|
Day 9: Prince Rupert
We have breakfast at the hotel, then leave to get on the coach to go to the North Pacific Fish Cannery. Here we learn about how the workers from China and Japan use to cut and pack salmon etc. We saw how over time the technology evolved and there was not as much need for man power. Over the years with the introduction of fridge freezers the salmon fisheries declined in numbers and so on. A very nice quick tour and informative guides.
We have an early lunch at a nearby cafe, before we go on our next excursion the seaplane adventures to go find some grizzly bears at the Khutzeymateen Valley. We get to the seaplane and we try and find some grizzlys.
views from the sea plane, More Glaciers
We get into the seaplane and take off, there is 5 passengers plus the pilot, its all relatively smooth and no difference to being on a plane on a runway taking off. If there was any turbulence I did not fell any. Its a fantastic experience because the instruments in the cockpit look so old and fragile and the pilot fiddling with the gears etc.
The only wildlife we see on this excursion at the time were mountain goats and purposes. We did not see any grizzly bears but nonetheless the views through the valleys was breathtaking. We must have been on the flight for about an hour then headed back inland. On the way back the pilot said that we were only 10 miles away from Alaska. One couple from the party had chartered a plane to Alaska and said that it was quite built up and touristy, yet if you step back a few streets back then you would see the old historic side to it.
When we come back to land a Norwegian Cruise Ship had just docked for the day. As Prince Rupert gets more and more built up it will compete with Vancouver for some of the industrial trade.
We head back to the hotel for a spot of lunch, as its a Thursday the hotel had shrimp day offers. We ordered a shrimp cocktail which I shared with Kim, fresh local nice juicy prawns with nice dip. Then we had burger and chips. Again the food quite good quality.
For the afternoon and evening entertainment we went on the Pike Island excursion. We met the tour guide John, then boarded a boat to get us to Pike Island. Pike Island is home of the Metlakatla Indian Tribe. There is a walk on the island that allows us to visit ancient village sites and petroglyphs dating back to the second century. After this refreshing walking tour we get back on the boat to the Metlakatla town where we have local salmon for dinner. After dinner we do a bit of Metlakatla singing and dancing which was highly fun and no experience needed.
Pike Island, John the tour rep from the Tsimshian tribe
After the singing and dancing, we head back to the mainland by which time the Norwegian Cruise Liner was getting ready to leave. An amazing sight with its lights lighting up the boat etc, many cruise liners stop of at Prince Rupert en route to Alaska or when going through the Inside Passage.
We get back to the hotel and freshen up a bit and head to the bar for more drinks before preparing ourselves for a 05:30 sailing start for the Inside Passage Cruise.
The next day
(c) Cheester - no responsibility or liability can
be accepted for information used on these pages
If you spot any mistakes or have questions then email me
|
