Second activity - 11:00 - estuary tour - high tide was at midday so we took the opportunity to go up the river. So peaceful and picturesque. We were half way up the channel when Erin got a call that a bear had been seen by the lodge. We were committed to carrying on up the river. 

The bear was still near the lodge when we turned around so we kept our fingers crossed it was still going to be around when we got back. Erin pushed forward at top speed, well as fast as you can get when the water level is so low you have to wade to push the boat along. 

When we finally left the river and entered the estuary we spotted two of the lodge’s boats and two skiffs from Tide Rip (tour company based at Telegraph Cove). Instead of heading back to the lodge we went towards the other boats and in the distance we could see the outline of bear number 12. Erin was concerned the number of boats may distress the bear so we went ahead of the bear where it was walking towards. 

As we got closer we saw it wasn’t just one bear but three, a mamma bear and her two cubs, bears 13 and 14.

She continued along the coast line with her two cubs running behind. One of the cubs climbed up on to a log and ran along it, so cute. 

Very happy we went back to the lodge slightly late for lunch, where a very yummy specially prepared sandwich was waiting for me. 

Third activity - 1pm - River Stand - guide Nova - this was Alan’s first visit to this stand. Usual routine across in Mike’s ‘bus’ (water taxi) and onto the mini school bus to the stand, along the raised boardwalk to the benches to patiently wait. 

We didn’t have to wait long, the mamma bear had decided to bring her family along the river from the estuary and we were given another opportunity to capture some pictures and more importantly stable video of them. 

After the second showing of the cute family we watched eagles fly up and down the river along with a belted kingfisher.

For our last stand activity we were going to split, with Alan returning to the River Stand and me moving to the Finger Stand. We didn’t return to the lodge, the guides drove their buses to a meeting area and those going to different activities swapped vehicles.

Alan Fourth Activity - River Stand - guide Samantha - As we had decided to maximise our bear spotting chances by splitting up, I headed to the River Stand with Samantha’s group. We had some luck as soon as we arrived as a young Brown bear (number 15) was hoovering up the grass alongside the elevated walkway from the parking area to the stand. Samantha allowed us to take shots and video (not supposed to stop on the walkway but she was concerned we would disturb it if we proceeded).

Eventually it moved on, and we continued, one of us spotting a Garter snake moving in the grass. 

We then patiently waited in the stand and although we had no more bears we were visited by an inquisitive deer and lots of bald eagle fly-bys. Eventually it was time to leave and head back to meet up with the others and hear how they got on.         

Liz Fourth Activity - Finger Stand - guide Nova - like this morning no bears made an appearance at this stand. I spent the majority of the time chatting with Nova, looking up and down the river and watching the salmon.

I say the majority of the time, because there was a split moment of excitement and the story goes like this... I positioned myself looking over the salmon pool because the other guests were looking in the other directions. One of the guests came over and mumbled something - Nova didn’t catch what they said, but I thought I heard the word otter and moved over to where they were. There was splashing from under a log and then from out the back appeared an otter and it disappeared into the vegetation. 

Unfortunately this was a quick encounter lasting only a few seconds and I only managed to grab out of focus shots! I asked the couple where it had appeared from and they said they had watched it come out over there by another log, catch two fish and then and only then did they think to mention anything to anyone else! UNBELIEVABLE! These two inappropriately dressed people not only don’t understand you don’t get dressed up when you are at a wildlife lodge (they were in smart causals, shirt & jumper for the man and a pretty blouse for the lady), they don’t understand the etiquette of telling others you’ve seen something!! It was almost like they wanted a private showing. To say I was not impressed would be an understatement.

Alan & I met back at the bus parking area and exchanged stories and transferred back across the cove to the lodge at 6pm via Mike’s ‘bus’. 

We returned our gear, dropped our stuff in our room and met in the dining room with our friends chatting over dinner.

I managed to get a bit more sleep waking at 3am and starting note writing at 4am. 

Today we would be returning to Campbell River so we packed all our stuff before going to breakfast. We had one last activity, a 90 minutes ride around the estuary. It was finally raining so we put on our waterproofs and headed out, our guide for this last activity would be Emma. 

I spotted the first bear number 16 and we followed it up the coast before is disappeared into the trees, we travelled back up the estuary again to find a second bear, number 17, coming out the same location as the first one did – bear super highway!

It was raining hard and I was all for going back to the lodge when Emma decided to try for a black bear at the entrance to the cove. Instead of a black bear we found a mother and 2 cubs bears 18, 19 & 20. Eating crustaceans. 

We were late back to the lodge but still managed to gather everything together and be ready for checkout by 9:20am. Our flight, this time on the second plane, came in at 10:10 and we left 30 minutes later. Alan was co-pilot.