Derek Kyostia

Derek Kyostia grew up on the water on Vancouver Island and is still most at home on or beneath the ocean. Now in his fifth or sixth season at Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge, by his own playful count, he serves as Marine Manager, keeping the lodge’s small fleet running and its crew ready to head out onto the waters surrounding Clayoquot Sound. It’s a role that occasionally pulls him away from his desk and into what he calls his “happy place,” where he can find wildlife, point it out, and, most importantly, explain why it matters. As one of the few Vancouver Islanders on the team, Derek takes particular pleasure in watching guests encounter the region’s wild coastline for the first time. “It never gets old watching folks from around the world gobsmacked by the splendour of the pristine nature,” he says.

Bears and whales are Derek’s particular fascination, but simply spotting them isn’t the point. What excites him is opening a window into their lives, from the behaviors guests can see to the extraordinary physiology beneath the surface. “Finding them and watching them is rewarding, but delving into their secret worlds and helping people appreciate their incredible life history and mind-blowing physiology is where it’s at,” he says. His goal is to create the kind of outing he would want to join himself, using his own enthusiasm as a bridge between busy lives and nature’s slower rhythm. And while he spends much of his time showing guests the wilderness from the water, his advice for experiencing Clayoquot is simpler: get outside and immerse yourself. Land or sea, night or day, Derek believes the important part is disconnecting from the device in your hand long enough to reconnect with what’s around you.