The Perfect Gift

Kayaking with whales was an unexpected birthday adventure.

- Helen Harwood

Who needs more collectibles as birthday gifts? My 70th birthday was coming up in June 2015, and when my daughter-in-law, Ali, returned from a trip called “Kayak With Whales” on Hanson Island off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island, she told my son Paul, “That’s the perfect trip for your mom.”

So kayaking is what my son and I did in September 2016, along with two brothers from Great Britain and a couple from Seattle. I travelled from Ontario to join Paul in British Columbia for our adventure. At the beginning of our trip, we took a water taxi from Port McNeill to base camp on Hanson Island. Then, after breakfast every day for four days, we loaded fibreglass kayaks with supplies and left our campsite accompanied by two guides from Kingfisher Wilderness Adventures. By then I had turned 71, and I was the oldest person on the trip by close to 25 years. Many times when we were moving kayaks or loading gear, my much younger group members did it all for me. I felt like the Queen.