Bella Coola

Bella Coola, also known as Nuxalk (New Hawk), was the home of the Nuxalk nation, who lived throughout the central British Columbia coast until, tragically, they were hit by a smallpox epidemic in the 1860's. Survivors moved close to the mouth of the Bella Coola River, which became a Hudson's Bay fur trading post.

Today, on the small town waterfront, you will find an assortment of fishing boats, an old cannery, a tidal estuary and the BC Ferries dock. It is the only port between Vancouver and Prince Rupert that provides road access to the interior of BC. 

What I did not know is that it is the grand entrance to what is known as the Great Bear Rainforest. This is what our friends wanted us to experience when they booked a grizzly bear tour on the Atnarko River.

It was an early morning start.

We were given life vests and got into our tour guided raft,

with instructions about keeping quiet. 

The stillness of the morning air, added to the overall breathtaking beauty. 

I took a quick shot while we waited,

the sun shining on the mountain in the background,

almost too bright to be picked up by the camera.

We were still waiting quietly, or barely moving, when we spotted the first bear.

Quietly our guide entertained us with a bit of history,

and personal stories as he rowed us along,

our eyes taking in the stunning views all around. 

Travelling with friends is the best!

A view of Mount Stupendous ... 

named so by Alexander Mackenzie's journal entry when he saw it and wrote, 

"Before us appeared a stupendous mountain, 

whose snow-clad summit was lost in the clouds." (July 17 1793)

He also described this place as a "friendly village".

Wildlife was plentiful ... mergansers perching on logs, 

beautiful tiny birds flitting about and

bald eagles high up in the trees,

scouting out their next fishing spot. 

In the shallower sections we could see the water teaming with salmon, 

on their migration for spawning. 

 For the bears this is easy and perfect timing to fill up before winter. 

My H was counting the number of fish one bear caught and promptly devoured, 

I think the count was 7 or 8 within a very short time.

We saw two large grizzlies like this one 

and another one with two cubs, but we could not get close enough for 

good photos. 

Seagulls added to the wild beauty.

Three relaxing hours of floating on the river -

 something we never would have thought to do, 

had it not all been arranged for us. 

Bella Colla is remote, few people seem to know about it

and it remains raw and natural in its beauty. 

After the tour we were on our way to Pyper Lake in the Chilcotin.

Three of us riding caravan style, the one behind us towing their RV

up the steep 18% incline and switch back gravel road,

 before we hit normal roads. 

Once we got to a place where we could safely stop,

we parked and put together  a roadside picnic lunch.

Another couple of hours of driving before we got to John and Marg's cabin,

where I'll begin my next post.