KEY POINTS:
This is a new ferry," said a local from the port of Prince Rupert, as we boarded the Northern Adventure to cruise down to Vancouver Island.
"They lost the old one."
Eh? Not exactly what you want to hear when you're about to take a ship through Canada's famous Inside Passage through some of the most wild and beautiful scenery in the world. What happened?
"They were having some trouble with the GPS," said our informant cheerfully, "and ran straight the boat on to an island in the fog."
I had heard that one of the risks of doing the Inside Passage, a 507km voyage inside the islands which line Canada's northwest coast, was that all the views were often blotted out by mist. But I hadn't realised that the ship might be blotted out as well.
"Oh there's nothing to worry about now," said the local, doubtless spotting my concerned frown. "The GPS on this one is just fine."
Fortunately, we didn't have to find out because the weather for our 15-hour cruise was perfect.
There was a bit of rain as we left Prince Rupert at dawn but that soon dispersed and, by the time we had cleared the port, escorted by a couple of fishing boats, visibility was perfect.
Early morning mist hung round the tree-clad hills and snow-topped mountains which lined our route but that only served to make the scenery even more spectacular.
By afternoon, the locals were sitting outside in short-sleeved shirts, enjoying the views while soaking up the sun, though the chill autumn wind meant us wimpy foreigners still needed our polar fleeces and beanies.
Of course, we could have huddled in the warmth of the 117m ferry's excellent lounges, but the views were so fantastic that we wanted to stay on deck and savour it all.
Through Grenville Passage there were mountains more than 1000m high on either side but the gap between them was less than half that.
At times it seemed as though the icy peaks which loomed regularly through the clouds were sitting right above us.
The information leaflet on the voyage said it was occasionally possible to see moose swimming across this narrow gap. That sounded amazing so we kept a sharp lookout and spotted several moose ... all of which turned out to be floating logs and branches.
What we did see - thanks to announcements from the bridge - were several humpback whales also enjoying the good weather.
There were also countless birds, most flying in tight formations, which ranged from the classic V of some Canada geese to a water-top line-dance by some small black birds no one could identify for us.
At the Canona River flowing out of Princess Royal Island - British Columbia is big on royalty - you can sometimes see bears catching salmon at the mouth. It was a bit late in the season for that but the rapids foaming as the river met the sea were a spectacular sight anyway.
Towards the end of the voyage, the mountains seemed fewer and our route was lined instead with rocky shores, majestic stone bluffs, cascading waterfalls, islets covered in pines and, everywhere, brooding green hills.
There are few towns on this wild stretch of coast but we did see the remains of an early pulp mill at Swanson Bay and the cannery village of Butedale, which still survives even though the fish cannery on which it was based closed 50 years ago.
One place which is booming is the First Nation settlement of Bella Bella, which has grown prosperous on a mix of fishing and logging.
Motoring into the town's bay, a huge bald eagle perched high in a pine tree gave us the simultaneously scary and wary glance of a watchdog.
That was appropriate because the eagle seems to be the totem of Bella Bella and a stylised eagle's head has pride of place on the cultural centre.
The Inside Passage is not only a tourist attraction but also an important transport link for Canada's west coast and between the United States and its northern outcrop of Alaska.
As well as lots of fishing boats we also passed several tugs towing barges, some piled high with containers heading for Seattle. This seaway is well protected by both countries and we passed frequent lighthouses, many of them manned, a US Coastguard ship and a Canadian coastguard helicopter.
It was night by the time we reached Port Hardy at the northern end of Vancouver Island at 10.30pm but despite the darkness we didn't run into anything. Doubtless all those lighthouses helped. But hopefully it also meant the new ship's GPS was indeed "just fine".
* Because of time constraints I made my way from Port Hardy to Vancouver by plane but you could hire a rental car to drive down Vancouver Island to Victoria and get the ferry to Vancouver.
GETTING THERE
Air New Zealand now flies non-stop Auckland to Vancouver. There are three flights a week, reducing to two a week in April, May, June, September and October. Pacific Economy class fares start at $2389 return, including all pre-payable airport and government costs. See www.airnewzealand.co.nz, call 0800 737-000 or visit an Air New Zealand Holidays Store.
PACKAGES
House of Travel has 12-night packages around Canada's Scenic Circle from $8449 per person, including twin-share accommodation and most meals, valid for travel June 15 to September 23. The package includes return economy class Air New Zealand airfares to Vancouver, airport transfers in Vancouver and three-nights accommodation at Sandman Hotel and Suites, plus the 10-day Spirit of the West independent tour.
The Spirit of the West tour includes the Rocky Mountaineer two-day train trip from Vancouver to Banff in redleaf class (upgrade to goldleaf class for $1219); coach travel from Banff to Lake Louise and Jasper, including Banff Sulphur Mountain gondola pass, Banff Upper Hot Springs swim pass, evening wildlife tour in Banff, and visits to Emerald Lake, Yoho National Park and Takkakaw Falls, Lake Louise, Jasper Icefield Parkway tour, Ice Explorer ride on to the Athabasca Glacier and Jasper Tramway pass; two-day rail trip on the Skeena from Jasper to Prince Rupert travelling totem class; BC Ferry ride from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy via the Inside Passage; coach tour from Port Hardy to Victoria; coach and ferry trip from Victoria to Vancouver (or fly from Port Hardy to Vancouver at an additional cost). Contact House of Travel.
MORE INFORMATION
Contact House of Travel on 0800 838 747 or houseoftravel.co.nz. For general information on British Columbia see www.hellobc.com
* Jim Eagles travelled Canada's Scenic Circle with the help of Air New Zealand, House of Travel and Tourism British Columbia.
