..Kayaking Tours with The killer whales of Johnstone Strait..Kayaking Tours with The killer whales of Johnstone Strait..Kayaking Tours with The killer whales of Johnstone Strait
"We loved the trip!!! Guides were exceptional cooks, great guides and super hosts!" Micaelai & David Brummett, from Palo Alto, CA
Orca Galore, is an amazing four-day sea kayaking adventure designed for paddlers to explore the shorelines, passages and amazing wildlife of the Johnstone Strait area. We have had the pleasure of serving over a thousand guests on Orca Galore Trips over the past twenty plus years, with our footprint remaining virtually unseen. Adventurers will experience the local wonders of sea kayaking complimented with a daily moderate hike into a old growth rainforest. This adventure allows guests time to enjoy paddling the waters that surround the Michael Biggs/Robson Bight Ecological Reserve.
Our island camp is located seventeen kilometers from Telegraph Cove on a small secluded island that offers a great for sea kayaking and whale watching in Johnstone Strait. This location allows us to access both sheltered and open water passages. Camp is comfortable and sheltered from the elements. Tent sites are located at the waters edge. Without leaving camp, we are often visited by Orcas, eagles and seals. At the shoreline the marine life is abundant and alive. At low tides you will be introduced first hand to the amazing number of critters and organisms of this saltwater environment. After warm afternoons it is possible to catch a gleam of the bio-luminous microorganisms in the water, or the northern lights. All this makes for a remarkable summer sea kayaking experience.
We monitor the whale activity by radio and hydraphone. It is possible to see pods of orca, porpoise, and dolphins all in the same day. Sighting are usually during daytime, although whale sounds are often heard throughout the evenings. We have become familar with the vocals of numerous families of whales. It is often the case that our guests see and hear whales before the guides do. This frequently occurs a number of times in a 24-hour period. From you tent sites you can experience the frequent calls of eagles, orca, sea lions and a myriad of songbirds. Our camp is comfortable, private and sheltered from the elements. Camp is island setting supporting an intact rainforest ecosystem. It is a combination of towering cedar and fir trees, groves of ferns and mosaics of moss. At the shoreline the marine life is abundant and alive. Our low tides biology walks will introduce you to an amazing number of critters and organisms that live in this saltwater environment. Johnstone Strait is unquestionably the best place in North America to view Orca whales from sea kayaks in the wild. Most of British Columbia's 200 Orca whales return to these waters each summer to feed, sleep, play, and rub their bodies on the pebble beaches of the world-famous Robson Bight Ecological Reserve.
Day 1: - This is always the most exciting day. The morning starts with a short but scenic boat cruise to our base camp.
Often we encounter whales travelling into Johnstone Strait or wildlife catching the first meal of the day. This twenty five minute cruise has often given us an idea of what the day will evolve into foreshadowing a glimpse of wildlife to come.
Arrival at base camp is done from the back of island and time is giving for you to secure your tent site and get orientated to our home for the next four days. We will take a short time to store your gear, grab a bit and go over a little chat about safety and whales. Our morning paddle will introduce us to a sheltered cove and the two small islands that make us our immediate surroundings. Often this is where pods of Orca whales pass on their way to the rubbing beaches.
Our afternoon will give us time to explore beaches not often visited by visitors, and unique small islands on the sunny side of Johnstone Strait. As our first afternoon gives way to evening you will hardly notice it because it stay light until 11 pm and the sun does not disappear over the horizon in the west until 9 pm. Dinner is a fun time, we enjoy preparing fresh food at camp and later look forward to warming our feet around a small beach-fire.
Day 2: - Whales can arrive at anytime. So your guides are constantly monitoring for these signs and sightings. Within a hour of base camp we have access to a stand of Old Growth Forest and a treaded trail from which we can get great vistas of views of twenty kilometers or more. We either visit this area in the morning or afternoon. The waters are usually calm and the tide is traditionally low in the mornings. We often take advantage of these conditions and enjoy the fasinating marine life of a cluster of reefs just to east of basecamp. As the morning processes into the afternoon we will hike or paddle out into Johnstone Strait and enjoy the small pods of harbour propoise or the activities of white-sided dolphins. We will catch lunch on a hidden beach along the way. At sometime in the day our hike will take us into a through a lush rainforest with large trees and a maze of small wildlife from squirrels to deer. After a short walk/hike along the trail we will come out at a rock bluff with a commanding view of the waters and adjacent shoreline of Johnstone Strait. Often the walk and the paddle to camp is as eventful as the rest of the day. Dinner will highlight another wonderful day and perhaps we can sit and watch whales going by as we eat. Later, if we have the opportunity with tides and calm waters an evening paddle might be order to end our day.
Day 3: - This day will start with a substantial breakfast and time to catch a few photo's of our resident eagles. Our route plan today will take us in the direction of Robson Bight and the open waters of Johnstone Strait. Our crossing of Johnstone Strait is done during the morning allowing us maximum time to use calm waters and light breezes to enjoy the crossing. We will have lunch on a beach close to our favourite spot for freshwater, whale watching and some of the best coastal paddling the Strait has to offer. We will paddle in the direction that gives the best chance of seeing whales and exploring beaches. We might stop and enjoy a little fishing or catch pictures looking back at the eastern shoreline of the Strait. Resident eagles nest are numerous along the west side of the Strait and offer us another chance to get some great photos. Today is a day to explore larger passages, capture some good photos of whales, porpoise or shore critters. This evening is always special because it is our last. Dinner will be even better than last night and tonight we might stay up a little later and catch some star gazing around a warm beachfire.
Day 4: - Our last day often finds everyone early eager to face the day. A morning paddling session will take us on a journey into Johnstone Strait and to a different shore where the chance of spending more time exploring and seeing Orca for our last time. Often July and August are the summer months that attract large salmon runs and numerous pods of Orca to Johnstone Strait. Arrival back at our put-in is approximately 3:00 pm.
Note: *This itinerary is flexible.
June 28-31, July 02-05, July 09-12, July 16-19, July 23-26,
Aug 06-09, Aug 13-16, Aug 20-23, Aug 27-30,
Sept 03-06, Sept 10-13, Sept 17-20,
Trip Cost: $1099.00 per person (family rates available)
Trip Maximum: (6) Six Guests
Trip Deposit: $250.00 per person