is stunning only to have it surpassed the following day and Sunshine Lake is no exception. We follow a track and I realise that we have only been keeping to the edges of the forest. The path is marked by axe marks into the trees and we follow these. On our journey we see a mountain hen in the trees. There is a campsite marked up here but even fewer people venture up here. The views at Sunshine Lake are totally different. The Turner Lakes chain is dominated by views of one set of mountains but Sunshine Lake is something new.
We head back to Lake Widgeon and it's burritos for tea - we are truly living like kings. After tea, we sit on the beach on Widgeon Lake and watch the sunset and - see the video link below - it ended a wonderful day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpxCG6ylV5c
11/09/08
Ben is woken at dawn to something rustling around the tent. I, with ear plugs, sleep through it - perfect. This is the laziest day of the expedition as we head back down to Lake Junker. Out on the lake we raft our canoes together and wait silently to see if any wildlife will come to the shore. However, we lie back and all doze off, bobbing along on the lake - this is a holiday after all.
We get to Lake Junker for lunch and have all voted for the afternoon off. As you'd expect there isn't a whole lot to do and it is brilliant. Total uninterrupted chill out. I even push the boat out and try to have another swim and its still cold water.
We have visitors, of the human kind, at our campsite tonight and they're the only people we've seen since being here.
12/09/08
I wake up just before 6am and get up to see what's happening.
Typically, the early morning views and photos tend to be the classics.
The lake is so still its like a mirror and the mountains offer the perfect refection. This morning was slightly different because there were a lot of clouds in the sky but the sun was shinning from the opposite direction resulting in the most epic view I have ever seen - more like a Turner (famous painting) than a holiday snap! Returning to the tent I see frost on the outside - brrrr!
Heading back to lake turner for one more night in the jungle. Today is cloudy - I think one would refer to them as atmospheric clouds. There are a couple of sucker holes - breaks in the cloud that delude one into thinking the weather is turning. No such luck and by the time we reach Turner Lake it is starting to rain. But it's no hassle, as we can put the tents up super fast.
On our last night in the wilderness, we finally loose the plot and have a left handed stone throwing competition and it is the funniest thing I have ever seen. No TV - it's good for you!
13/09/08
We get up very early (6am) to look for early wildlife. But it is cold and there is a wind whipping up the lake. We don't see anything but certainly haven't gone home empty handed. Back at camp we pack up and wait for our float planes to pick us up. And soon enough we say our goodbyes to the forest and are treated to another aerial view of this vast country. This time, however, it is much different, the human impact on forest is much more visible and now more profound.
Arriving back at Nimpo Lake slowly adjust back to that way of life.
Then we head back on towards Bella Coola where further adventures await us...
Monday, 1 June 2009
Bella Coola - and the river
It is great to be back in Bella Coola. This is the focus of our Wild Earth Adventures. There is no place quite like it - none that I have ever found. It has a feeling of remoteness that is rare...and a wildness still exists here that is even rarer.
A dead end road called the Freedom Highway leads to an ancient indigenous village, a place surrounded by snow capped mountains, shrouded in temperate rainforest, on the edge of what has become known as the Great Bear Rainforest. Grizzly bears roam the forests, salmon fill the rivers, ancient petroglyphs carved into the rocks with imposing granite peaks all around. This place is genuine wilderness, far from the chaos of modern life.
We have just run the Bella Coola river with Coast Mountain Lodge. The lodge help to compliment our backcountry adventures with a river drift on one of the rivers in Bella Coola Valley. Fraser and Holly, the owners, run a fantastic lodge and day tours throughout the valley. As likeminded guides and freinds, we love working closely with them to provide the best alround multiday adventure trips in the Central Coast region of BC.
