So I did end up going to Port Hardy with a couple people. We were there for only 2 days and did only 4 dives, but wow, did it ever spark my appetite for more diving up in that area!! It is gorgeous.
We did 3 shore dives at Bear Cove, one of the only shore diving sites there, we discovered. There is more down in Port McNeill, but we wanted to stay in Port Hardy. So Bear Cove it was, and I was not disappointed.
We were blessed with one of the easiest shore entries I have ever encountered. We simply walked down a boat ramp and into the water. No surface swimming was necessary. We just dropped right down, then headed right, around the breakwater. We were greeted with the site of hundreds of hooded nudibranchs (which was entertaining simply because, as we were driving up there we mentioned that we "might get to see a hooded nudi!!"). They were everywhere. And they weren't the only nudis we saw. Orange ones and white ones and yellow ones and purple ones, little ones and big ones, swimming ones...it was impressive. Also tons of hermit crabs, and little things floating in the water that look like miniature angels, with wings flapping, but I have no idea what those are. We also headded to the left on our second dive here and were greeted again with tons of nudis, hermits, and other such creatures. The site is absolutely teeming with life, visibility was excellent, shore entry easy, and we didn't break 60ft on any of our dives here. Only downside was that I got a little cold (water was a consistent 45˚F).
We also got the chance to hop on a boat and check out Five Fathom Rocks, which is a pinnacle. There is a buoy to ascend and decend on, and navigation was very easy here. Again, we didn't even break 60ft. We encountered some very colourful anemones, many different kinds of rock fish, huge ling cod (we are talking 4-5ft long, some even bigger). And the real thriller of the dive: a pair of wolf eels! I was about to call the dive because I was getting to my "Im too cold" mark, but decided to ait a couple more minutes, and then one of my buddies (we were a trio) spotted the pair hiding in some rocks. I was particularly excited, as I have never seen them before, and I actually let out a squeal of delight when I saw them. They had eggs, and the female was wrapped around them, so we didn't get a chance to interact with them, but I honestly didn't care...I was just so happy to finally see some wolf eels!
At any rate, we all had a great time diving the North Island and seeing some brand new sites. I am hoping to get back up to Port Hardy in the summer and check out some more of the sites that are accessible by boat. I had such a wonderful time!
We did 3 shore dives at Bear Cove, one of the only shore diving sites there, we discovered. There is more down in Port McNeill, but we wanted to stay in Port Hardy. So Bear Cove it was, and I was not disappointed.
We were blessed with one of the easiest shore entries I have ever encountered. We simply walked down a boat ramp and into the water. No surface swimming was necessary. We just dropped right down, then headed right, around the breakwater. We were greeted with the site of hundreds of hooded nudibranchs (which was entertaining simply because, as we were driving up there we mentioned that we "might get to see a hooded nudi!!"). They were everywhere. And they weren't the only nudis we saw. Orange ones and white ones and yellow ones and purple ones, little ones and big ones, swimming ones...it was impressive. Also tons of hermit crabs, and little things floating in the water that look like miniature angels, with wings flapping, but I have no idea what those are. We also headded to the left on our second dive here and were greeted again with tons of nudis, hermits, and other such creatures. The site is absolutely teeming with life, visibility was excellent, shore entry easy, and we didn't break 60ft on any of our dives here. Only downside was that I got a little cold (water was a consistent 45˚F).
We also got the chance to hop on a boat and check out Five Fathom Rocks, which is a pinnacle. There is a buoy to ascend and decend on, and navigation was very easy here. Again, we didn't even break 60ft. We encountered some very colourful anemones, many different kinds of rock fish, huge ling cod (we are talking 4-5ft long, some even bigger). And the real thriller of the dive: a pair of wolf eels! I was about to call the dive because I was getting to my "Im too cold" mark, but decided to ait a couple more minutes, and then one of my buddies (we were a trio) spotted the pair hiding in some rocks. I was particularly excited, as I have never seen them before, and I actually let out a squeal of delight when I saw them. They had eggs, and the female was wrapped around them, so we didn't get a chance to interact with them, but I honestly didn't care...I was just so happy to finally see some wolf eels!
At any rate, we all had a great time diving the North Island and seeing some brand new sites. I am hoping to get back up to Port Hardy in the summer and check out some more of the sites that are accessible by boat. I had such a wonderful time!
One thing to note though, is that if you ever want to dive it, you have to time it with the ferry. We don't want to get crushed by it. But I think it only leaves once a day in the morning so it's not that big of a deal. I'd like to try to do it next time I'm up there!
