Complex sentence: After exploring in the area, they crossed the island to the Qualicum River and then travelled by canoe to Nanaimo to board the "Grappler" and return to Victoria where they arrived, as local celebrities, on October 21.
Split into simpler sentences: After exploring in that area, they crossed the island to the Qualicum River and then travelled by canoe to Nanaimo to board the "Grappler". From there, they returned to Victoria where they arrived, as local celebrities, on October 21.