At the start of the season we drift the main artery of the valley which is the Bella Coola river. This is a chance for Coast Mountain Lodge to induct their new guides to the local surroundings and sights of interest. The river is class 1 for the most part and class 2 on occassion depending on water levels. It is not a white water experience but exciting enough and a gives a great perspective of the valley. It is a good chance to see wildlife, in particular bald eagles and bears. The Bella Coola river can be paddled in open canoe in one very long day or split over two days, as we like to do. It is always worth noting that the log jams on the upper section of the river make this trip a very serious undertaking and not to be done without previous white water canoeing experience and rescue skills.
A dead end road called the Freedom Highway leads to an ancient indigenous village, a place surrounded by snow capped mountains, shrouded in temperate rainforest, on the edge of what has become known as the Great Bear Rainforest. Grizzly bears roam the forests, salmon fill the rivers, ancient petroglyphs carved into the rocks with imposing granite peaks all around. This place is genuine wilderness, far from the chaos of modern life.
We have just run the Bella Coola river with Coast Mountain Lodge. The lodge help to compliment our backcountry adventures with a river drift on one of the rivers in Bella Coola Valley. Fraser and Holly, the owners, run a fantastic lodge and day tours throughout the valley. As likeminded guides and freinds, we love working closely with them to provide the best alround multiday adventure trips in the Central Coast region of BC.
At the start of the season we drift the main artery of the valley which is the Bella Coola river. This is a chance for Coast Mountain Lodge to induct their new guides to the local surroundings and sights of interest. The river is class 1 for the most part and class 2 on occassion depending on water levels. It is not a white water experience but exciting enough and a gives a great perspective of the valley. It is a good chance to see wildlife, in particular bald eagles and bears. The Bella Coola river can be paddled in open canoe in one very long day or split over two days, as we like to do. It is always worth noting that the log jams on the upper section of the river make this trip a very serious undertaking and not to be done without previous white water canoeing experience and rescue skills.
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
Guide Training 2009
Wild Earth Adventures take safety in the backcountry very seriously. Our guides are certified in Advanced Wilderness First Aid, an intensive 10 day/90 hour course that involves a rigorous testing process. This course is run by our friends at Slipstream (see images below).
Based in Victoria on Vancouver Island, Slipstream have been running innovative and progressive first aid courses for over 18 years throughout western Canada. Recognised by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides we believe that the Slipstream first aid courses provide the best training for our guides to be able to deal with emergencies in the backcountry.
This year we headed to Canmore in the Rocky Mountains to recertify. It was a fantastic and intensive 10 days with so much information to take in that it was like drinking from a fire hose.
Check out the images below...
Based in Victoria on Vancouver Island, Slipstream have been running innovative and progressive first aid courses for over 18 years throughout western Canada. Recognised by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides we believe that the Slipstream first aid courses provide the best training for our guides to be able to deal with emergencies in the backcountry.
This year we headed to Canmore in the Rocky Mountains to recertify. It was a fantastic and intensive 10 days with so much information to take in that it was like drinking from a fire hose.
Check out the images below...
Friday, 15 May 2009
Friday, 1 May 2009
A different way of life...part 1
Extracts from the diary of our guest and friend Simon Osbourne during the Coast Mountain Canoe Safari in September 2008
Here is a link to a video of the plane flight into the lakes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWBlIwnsqFw
05/09/08
Jericho Beach, Vancouver, BC
We arrive at hostel on a beautifully sunny day in Vancouver and meet our guides, Blue and Jess. A quick briefing on the trip is followed by a quick lesson on what and how to pack. Now Ben and I, in our thirties, would consider us to be quite capable of looking after ourselves but,evertheless, spend the next hour unpacking, packing, dumping clothes/kit and repeat seemingly ad infinitum. The maxim "don't need it, don't take it" is the rule of the day closely followed by "in a bag, in a bag..." (to keep everything waterproof)
06/09/08
The trip starts in earnest with a wake up call at 6am but thankfully we are still on UK time (8 hours ahead). We pack up the van and hit the road. This drive alone shows the vast expanse of Canada, it is utterly mind boggling but nothing in comparison to where we end up. We drive east out of the city and suburbs of Vancouver and through the morning working traffic - cars as big as lorries, lorries as big as trains and trains that miles long. We head to a small town called Hope, famous because Rambo was filmed there, and head north along the Fraser Canyon and the original trail set by the 1860 gold rush. The road north is scattered by small settlements that began as outlets for the gold diggers as they travel north and are named by there distance from Vancouver. 70 mile house, 100 mile house and so on. This barren land, cut by the ferocious Fraser River, expands east and west, through forest, desert and farm land (that exists with the help of some crazy irrigation).
