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Paddling and Whale Watching Adventure Tour in Canada

Spirit of the West Adventures invites you to get ready for a sea kayak adventure! Explore the spirit of the unique and wild Pacific West Coast of Canada. Kayak the realm of orca and humpback whales. Set up your tent on a remote island and listen to the marine wildlife swimming past your tent at night, combining the best paddling and whale watching opportunities, all in one exceptional route. Go, relax, and enjoy!

Highlights

  • Explore Johnstone Strait and Blackfish Sound
  • Paddle for approximately four to six nautical miles per day in a comfortable pace
  • Opportunity to see whales, porpoises, dolphins, sea lions, bald eagles, and more
  • All kayaking and safety equipment provided
  • Camping equipment provided, except for sleeping bag
  • Park and land use permits included
  • Professional guiding service
  • 3 nights accommodation with all meals, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages

Skill level

  • Beginner
  • Intermediate

Styles


4 activity days
Group size: Maximum of 10 participants
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Accommodation

Check-in Time:
11:30
Check-out Time:
12:00

Campsites

This is a true expedition style trip, which means that participants will move from camp to camp. If the group finds the perfect location, you may choose to spend a couple of nights camped at the same beautiful sites. However, on most nights, you will be at a new campsite.

There are a number of different campsites throughout the area. You will spend at least one night of your tour at an established Spirit of the West base camp site on Hanson Island, which has a camp kitchen area, built tent platforms, and a pit toilet. In most of the other sites that you will visit, you will have designated camping areas and pit toilets.

For this particular tour, you will be paddling and camping all along the Johnstone Strait and Blackfish Sound areas, where large marine mammals such as orcas and humpbacks are known to frequent.

The group will seek out campsites with beautiful surroundings and solitude. These will all be undeveloped and may be clearings throughout the forest, on small islet bluffs, or above the high tideline on beaches. The camping options throughout the area are plentiful, boasting awe-inspiring views and opportunities for wildlife viewing right from camp.

There may be the occasional circumstance when you will be camping next to other paddlers. Campsite choice will be based on weather conditions, route choice, and group size. Please be aware that no campsites on this tour have power, charging sources, showers, or access to the wood-fired hot tubs.

Also keep in mind that Spirit of the West Adventures' sea kayaking tours are a true wilderness experience that can involve camping in established and non-established sites. Their expedition-style tours involve camping at sites with minimal facilities and rustic surroundings.

Basecamp-style tours afford more facilities and comforts. This is all part of what they call an adventure! Tenting and lodging will generally be based on double occupancy. However, if you will be traveling solo, they will do their best to provide you with your own tent.

Hygiene

Handwashing stations will be set up at each lunch spot and campsite. Refreshing saltwater ocean swims can be used for bathing. There is very little fresh water to be found in these marine areas. Therefore, seawater will be your best bet for washing up.

Spirit of the West Adventures also recommends bringing a set of personal wet wipes for use throughout the tour. Please only bring environmentally-friendly soap or shampoo.

Spirit of the West Adventures carries a portable toilet system, which you will be using for majority of the time. At a few of the campsites, you may have pit or outhouse-style facilities. Your guides will always designate an area that works to ensure your privacy and comfort.

Spirit of the West Adventures understands and expects some guests to be unfamiliar with backcountry bathroom etiquette - they will be there to help! They very accustomed to making sure that all of their guests feel comfortable and informed - please feel free to ask them any questions you might have, before or during your tour.

Before or after your trip (optional)

Kwa’lilas Hotel

The Kwa’lilas Hotel is an Indigenous-owned and operated hotel in Port Hardy. This hotel is a lovely place to stay and the top pick for Port Hardy.

North Coast Hostel

The North Coast Hostel is a clean and affordable hostel with a variety of room options. North Coast Hostel would recommend this for someone looking for a more basic, budget-friendly accommodation option.

Program

Tour overview

This four-day expedition is the perfect introduction to paddling in a remote and coastal BC environment. The idea behind the four-day Johnstone Strait Expedition tour is to get you out into the heart of the realm of the killer and humpback whales! This tour is geared towards kindred adventurous spirits: families, backpackers, solo travelers, shoestring wanderers.

Additionally, the shorter duration of the tour (four days as opposed to the six-day expeditions) may fit more easily into busy travel schedules.

A big adventure for those short on time

This tour is simply about giving an accessible expedition kayaking experience to those wanting to explore the wildlife-rich region of the Johnstone Strait and Blackfish Sound.

