Summer white water paddling on Vancouver Island – Part 1 – Okisolo Rapids

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It is hot and dry on the island now. The snow has melted, the rain has gone
and
the rivers are dry. The Cowichan is as low as you can imagine it. On the
Koksilah you can probably walk down the river bed with mostly dry feet. Kayaking season is in atumn and winter here. And yet I have been paddling new
locations recently and had a blast. Guess how?

A few weeks ago I went to the annual general meeting of the
href=“http://www.surfkayak.org“ target=“_blank“>Vancouver Island
Whitewater Paddling Society
up north onto Quadra Island. It was a late
Friday night drive catching the last ferry over to the island and via logging
roads getting to Discovery
Island Lodge
. On Saturday we were ready for adventure and it sure awaited
us. At lunch time we headed out via boat up north to the Okisolo Rapids. These
tidal rapids are maybe a bit slower then the the famous Skookumchuck on an epic
day, but rest assured. It was spectacular to see the sea move like a river and
big glassy waves forming … and kind of scary whirlpools just a bit further
downstream from these. We had some great time surfing and mucking around. I
definitely found out that I am bit out of shape when it comes to lasting for
hours on a playspot ;-)

The less powerful and more beginner friendly Surge Narrows Rapids are just a
short paddle away from the lodge as well. We sure will be back there. On Sunday
we went for an exploratory paddle with our sekayaka Sparkle, saw Bald Eagles
galore and experienced the great feeling of being push around by the current
nearly doing a 360 in a double seakayak. Haha.

Stay tuned for some photos from the trip on the site soon.