Rosa Powell | Pemberton Holmes Ltd

On the extreme west coast of Canada, off the rugged shoreline of mainland British Columbia Vancouver Islands highest peak, the Golden Hinde rises above the Pacific Ocean to mark your arrival at a world away from ordinary. For hundreds of years giant Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, hemlock, and red cedar have crowded Vancouver Islands temperate rainforests while Arbutus, Garry Oak, and manzanita have flourished in the drier climes of the south-eastern shores. This Island paradise is home to herds of Roosevelt elk, black bear, and the exclusive Vancouver Island marmot. Ocean-bound waterways are alive with spawning salmon, steelhead, and fresh-water trout. Endless lakes and seashores are ecosystems for kingfishers, sandpipers, and the bald eagle. Flocks of migratory birds and pods of whales navigate the 460 km length of the Island each season; funneled close to land by the multitude of Gulf Islands where tidewater runs uphill between narrow inlets. Equal to the Islands beauty is the seclude...