This means fewer frills than Spirit of the West Adventures' four-day Johnstone Strait Ultimate tour and a shorter length than their six-day Whales and Wilderness Expedition, but you will still have the best-trained guides on the coast, top-of-the-line gear, industry-leading pre- and post-trip service, and most importantly, plenty of safe and fun adventure with wildlife!

A big adventure on a small budget

The area is a sea kayaker’s dream. With miles of shoreline to explore, channels to gaze across, and hundreds of birds and animals to spot, there are so many different routes and possibilities. No two days or two expeditions are ever the same!

Get ready for the adventure

The Spirit of the West Adventures crew will meet you in Bauza Cove, just outside of Telegraph Cove on northern Vancouver Island. From there, you will have immediate access to one of the richest and most diverse areas on the coast.

Most of British Columbia’s 300 resident orcas return to this area every summer to eat, sleep, play, and rub their bodies on some of the small pebble beaches of Johnstone Strait. In addition to orcas, the kayaker must keep their eyes peeled for the large and majestic Humpback whale, the speedy Dall’s porpoise, or perhaps for a large group of cavorting dolphins.

The lower cost of this trip means no water taxi transportation but nothing less than the highest standards when it comes to your guides, top-of-the-line gear, industry-leading pre and post-trip service, and most importantly, plenty of fun and adventure!

What to expect

Your journey

This is an expedition-style tour. You can expect to stay at one, two, or three different campsites across the three nights of your tour.

Self-supported

Participants will be carrying everything they will need in their kayaks. There will be no support crew, stash points, or supply drops. For this reason, it is important to pack well and pack light.

Part of a team

The expeditions will require everyone to work together as a team. You will be needed to help keep camp tidy, and to assist with loading, carrying, and unloading kayaks at the beginning and end of every day.

Kayaking

Each day on the water, you can expect to be paddling for three to five hours and cover four to six nautical miles per day. You may encounter wind, swell, currents, crossings, and technical landing.

Kayaks

A range of good-quality fiberglass kayaks will be available. For safety and storage reasons, a minimum of two double kayaks will be part of the fleet. You can expect to have the opportunity to paddle a few different boats throughout your trip.

Skill level

This four-day Johnstone Strait Expedition is the shortest and most accessible expedition for paddlers who would like to gain experience in multi-day kayaking in a supportive and fun environment. If you are new to paddling, the expert guides will walk you through everything you will need to know to have the experience of a lifetime.

For those with existing paddling experience, you can look forward to strengthening your skills, refining your camp craft, or asking your guides to teach you something new! Paddling time and distance covered will vary depending on the trip, your daily route, weather conditions, and the group’s abilities and desires.

Generally, you will travel between four to six hours a day on your Johnstone Strait Expedition, not including lunch and rest spots. Spirit of the West Adventures will set a pace that is manageable and enjoyable for all, with frequent opportunities for breaks to stretch, hydrate, have snacks, and go to the bathroom.

Paddle in and paddle out orca kayaking

Unlike Spirit of the West Adventures' other tours, this four-day Johnstone Strait Expedition does not make use of expensive water taxi services. Instead, the group will choose to navigate their way through the beautiful waters of Johnstone Strait and Blackfish Sound under their own steam.

Participants will launch their kayaks in Bauza Cove, a two and a half-hour drive north of Campbell River, or a 40-minute drive south of Port Hardy. This is a nomadic style trip, in the realm of the whales, and you will explore many beaches along the rich and rugged shoreline of Vancouver Island as well as other smaller islands in the area.

You will return four days later in Bauza Cove before you say goodbye to your fellow kayakers.

Tour meeting location

The group will meet in Bauza Cove on Northern Vancouver Island, where they will begin their kayaking adventure. Prior to departure, the group will take part in a route planning session with the guides. After some kayaking skills instruction and packing the kayaks, you will begin your journey into the rich and diverse waters of Johnstone Strait.

The route and itinerary will be flexible and will be dictated by wildlife viewing opportunities, as well as tidal, wind, and wave conditions. To allow Spirit of the West Adventures to tailor make your holiday, they will base the campsite choices on scenic qualities, availability, and group preferences.

  • Where and when: Bauza Cove (right-hand side of cove) at 11:30 am on Day 1

On Day 1 of your trip, you will meet your guides in Bauza Cove (just outside of Telegraph Cove) at 11:30 am on Vancouver Island (an approximately five and a half hours' drive by car north of Victoria or four hours north of Nanaimo).