After 7 hours driving through spectacular scenery we reach Williams Lake for lunch. Leaving Williams Lake and the last mobile phone signal we drive west across the Chilcoltin plane and there is nothing except for a handful of tiny communities.
We reach our destination at Tweedsmuir Lodge on Nimpo Lake and are treated to a night in a stunning lake side log cabin. We sense we are been led into a false sense of security and that this will be the last of the old homemade comforts. I somehow don't think that the campsites will have wood stoves with the fire ready to go (it lights with one match).
07/09/08
In the morning, we are given a lovely home cooked breakfast in the lodge, surrounded by the bear skin trophies of hunters. This naturally leads to the bear talk. I, coming from the wild, west country of England, have never seen a bear in the wild and would not know what to do. We are told that bears are, by and large, solitary creatures who don't really want to have anything to do with humans - phew! So, by making bears aware that you are in the neighbourhood by making noise they will probably leave you to it. This was all reassuring but we were to remain vigilant! Other animals that live in this part of B.C. are moose, wolves (probably scary), mountain lions (scary) and wolverines - to be honest I thought this one was a myth like Sasquatch (Big Foot). We left the breakfast with a bit of a reality check and make preparations for the flight.
We fly, by float plane, from Nimpo Lake into Turner Lake in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. We move all our gear to the jetty and await our pilot who emerges dressed like a cowboy. He takes one look at the early morning mist covering the lake and says "we'll be going in a little while" and slowly walks off for coffee. There is no rush whatsoever. Forget about the fast turn around times of the low budget airlines, this is a completely different way of life.
We wait in anticipation as the fog slowly rises and our pilot returns to pack up the plane. Finally, we're all loaded and ready to go into the wild. The journey flies across the forest, scared by the logging roads and patches of logged land, and then into the park itself. We land on a sunny lake and unload the plane and then begin to pack up the canoes.
As there is no point hanging around - it's not like you go on holiday to hang out at the airport - we start to paddle in the direction of Hunlen Falls. Apart from our guides, the group's canoeing experience is minimal and, even to the untrained eye, spectacularly woeful. I am in the back with control of the steering and the power and Ben in the front for ballast. We are shown the basic strokes and slowly make our way to our first camp. We make a little stop on a beach, and see some tracks left by a largish animal.
We make it to our first camp and erect our tents. The campsite is basic: fire pits, marked pits for tents and a toilet 200m away. Having made our base, we hike to Hunlon Falls, a 600m waterfall, and hike to get a good vantage point and, even though we flew across the park, we begin to see the extent and beauty of the untouched landscape. In one view I can see more trees that in all of my life. The forest is dense and you can never really see more than 50 metres but it the quiet
sounds of the forest that gets me: trees creaking in the light breeze, the chirping of birds and screaming of chipmunks warning the forest of its human invaders. Our voices resonate with the trees breaking the sounds of this forested silence.
Out here nature dictates our existence and like sugar-fuelled children refusing to go to sleep, we are left with no choice when the lights are eventually switched off.
