4-Day Orca Viewing Vacation (29.154)

Itinerary

• Day
  1

  Guests Please arrive at the coastal community of Port McNeill (located on the northeastern end of Vancouver Island) for the evening prior to the trip departure date to meet your guides, and the other members of your group. On the first morning of your trip, we will meet you at Telegraph Cove for 8:00 AM. We will spend time familiarizing you with the kayaks as well as introducing basic paddling skills and on-the-water safety procedures. Once on the water we’ll make sure you are comfortable and secure before setting off. We will set an easterly course into Johnstone Strait in search of adventure and Orcinus Orca, the Killer Whale! Arriving at our basecamp at the end of the day where we will stay for the next two nights. After establishing our camp, we may return to the water for a late afternoon paddle, or explore the rainforest surrounding our camp. Later, while your dinner is being prepared, keep a watchful eye towards the shoreline. The ocean floor adjacent to the beach is steep, which allows the Orca to patrol the kelp beds close to the shore in search of their favourite meal, Chinook salmon. This spectacle often provides some of the best opportunities for photographing the whales. Don’t be surprised by the sight of the cook running from the kitchen area, camera in hand!

  Meals: Lunch, Dinner

  Accomodation: Camping
• Day
  2

  While enjoying your organic coffee with breakfast, we will make plans for the day ahead. You may be interested to share in the information that we use to prepare us for the morning paddle. The beaches to the west of the Michael Biggs Ecological Reserve, commonly known as Robson Bight, will most likely be the day’s destination. Robson Bight is famous for the ‘round pebble’ beaches on which the whales were first observed rubbing their bodies. Sometimes we share our lunch with the Ecological Reserve wardens, and hear firsthand their experiences involving Killer whale research. Although Johnstone Strait is one of the best places in the world to see Orca in their natural environment, it is not limited to these marine mammals. Often Dalls porpoise, the fastest small cetacean, jet-propel by. At various times the Pacific White Sided Dolphins, Minke whales or even an occasional Humpback make an appearance. At the day's end we return to our camp for a fireside dinner, which includes (we hope) some freshly caught salmon. Hopefully a big one. Hopefully a sockeye. (fishing = hoping) After the fire has burned down to coals and you're warmly snuggled in your tent, listen for the blowing of the Orcas swimming by.

  Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

  Accomodation: Camping
• Day
  3

  Today is spent exploring a new area in Johnstone Strait and continue seeking Orca sightings. When conditions are right and safety can be managed, we may plan a night paddle. Paddling in 'bioluminescence' (bioluminescence is the emission of light produced by organisms which convert chemical to radiant energy) under a very starry sky is quite an amazing experience. After the evening campfire has burned down to coals and you're warmly snuggled in your tent, listen for the distinctive 'blows' of passing Orcas.

  Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

  Accomodation: Camping
• Day
  4

  We break camp in the morning and make our way back to Telegraph Cove, as a group of seasoned paddlers. On every trip there is something very special experienced or witnessed. We were once treated to the most spectacular show as we headed home, right outside Telegraph Cove: an infant Orca practised its breaches, spy hops, and tail slaps under the watchful eyes of the rest of the family pod. The trip ended late that day, but typically we schedule our return to Telegraph Cove between 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM to allow you sufficient time to return down Island to catch ferries to the Mainland, or flights out of Port Hardy. After this trip, you surely will have had ... a whale of a time!

  Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

  Accomodation: