B.C. - Hamilton to Sechelt, Sunshine Coast

Up at 4am and waiting for the flight at 6am at Hamilton Airport.

 

I got a window seat so was able to get some photos of the Rockies as we flew over. I was surprised to see snow still. 

We had left sunny and dry and arrived to grey. Negotiating Vancouver Airport, picking up the rental car and driving north all went smoothly.

When we got to Horseshoe Bay we discovered that the next ferry to Langdale, at 12:30, was full. This is the only way to get to the Sunshine Coast. So we waited in line for the next one - 2:30. 

Once we had paid and moved down to the boarding area we could leave the car and go and explore Horseshoe Bay Village.

It was great to get out and walk (5 hours sitting on the plane and 1hr in the car) and we walked around the bay.

We talked to these guys who were going to work. Being ferried out to a Liquid Natural Gas facility being built.

 The Woodfibre LNG Project will be the world’s first net zero LNG export facility, being constructed on the historical site of Swiy̓át, a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) village, in Nexwnéwu7ts Átlḵ’a7tsem (Howe Sound). The Project includes the construction of a liquefaction train, a floating LNG storage and offloading unit, an air-cooling system, and marine docking facilities for LNG carriers. Woodfibre LNG will produce approximately 2.1 million tonnes of LNG per year during operations. from woodfibrelng.com

We heard a big splash and noticed a group of 5 Harbour Seals lazing on a dock. A sixth one had just dived in the water.

 Individual harbor seals possess a unique pattern of spots, either dark on a light background or light on a dark. They vary in colour from brownish black to tan or grey; underparts are generally lighter. The body and flippers are short, heads are rounded. Nostrils appear distinctively V-shaped. As with other true seals, there is no pinna (ear flap). An ear canal may be visible behind the eye. Including the head and flippers, they may reach an adult length of 1.85 m (6.1 ft) and a weight of 55 to 168 kg (120 to 370 lb).^[3] Females are generally smaller than males. from Wikipedia.

There were 3 adults,

 

of varying colours

and 2 fluffier looking pups.

A little further along there was one, resting on some rocks,

who primped

and posed for us

as if paid by the local tourist board.

They do really have faces like puppies and bodies like slugs.

While we had been wandering there had been ferries in and out from Nanaimo and Bowen Island.

We headed back to the car and were literally

the last car to get on. Phew!

Getting greyer

and drizzily

but still beautiful views

from the boat.

The trip had taken longer than we anticipated so we didn't pop into Gibsons, as we had planned, but headed north for a quick grocery shop and then to the AirBnB, in Sechelt,  that will be our base for the next few days.