Paradise Found Adventure Tours offer specialized snorkeling safaris on the Campbell River, located a three and half hour drive from Victoria. Many people like the idea of swimming with dolphins but few are aware of the unique rush that comes from joining a salmon rush.
Paradise Found Adventures
Brad and Jennifer Brock, owners and operators of Paradise Found, have been taking people swimming with salmon for nearly a decade and their tours have been voted by the Canadian Tourism Commission as one of the best outdoor adventure trips in the country. Offering two tours a day from mid-July to late October and with a three to one guide-to-guest ratio, the trips involve donning wetsuits, masks, snorkels and fins (after removing any jewelry that might acts as accidental fishing lure) before floating downstream as the salmon swim upstream on their epic voyage to spawn and die in the same place they were hatched. Scientists estimate that around a half a million Pacific salmon boomerang back to the Campbell River from the ocean each year. How the fish accomplish this feat of navigation or make such a rapid transition between saltwater and freshwater is still a scientific mystery.
Downstream Snorkeling
Snorkeling downstream on a cold, swift-moving and shallow river may sound extreme to the uninitiated but it doesn't take long to get the hang of it. With your arms held in front like Superman, the trick is to not fight the current but to simply go with the flow and enjoy the show. The fish come in waves: the humpbacked Pinks, the silver-sided Coho, the creepy-looking Chum and, by far the most impressive, the monstrous Chinook who generally weigh at least 13 kilos (29 lbs). While they may seem intimidating, the fish are harmless and the risk of getting accidentally socked in the eye by a sockeye is minimal.
The descents end in a tidal pool where there is a good chance of spotting harbour seals, who are also there for the salmon. Two trips down the river are included and the more adventurous types have the option of beginning higher up the second run in order to shoot some small rapids.
To the indigenous cultures of British Columbia, salmon have long been considered sacred. Unfortunately, loss of habitat, overfishing and climate change has created a crisis situation and almost all salmon fishing in the Campbell River is now catch-and-release. So if you can’t eat ′em, you might as well join ′em.
Andrew Fleming - Andrew Fleming is a freelance writer based in Vancouver and the author of several alleged humour books. He has a perfectly sensible BA in ...
