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Day 6, August 22, Woss to Port McNeil: We were still getting payback for the climb out of Sayward as the road continued to gently descend through the forest, past more lakes, on it's way back to the coast at Port McNeil. Smoke from the fire seemed greatly diminished. But although things seemed to be under control there was apparently lots more work to do to ensure there wouldn't be any flare-ups. It was another easy 45 miles today and we arrived in Port McNeil shortly after noon. Port McNeil is a fairly large town and we didn't expect any problem finding accommodations, but it turned out that many of the hotel rooms were being occupied by the firefighters and we were lucky to find something for ourselves. Route 19, Vancouver Island

I think Port McNeil was the original ferry harbor for the ships from Prince Rupert that carry cars heading south from Alaska. But that operation has moved 25 miles up the island to Port Hardy. The harbor was very busy with float planes that seemed to take off and land about every 30 minutes. There's also a ferry out to Sointula on Malcolm Island.

Busy Airport at Port McNeil

The Captain of the Sointula Ferry

After Sayward and Woss, Port McNeil seemed like the "big city," with lots of options for entertainment. We decided to while away an hour or so taking the short ferry ride out and back across the bay to Malcolm Island. We knew there were orcas and other whales out in the Straits but they'd alluded us thus far. We hoped to change our luck on this ferry ride.

I think we were the only passengers who weren't staying in their cars for the trip. And when the ferry docked at Sointula we were asked by one of the crew if we were getting off. When we told her we were just along for the round-trip ride she invited us to come up into the wheelhouse and ride back to Port McNeil with the captain and crew. We jumped at the chance.

Quite a treat to ride back with the ferry crew. They told us about a group of 70 orcas that had followed the ferry yesterday, but true to form we weren't so lucky. We also learned that there's a spot on Malcolm Island where the orcas swim into the shallows to rub their bodies on the pebble beach. Everyone was seeing whales but us. As many ferries as we'd riden by necessity, this frivolous ride for entertainment turned out to be the most fun. Next

The Bay at Port McNeil