Shelter Bay
Shelter Bay is located approx 16 nautical miles from Port Hardy.
Here you would travel across from Port Hardy to the Mainland island hopping along the way and travel along the beautiful coast. There are several major island groups to stop at and explore along the way. You might see some abandoned cabins and sites where thriving villages once flourished along with the usual wildlife. This trip needs extensive preparation and needs 1 - 2 weeks, or again you could be dropped off by a "water-taxi" to lengthen your actual stay in that area.A word to the wise...
As in all areas of BC, whether in the city or out, we live in the midst of wild animals. In the city, the animal is usually the loser if it is a threat or nuisance to humans. Unfortunately this happens and the animals end up being destroyed and on the 5 oclock news. In the wild, the same encounters but more dangerous to the humans happen on a regular basis. We are in their territory and they are doing what they were born to do. Unfortunately again the animals are sometimes destroyed. Just as bad, the intruding tourist might also be severely injured, especially if they look like a "Big Mac" to the animal. Last year in Shelter Bay a cougar attacked a trainee kayak guide. She had gone a short distance from the camp for a "pee", and at the time she saw the cougar, it lept on her. She was lucky she only lost her shoe or boot. To my knowledge, in the ensuing investigation a couple of days later, they found some of the footwear in some cougar scat, and there was evidence that two cougars had been present, while scoping out the kayakers. To my knowledge no animals were destroyed, and the kayakers learned a good lesson about going off alone for anything, and crouching down looking like a "Big Mac". Makes for a fantastic picture.So be careful and animal wise at all times. Main animals of concern are bears and cougars. The smaller animals can also give you grief unexpectedly. We got chased off a beach by a lone large "Canada Goose" in Harlequin bay one time. It landed on the beach while we were there and went after the closest person to it until we were all up on the embankment, then it stayed for a while telling us off. We had a good laugh and lots of pictures.