Tour Itinerary - Six Day Gods Pocket &
Queen Charlotte Strait Sea Otter Expedition

This tour departs from Port Hardy about 45 minutes to the north of our home in Telegraph Cove. We will meet after breakfast at 9am on the morning of you trip or you can come visit with us in Telegraph Cove on the day or days before your tour. Your professional kayak guide will greet you with dry bags and packing advise, along with all the rest of the gear for the tour. Our launch site is approximately a ten minute drive from Port Hardy so we will pick you up at your hotel. Prior to getting into the kayaks, we will conduct a brief safety and paddling technique discussion to ensure your comfort on the water. Our launch site is a relatively sheltered cove so there will be an opportunity to become familiar and comfortable with your kayak before we set out.

On leaving the beach we will head out along the rugged Northern coastline of Vancouver Island and cross to the island group that makes the God’s Pocket Marine Park. Somewhere along the way we will stop for some lunch.

Lunch may be before, after or during the paddle we make to the islands as we must consider the weather and currents for this crossing. Arriving in the afternoon we will choose our camping area and you will help make camp and enjoy a sumptuous meal on the beach. Do not worry if you have never set a tent before, ours are specially selected to be simple yet resilient and someone will always be close by to help.

The evening may be spent around camp chatting with your guide and others on the trip. If lucky, you may see Orca or Humpback whales as they swim by the camp, however this is less likely than on our tours departing from Telegraph Cove. The northern latitude can provide some spectacular sunsets and due to the remoteness and lack of light pollution clear nights can offer a view of the night sky you may never of seen before. Choose a tour around the new moon to truly experience how many stars are out there or select the full moon for incredible moonrises and well lit nights.

If you are not already up to see the sunrise your guide will call you to coffee and breakfast. We will typically leave our camp set for the day and return to this one in the evening as there is so much to explore in this area. In addition to the abundant marine wildlife there are the midden beach remnants of the indigenous peoples, sweeping bays and island passages to discover. During the course of the day we will stop for lunch on one of these beaches before heading out to explore further. Coming back to the camp will feel like coming home, it is very easy to settle in to the relaxed pace of our tours. Your guide will again prepare a sumptuous dinner. Feel free to eat heartily; there is plenty of paddling over the coming days to work it off.

Day three will dawn and time to break camp. Over this and day four we will start paddling along the coastline of Balaklava Island, and into the browning passage. This passage is internationally renowned as one of the most diverse and prolific areas for invertebrate sea life. Hours can be spent examining the intertidal area from your kayak; peer into the depths of the crystal clear water and see creatures that will amaze. Enroute we will stop for lunches and to camp on yet another wild and rugged beach. Depending on the currents and weather this may be the beach of an abandoned homestead or a natural cove sheltered from the wind. We will reach Bate Passage and the vicinity of the Sea Otters sometime in the afternoon of day four where we will find our campsite for the next two nights. Throughout the day there will be opportunities to observe a multitude of marine wildlife and paddle between tiny islands with a new and even more breathtaking view around each corner. Once more your guide will surprise you with their culinary skills to ensure you do not go to bed hungry.

Day five already! Where did the time go? Today after breakfast, we have nothing to do but explore, to paddle the island archipelago inhabited by Sea Lions and Sea Otters; If we are lucky, we may even find an occasional whale to visit with us. We will have lunch either on a remote beach or floating on the water. As time moves on towards evening & when you think you have got those perfect photographs and had your fill of the ocean, your guide will once again prepare a feast for dinner.

Your final day will come round all too soon but all good things must come to an end. Our water taxi will typically come to find us at around 2-30pm so there is plenty of time for breakfast and to pack your gear ready for pick up before we head to the kayaks and spend a few more hours relaxing with our new incredibly furry friends. The water taxi ride will return you to Port Hardy for around 3-30pm. Opportunities for encounters with all sorts of wildlife abound during this ride.

This is an example of the type of itinerary you can expect. Because we believe that this is your experience, we like to be flexible. Your leaders will take weather, tides and currents into consideration to provide you with the best opportunities to enjoy what our area has to offer.