Paddle Wheeler on the Fraser
Rather than my usual camera write up followed by a gallery of images I thought I would do this post differently. I will be posting the images in the body with text. I had the opportunity to take a stern wheeler tour from New Westminster to Steveston along the Fraser River. Paddlewheeler Riverboat Tours Never having seen the Fraser from anything but the shore I jumped at the chance.
The boat we took is the M.V. Native with it’s sole form of propulsion coming from its two paddle wheels. We started out at 9:30am briefly heading up river but turning around before the Skytrain bridge and leaving New Westminster behind. 
One of the first sights was the unloading of new vehicles onto Annacis island. Yes they are backing them off.
Across the river from this is the Fraser Surrey Docks and a large mill.
Continuing on there were more examples of the industrial operations that flank the Fraser river and use it to receive and ship their materials.
Of course it wouldn’t be the Fraser without a tug boat or two.
There was also the remnants of an old cannery and the new fish processing facility that replaced it
At this point we left the main channel and headed down along the Ladner side of the Fraser. The private lodge on Kirkland island quickly came into view. The entire island is under the administration of the Kirkland Island Waterfowl Society which may be a polite way of saying it’s reserved for the wealthy. 
The number of waterfowl increases as you enter the estuary area. Here we saw some Mute swans (Yes I know that’s a picture of one swan thanks)
All along this channel were a multitude of float homes all with an individual look and state of repair, from brand new to brimming with character.
And to prove that the area is still connected to fishing the gillnetter Viking Spirit was seen preparing for fishing.
On the return trip we saw the Viking Spirit going down river but dwarfed by a large container ship that was passing us.
As we reached the end of this area a pair of kayakers were seen also enjoying being out on the water
Passing along another stretch of the estuary system after having a nice simple buffet lunch Steveston came into view.
We then spent about two hours around Steveston which is itself worthy of visiting by car or boat. .
At 1:45pm we heading back to the M.V. Native for the 2-5pm return trip and more sights and interesting facts. (A member of the crew narrated the trip which really added to the experience) Just a few of the other images I took
It was a fantastic trip and well worth the money. I recommend it for anyone visiting who has the time and perhaps it should even be mandatory for those of us living around the Fraser so that we can understand it and the way we use it better.
All the pictures were taken with the quirky Pentax K-01 and the Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR and HD PENTAX-DA 55-300 mm F4-5.8 ED WR