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There's a secret that northwest divers keep: It's prettier up there. Savvy divers call the northern end of Vancouver Island one of the top-10 dives in the world.
Sure, you've got to pay dues. The water is cold, often fast and always kinda green. But, boy, is it worth the hassle.
Though people do dive the outside (west coast) of the island, the best sites are on the inside. Texada, one of the Gulf Islands along the southern half of Vancouver Island, has walls dripping with life, as does Quadra Island, across from the town of Campbell River.
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Arboreal Treats Hike an old-growth forest. Take time to watch the eagles. Visit a NW Native museum. |
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1 Copper Cliffs off Quadra 2 Dillon Rock 3 Nakwakto 4 Browning Wall 5 The Saskatchewan |
Farther north is Port Hardy. The sites here are too numerous to count, but most people just lump them into one name: Browning Wall. Here you've got it all ... anemones the size of dinner plates, ravines filled with white plumose and fish that swim so slowly you can actually touch them. Some wolf eels are so tame, they'll wind their five-foot bodies around you and rest their heads in your hands.
At the very top of Vancouver Island is Nakwakto. The Schwarzenegger of current dives, Nakwakto's 17-knot currents feed gooseneck barnacles the size of plums that come in iridescent colors.
Of course, you dive Nakwakto, like most sites around Vancouver Island, on slack. And that means going with someone who knows the tides and sites.Don't let the cold water stop you. Some people even whisper that it's the best diving in the world.