Return time and location

Return time can depend on weather and travel conditions but is typically between 11 am to 1 pm. Spirit of the West Adventures will try their best to get you back on time for your onward travels or to explore more of what Vancouver Island has to offer.

  • Where and when: Bauza Cove by approximately 11 am - 1 pm on Day 4

Itinerary

Day 1

Your day will start in Bauza Cove in the northern part of Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. With coaching from your guides, you will pack up all of your gear into your kayaks at 11:30 am. After a safety briefing and orientation to kayaking, you will head out into the waters of Johnstone Strait.

You will paddle to your first campsite, either at a remote site on Vancouver Island or on one of the smaller islands nestled between Johnstone Strait and Blackfish Sound - the territory of the orca and humpback whales.

After a hearty meal for dinner and a bonfire on the beach, you will be ready for your first night’s sleep under the stars in the wild coastal paradise of Johnstone Strait and Blackfish Sound.

Days 2 to 3

Your route and schedule for the four-day Johnstone Strait Expedition will be entirely flexible. This will allow your guides to customize the trip depending on weather conditions, campsite availability, group preference, and wildlife viewing opportunities.

After a hearty breakfast, you will enjoy a new adventure on the water each day. Time will be spent exploring the nearby islands and shorelines, always looking and listening for the many marine mammals including orcas, humpbacks, minke whales, dolphins, and porpoises.

For your lunch breaks, you will enjoy picnics on various beaches. These breaks will also give you the opportunity to stretch your legs, discover the creatures that live in the intertidal zone, and explore the lush coastal rainforests with old-growth cedar trees.

Day 4

After your last breakfast in the wild, you will pack up your gear and leave for your last day of exploration. On the paddle back to Bauza Cove, you will have more opportunities to paddle along various shorelines and islands, experience the rich intertidal life along BC’s coast, and of course, watch out for more wildlife.

Location

Vancouver Island is the best place on earth to see killer whales in the wild. Most of British Columbia’s 300 or so orcas return to these waters to feed, sleep, play, and rub their bodies on the pebble beaches of the world-famous Robson Bight Ecological Reserve.

And there’s no more exciting way to encounter pods of these fascinating animals than from the seat of your very own sea kayak. Also sharing this diverse habitat are dolphins, porpoises, sea lions, harbor seals, humpback whales, eagles, and black bears, to name just a few.

Food

The four-day Johnstone Strait Expedition menu will be fresh, hearty, healthy, abundant, and designed to fill your belly after lots of time spent on activities such as paddling, beach walking, wildlife viewing, and relaxing.

During your stay, all food and drinks will be provided, except for alcohol. Spirit of the West Adventures consider food to be a very important part of your tour. From their wild and local fish dinner to their chocolate fondue and home baked desserts, there are few camp menus that compare to the one you will experience on this tour.

Spirit of the West Adventures has a wonderful kitchen crew who ensures that all dietary needs and restrictions will be met, providing creative culinary alternatives that will please vegetarians, vegans, gluten and wheat-free diets, and those with various allergies and food sensitivities. Of course, the food will be hearty, healthy, full of flavor, and fun.

Spirit of the West Adventures will be happy to accommodate many dietary restrictions. However, dietary restrictions add additional complexity and costs to preparing for this tour. Please see below for some of the dietary restrictions that they can accommodate and the associated costs for substitutions.

  • 75 CAD fee: Gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, and vegan (please notify Spirit of the West Adventures when booking)
  • No additional cost: Vegetarian, no red meat, no pork, no fish, no seafood

Food is an essential part of any camping trip and wow, camping food has come a long way. Move over, hot dogs and canned beans, because fresh green salad, local and responsibly sourced lingcod, and roasted baby potatoes are ready and waiting to be served.

Top these off with locally baked treats or fresh fruit skewers with chocolate drizzle for dessert, and you will get the picture! It'll be a pleasure to share these tasty meals with you while savoring some of the most beautiful scenery around.

Spirit of the West Adventures likes to say, “We can’t control the weather or the wildlife, but we can control the food!” On their tours, you can look forward to hearty, healthy, fresh, and satisfying food. While specific meals will vary based on the tour, please see a sample of some of their typical options below.

