Orca Basecamp Kayak Tour

Highlights

• Imagine sipping a glass of wine on a sunset beach, where a gently receding tide reveals untold marvels of starfish and colorful invertebrates. The smell of dinner cooked hot in a dutch oven mixes with the fresh scent of cedar from the forest. As the lapping waves lull you into the serenity of the sunset mirroring rosy hues on the water, a great “WHOOSH” draws your attention to the coast. As you rush to the ocean’s edge, a pearly black orca fin lifts elegantly from the ocean’s smooth surface, followed by half a dozen others.
• Don't just wait around for orcas! Your time in Johnstone Strait will be filled with a variety of activities. On our basecamp trip, plan to kayak 4-5 hours per day to different areas of the strait including Robson Bight Ecological Reserve. It also allows time for hiking, tidepooling, natural history talks, and wildlife viewing.
• Enjoy longer mornings without breaking camp or setting up your tent every day. Perfect for families with teens or novice kayakers who want to experience the magic of close orca encounters. Hydrophones are present on all tours so that you can listen to the underwater vocalizations of the orcas as well as see them breach and play.

What's this trip about?

Spend 4 days kayaking and 3 nights camping at this magical site near Robson Bight, sleeping with your head on a pillow just METERS from passing orcas. While orcas will pass by most beaches in Johnstone Strait at some point or another, this beach has been a central point for orca encounters for decades because a steep pebble dropoff creates an ideal belly-rubbing site for killer whales. We have witnessed this VERY special orca behavior right from camp! (Nearby Robson Bight became an orca ecological preserve because of the rubbing beaches within.) Moreover, this unique landscape also forms a “corral” which the orcas use to herd their salmon dinners. View these spectacular behaviors from a rocky outcrop on the water and to see orcas up close – without disturbing them.

What's excluded

• All meals while on tour
• Transportation to and from the launch site

Accommodation