are reminders of the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations
peoples. Sculptures, totems, the First Nations Galleries
and Our Living Languages exhibit at the Royal British
Columbia Museum are an essential to understand Victoria
and Vancouver Island.
It is rare to experience a city where the tensions between
history, memory and representation are active parts of
public visual discourse. Canada really is better, I thought.
Eager to experience the natural beauty of Victoria, we
took the recommendation of a few locals and headed 15
miles north to Goldstream Provincial Park. The park is
known for Railway Trestle hike — a short but steep two-
mile hike to the Esquimalt and Nanaimo railroad bridge
over Niagara Creek.
No longer in use, the bridge spans a canyon 450 feet
below the tracks. At each end, the train tracks disappear
into thick woods. In what felt like a scene from Goonies
or Moonrise Kingdom, brave souls walk hesitantly on the
tracks. In a mix of fear, adrenaline and reckless abandon, I
ventured out on the tracks, marveling at the faith we place in
wood, metal and screws.
Leaving Victoria, we headed north on the Trans-Canada
Highway 150 miles to Campbell River with our sights
on our destination, Quadra Island. Known as one of the
Discovery Islands, Quadra is among several small islands
found along the inside passage between Vancouver Island
and mainland Canada.
Accessible by a 15-minute ferry ride from Campbell
River, Quadra Island is nothing short of paradise. From
our guesthouse at Loon Point, we spent hours watching
juvenile bald eagles and harbor seals.
Following a recommendation from our host, we booked
a half-day whale watching tour with Eagle Eye Adventures.
Within the first half-hour our guide brought us to a pod of
orcas. With our guide's extensive knowledge of the local
pod and the visiting transient orcas, we learned about
the family dynamics of the specific pod we encountered.
While we were fixated on the orcas, our guide called out,
“humpback whale on the right!” In a specular moment, we
turned to see a massive humpback whale gracefully come
up for air.
Having already exceeded my expectations, our tour
continued along the archipelago of the Discovery Islands.
In the calm waters, a pod of dolphins played in our boat’s
wake. Next, we arrived at a series of rapids where a
massive group of bald eagles gathered to feast on fish that
rise to the surface.
In nothing less than a scene from National Geographic,
we gasped as hundreds of eagles took turns swooping lazily
down to fish. After several awe-inspiring encounters, our
guide ushered us back to Quadra Island with an invitation
to return in the fall for a grizzly expedition led by guides
from the Homalco First Nations.
Our fancier and slightly envied next-door neighbor
Vancouver Island left us with plenty of reasons to return —
one of which being our road trip was a perfect balance of
adventure and ease. Our journey did stoke my fantasies of
defecting and getting a kayak.
Nadia Raza is an instructor of sociology at Lane Community College.
She is urban homesteading enthusiast and has been adopted by
several unruly animals.
TOP OF THE RAILWAY TRESTLE HIKE
AT GOLDSTREAM PROVINCIAL PARK
PHOTOS BY TODD COOPER
A HUMPBACK WHALE TAKES A DIVE
eugeneweekly.com • October 5, 2017
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