Breakfast

Breakfasts will be warm and hearty. Breakfasts that will be served may include:

  • Scrambled eggs, bacon, and fruit
  • Yogurt, granola, and fruit salad
  • French toast with fresh fruit
  • Hot cereal with dried fruit and toppings
  • Pancakes with peaches and syrup
  • Kayaking trip breakfast

Lunch

Lunches will be simple and delectable, most often eaten on one of the coast’s many pocket-beaches after a morning of paddling. They may include:

  • A sandwich spread with seasonal fruit and cookies
  • Pita, hummus, and tzatziki with protein bars and fruit
  • Quinoa salad with fresh veggies
  • Kayaking trip lunch

Appetizers

Appetizers will always be a welcome treat at the end of a day of paddling. They may include:

  • An assortment of artisanal crackers and cheeses
  • Tortilla chips and fresh salsa
  • Kayaking trip appetizer

Dinners

Dinners will be full of flavor, filling, and variety. There will always be a sweet treat to follow. Meals may include:

  • Pan-seared lingcod fillets (locally and responsibility sourced) with herbed potatoes and green salad
  • Thai curry with tofu, jasmine rice, and naan bread
  • Mediterranean pasta with olive bread and salad
  • Mexican bowls with corn salad and guacamole
  • Kayaking trip dinner

Sample menu items are based on the expedition tour menus. Basecamp tour offerings will vary slightly.

Snacks

Snacks will also be available for quick, on the water nourishment. Your guides will have trail mix, fruit leathers, granola bars, sweet and savory treats (such as jerky or pepperoni), as well as chocolate available for snacking. You will also be welcome to bring along your favorite snacks for while you are kayaking.

Spirit of the West Adventures' coffee, teas, and other yummy drinks

They are very fortunate to have world-class coffee roasters on their little island, importing ethically produced and sustainable coffee. Helene and Peter of Aroma Roasters supply them with freshly roasted, fair trade, organic, and shade grown beans produced by a women’s cooperative in Mexico or Peru.

Fruit juice, black and herbal teas, hot chocolate, and coffee will all be provided as well for your drinking pleasure. You will be welcome to bring wine, beer, and spirits for enjoying responsibly with your meals.

The following meals are included:

  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Snacks
  • Drinks

The following drinks are included:

  • Water
  • Coffee
  • Tea

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

  • Vegetarian
  • Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
  • Pescatarian
  • Other dietary requirements on request
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

What's included

  • Professional guiding service
  • All kayaking equipment (including kayaks, PFDs, paddles, pumps, ropes, and sponges)
  • All meals and snacks from lunch on Day 1 to lunch on Day 4
  • Non-alcoholic beverages (tea, coffee, water, and juices)
  • 3 nights of camping with equipment including tents, pillows, Therma-rest sleeping pads, tarps, and more
  • Park and land use permits

What's not included

  • Flights
  • Airport transfers, ferries, taxis
  • Travel / medical insurance
  • Alcoholic or carbonated beverages
  • Rain gear (available for rental)
  • Sleeping bags (available for rental)
  • Personal items (toiletries, clothing, and more)
  • Guide gratuity
  • 5% GST
  • 25 CAD per person environmental sustainability fee

How to get there

Recommended Airports

Driving directions

  • Follow directions towards Telegraph Cove.
  • 250 meters before you reach your destination, take a gravel road to your right, signposted for Telegraph Cove Forest Campground.
  • Follow the road for 500m and take your second left through an open gate.
  • Drive down the hill until you reach the water.
  • If you reach the campground, you’ve gone too far!

Driving directions from Island Hwy/BC-19

  • From Island Hwy/BC-19, turn onto Beaver Cove Road.
  • You will see a Spirit of the West sign at the turn off for Alder Bay. Do not follow this sign. Instead, continue to Bauza Cove.
  • Before you arrive at Telegraph Cove, turn right onto the gravel road above the hotel.
  • Take the second left turn through the open gate. While Google Maps doesn’t show the last road, it’s there!
  • Park at the first pad on the left at the top of the hill. At 11:30 am, your guides will meet you and direct you to the free parking area.

Arrival by airplane

Please book your flight to arrive at Campbell River Airport (YBL). Campbell River Airport (YBL) is a two and a half to three-hour drive to Alder Bay. From there, you will have to make your way to Port Hardy, located a 40-minute drive north of Alder Bay or 55 minutes from Bauza Cove (meeting point).

Arrival by taxi

You will have to make your way to Port Hardy, located a 40-minute drive north of Alder Bay or 55 minutes from Bauza Cove (meeting point). Taxi service to Alder Bay is available through Waivin Flags or Town Taxi.

Cancellation Policy

  • A reservation requires a deposit of 25% of the total price.
  • The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
  • The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.
4 days / 3 nights
from --

Pricing information

Kayaking trips and tours are priced and charged in Canadian dollars and are subject to 5% GST and $25 CAD per person environmental sustainability fee.

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