Diving
Both the esteemed Cousteau Society and National Geographic undersea photographer Daniel Doubilet rank Vancouver Island as one of the finest cold-water diving destinations on the planet.
IMAX Superstars
For the 3-D IMAX film Denizens of the Deep, the real stars were the marine creatures of Broughton Archipelago near Telegraph Cove. They proved so thrilling, the archipelago delivered natural wonder without a single Orca, salmon or halibut hogging the camera.
The film's kelp forest was shot in the Pearse Islands; feeding nudibranchs in the Browning Passage; soft coral at Seventree Islet; red Irish lords and ratfish in Hussar Bay; and at the northern end of the Island, armies of red sea urchins and basket stars. And don't forget the giant octopus, which can weigh 91kg/200lb and whose tentacles can reach 7.6m/25ft.
The film's producers say the BC dives were their most exciting and rewarding moments.
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Dive Sites
Port McNeill, a half-hour's drive from Telegraph Cove, has several premier dive sites. Sun Fun Divers offers day dives in the Johnstone Strait. They incorporate undersea kelp forests, complex and beautiful marine life, sightseeing and whales. Dive at Haddington Island to find wolf eel and the elusive lingcod. At Plumper Rock, negotiate a sea kelp forest teeming with fish including ling cod and several species of rockfish. Pearse Islands Underwater Marine Park is a marine life sanctuary awash in underwater wonder.
Dive Tours
Viking Adventure Tours offers overnight diving from the 16.5m/54ft Viking I. The 8-passenger vessel comes equipped with kayaks and a dive compressor plus the luxuries of crab traps, prawn traps and a library. Chief dive sites are Plumper Rock and the Pearse Islands. Itineraries can also incorporate Port Hardy dive sites such as Browning Wall, Hunt Rock and Barry Islet.
Viking Adventure Tours offers scuba training on all levels from beginner certification to instructor and dive master certification.
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Things To Do
Water Activities