Here is a link to a video of the plane flight into the lakes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWBlIwnsqFw
05/09/08
Jericho Beach, Vancouver, BC
We arrive at hostel on a beautifully sunny day in Vancouver and meet our guides, Blue and Jess. A quick briefing on the trip is followed by a quick lesson on what and how to pack. Now Ben and I, in our thirties, would consider us to be quite capable of looking after ourselves but,evertheless, spend the next hour unpacking, packing, dumping clothes/kit and repeat seemingly ad infinitum. The maxim "don't need it, don't take it" is the rule of the day closely followed by "in a bag, in a bag..." (to keep everything waterproof)
06/09/08
The trip starts in earnest with a wake up call at 6am but thankfully we are still on UK time (8 hours ahead). We pack up the van and hit the road. This drive alone shows the vast expanse of Canada, it is utterly mind boggling but nothing in comparison to where we end up. We drive east out of the city and suburbs of Vancouver and through the morning working traffic - cars as big as lorries, lorries as big as trains and trains that miles long. We head to a small town called Hope, famous because Rambo was filmed there, and head north along the Fraser Canyon and the original trail set by the 1860 gold rush. The road north is scattered by small settlements that began as outlets for the gold diggers as they travel north and are named by there distance from Vancouver. 70 mile house, 100 mile house and so on. This barren land, cut by the ferocious Fraser River, expands east and west, through forest, desert and farm land (that exists with the help of some crazy irrigation).
After 7 hours driving through spectacular scenery we reach Williams Lake for lunch. Leaving Williams Lake and the last mobile phone signal we drive west across the Chilcoltin plane and there is nothing except for a handful of tiny communities.
We reach our destination at Tweedsmuir Lodge on Nimpo Lake and are treated to a night in a stunning lake side log cabin. We sense we are been led into a false sense of security and that this will be the last of the old homemade comforts. I somehow don't think that the campsites will have wood stoves with the fire ready to go (it lights with one match).
07/09/08
In the morning, we are given a lovely home cooked breakfast in the lodge, surrounded by the bear skin trophies of hunters. This naturally leads to the bear talk. I, coming from the wild, west country of England, have never seen a bear in the wild and would not know what to do. We are told that bears are, by and large, solitary creatures who don't really want to have anything to do with humans - phew! So, by making bears aware that you are in the neighbourhood by making noise they will probably leave you to it. This was all reassuring but we were to remain vigilant! Other animals that live in this part of B.C. are moose, wolves (probably scary), mountain lions (scary) and wolverines - to be honest I thought this one was a myth like Sasquatch (Big Foot). We left the breakfast with a bit of a reality check and make preparations for the flight.
We fly, by float plane, from Nimpo Lake into Turner Lake in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. We move all our gear to the jetty and await our pilot who emerges dressed like a cowboy. He takes one look at the early morning mist covering the lake and says "we'll be going in a little while" and slowly walks off for coffee. There is no rush whatsoever. Forget about the fast turn around times of the low budget airlines, this is a completely different way of life.
We wait in anticipation as the fog slowly rises and our pilot returns to pack up the plane. Finally, we're all loaded and ready to go into the wild. The journey flies across the forest, scared by the logging roads and patches of logged land, and then into the park itself. We land on a sunny lake and unload the plane and then begin to pack up the canoes.
As there is no point hanging around - it's not like you go on holiday to hang out at the airport - we start to paddle in the direction of Hunlen Falls. Apart from our guides, the group's canoeing experience is minimal and, even to the untrained eye, spectacularly woeful. I am in the back with control of the steering and the power and Ben in the front for ballast. We are shown the basic strokes and slowly make our way to our first camp. We make a little stop on a beach, and see some tracks left by a largish animal.
We make it to our first camp and erect our tents. The campsite is basic: fire pits, marked pits for tents and a toilet 200m away. Having made our base, we hike to Hunlon Falls, a 600m waterfall, and hike to get a good vantage point and, even though we flew across the park, we begin to see the extent and beauty of the untouched landscape. In one view I can see more trees that in all of my life. The forest is dense and you can never really see more than 50 metres but it the quiet
sounds of the forest that gets me: trees creaking in the light breeze, the chirping of birds and screaming of chipmunks warning the forest of its human invaders. Our voices resonate with the trees breaking the sounds of this forested silence.
Out here nature dictates our existence and like sugar-fuelled children refusing to go to sleep, we are left with no choice when the lights are eventually switched off.
Friday, 24 April 2009
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