(Sea) Lions and Whales and Bears, Oh My! An Epic Wildlife Safari on Vancouver Island’s Coast
“The orcas just killed a seal,” our guide Zoe tells us reverently. “They’re feasting and celebrating.”
We watch the smooth black fins and tails crest the silky water. Rarely, the Orcinus orca stick their noses out of the waves, poking up towards the birds encircling their meal. This behaviour is called Spy-hopping. The whales are observing their surroundings—as we observe them.
Our guide Zoe Hasenfratz, who studied marine biology, steers the boat and explains what we’re seeing. She’s a naturalist with Campbell River Whale Watching, a local tour company that’s Indigenous owned by the Wei Wai Kum First Nation.
This is the Spring Bears and Waterfalls Tour. (Notice the day doesn’t promise orcas—we got lucky.)
Our luck starts with the weather that morning. The brilliant blue sky reflects off calm water. I eye the boat suspiciously, noting the covered cabin and exposed seating on top. I’m notorious for getting motion-sick—and unpleasantly seasick—so I chew a quarter of a high-strength Gravol, not wanting to fall asleep on the journey but unwilling to sacrifice my delicious breakfast of Nordic pastries from Freya to the fishes.
The salty waves are mercifully calm as we speed away from the harbour and pull past a lighthouse on Quadra Island. I lean my head against the window, opening it a crack to let the cold breeze tickle my skin, the sunshine warming my face. I begin to nod off until the boat slows to a crawl.
Above deck, we’re treated to a perfect view of Center Island with our first wildlife sighting of the day: sea lions! A colony of barking, growling water dogs splash off slippery, smooth rocks into the water, napping over each other in dog piles and suntanning on the exposed sedimentary stone. Birds flitter about, nesting and avoiding the herd of whiskers, teeth and claws.
We continue along the Sutil Channel, passing small islands smothered in evergreen trees and summits with a sprinkling of snow from last night’s precipitation. What we awoke to as frost at Naturally Pacific Resort has become a dusting of white powder at the top of these mountains.
Waterfalls pour like unfettered faucets from clifftops, streams engorged by the recent rain. Silky strands of white braid down grey volcanic rock, interspersed with deep green conifer needles.
About three hours after launching, we see arguably our most exciting animal encounter of the day. On the shores of Brem Bay, near a wilderness lodge, a lone black bear sits amongst the crustations, crunching on barnacles. Zoe tells us this black bear looks super healthy, well-established and about five years old. She points out his glossy black coat, suggesting he probably went into hibernation “very round.”
Navigating the boat closer to shore, she shuts off the engine about 55 metres away from the Ursus americanus. He looks up, then continues hunting for mussels, plopped on his furry butt. “If it’s apprehensive, I’ll back up,” Zoe says, but the bear seems completely unbothered by the paparazzi. “Such a chill bear,” Zoe says appreciatively. “[It’s in] such a good condition; so chunky—that’s how we like ’em.”
We squeal in whispers and watch our new friend stick out an oversized tongue for about 40 minutes. For several passengers, this is their first time ever seeing a bear in the wild.
Eventually, we move on, floating farther down Toba Inlet to share tea, sandwiches and cookies on a lunch break. I’m exhilarated by our findings—it doesn’t feel like four hours have gone by.
Zoe steers us towards Racine Falls, fed by glacial snowpack, flowing from an alpine lake. The scenery is spectacular: an azure sky punctuated by fluffy white clouds, undulating mountains covered in evergreens, dramatic exposed slate-grey stone and a ribbon of white cascading down the cliff.
We turn to make our way back to the dock when Zoe receives a call from another boat: whales have been spotted.
She asks our group if we wouldn’t mind being a tiny bit late back to Campbell River for the chance to see a pod of orcas.
No one protests.
Flying up the channel towards Heriot Island, we arrive to spot a celebration of six orcas.
We stay 200 metres away, so the females don’t give up their food. Zoe tells us we give them the shoreline and watch to make sure they are relaxed and have an escape route. Campbell River Whale Watching goes above and beyond the legal restrictions and tries to get away from the word “show” when describing wildlife. “They’re living their life, they’re doing what they do for survival and community,” Zoe says. “We want to get away from the idea that they’re here to entertain us.”
“Of course, we are on a boat,” she continues. “We do add some pressure. But we want to make sure they go about their lives without us. It’s not a show they’re putting on [for us].”
Post-hunt, the orcas mill about. We spot a young orca, strain our eyes to see splashes and only stay for about 30 minutes.
As we travel down Rebecca Spit, Zoe tells us proceeds from each ticket goes towards conserving one square metre of old growth rainforest, which the company itself matches.
Today, we travel close to 100 nautical miles. We see and experience more than I could’ve hoped to. I feel at one with nature, basking beneath the sunshine, lucky to adventure in these incredible landscapes, near these wild creatures.
When You Go
Stay at Naturally Pacific Resort, Campbell River’s modern and welcoming boutique hotel with a golf-course and on-site garden that grows edible flowers, asparagus and herbs used by Carve Kitchen in seasonal dishes. Visit the spa and pick up a new Wellness Ritual Package filled with luxurious, travel-sized Kerstin Florian products to relax and unwind at your own pace in your comfortable room after a long day of epic outdoor adventures.
