Tour Itinerary

Your Broughton Archipelago Six Day Orca Expedition departs from the boat ramp located adjacent to our store in Telegraph Cove. You are welcome to come visit us, at your convenience in the days before the tour with any of those last minute questions or to pick up dry bags for your gear. Alternately we meet you at 8-30am on the morning of your trip. Your professional kayak guide will be here to greet you with dry bags and advise on how to pack. We recommend that you will have already had your breakfast – the Seahorse Café located right in the Cove can look after most tastes. Your kayaks will be already loaded with all the camping and group equipment with space left for your gear. The tour starts with introductions to your fellow adventurers and a brief safety and paddling technique discussion to ensure your comfort on the water. After being fitted to your kayak you will be ready for launch. This tour is typically on the water before 9-30am while other companies are still unloading kayaks from their trailers.

We launch into the protected, natural harbour of Telegraph Cove where you will have some time to get used to being in your kayak before we head through the narrow opening to Johnstone Strait and the seemingly unending wilderness beyond. Our route will take you North Easterly with the spectacular, rugged coast of Vancouver Island on your right, the distant mountains of mainland BC on your left and the realm of the Orca in between. Our tours focus on the journey; we try to ensure that all stress is left behind in the parking lot. As such, on your way to our lunch beach you will follow a meandering route that will explore the islands and coves that dot this part of the coast. Emphasis is on wildlife, scenery and nature interpretation, however our guides will be more than happy to provide ongoing instruction to improve your paddling technique. While you paddle our guides will be monitoring their VHF radios to ensure that no possible whale encounters are missed.

Lunch will be taken on a remote beach, overlooking Johnstone Strait. Marine wildlife frequents this area so keep your eyes peeled. During 2008, Brad, one of our top guides rescued from drowning, a baby Dalls Porpoise, that had become entangled in the kelp just off this beach. It was released to its mothers care and after a brief rest they swam off down the coast. After lunch you will continue towards the camp which is located approximately 5km (3 nautical miles) from Robson Bight, the internationally renowned whale Ecological Reserve. Once at our campsite 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 a campfire chatting with your guide and others on the trip. If lucky, you may again see Orca or Humpback whales as they swim by the camp. It is not unheard of for Orca to use the camp beach as a rubbing beach. 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. Time your tour to coincide with a full moon and be treated to a relaxed show as the moon slowly climbs over the distant mainland peaks to light the water between you, the beach and your camp. On still nights you may spy the Orca swimming by in the moonlight!

If you are not already up to see the sunrise your guide will call you to coffee and breakfast. Our plan for the day will have us crossing Johnstone Strait and heading out through Blackney Passage and into the lower reaches of the Broughton Archipelago. The tide times and weather forecast will be the driving factor of this journey as there are only four times a day, with fairly narrow windows of opportunity that it is safe to kayak through Blackney Passage. This is due to the tidal currents that can reach speeds of over five knots; it is only safe to paddle when these tidal currents reverse. These tidal currents are one of the factors that contribute to the diversity and quantity of marine wildlife in the area. It is not uncommon to see Humpback whales feeding on the krill and baitfish, Sealions or Orca gorging on Salmon along with an abundance of seabirds. During the course of the day, we will either stop for lunch or grab a snack on the water.

Once through Blackney Passage, you will enter the western gateway of the Broughton Archipelago. A region of hundreds of islands and passages, it almost seems as though it was created as a kayak paradise. Rich in marine and land animals it is a place that is still the ancestral homeland of six Kwakwaka'wakw tribes. Evidence of their ancestors’ existence is still found to this day. Abandoned ancient village sites and harvest areas have beaches made up of white shell from countless shellfish harvests. Black soils known as middens lay testament to occupation by the Kwakwaka'wakw within the forest just off the beach. The beaches in many locations have boulders pushed to the side leaving a clear path so that cedar canoes would not be damaged through the centuries. These sites make for great areas to land kayaks to this day. We will pitch camp on one of the multitude of small islands that populate this area, where your guide will again prepare a great dinner for you.

Almost as soon as you fall asleep your third day of the tour will dawn. After breakfast, you break camp, load all gear and yourself into the kayaks and head out through narrow island channels and passages that offer great shelter in summer winds. Rain forest grows right down to waters edge with branches cloaked in moss and morning dew. Our route will take us by an ancient rock painting on a cliff wall adjacent to a traditional burial site. This is a very culturally sensitive site for the Mamalelaqala Band and other Kwakwaka'wakw, so we only enjoy this spot from our kayaks. No one is allowed to actually enter the site. Enroute to our lunch destination of Mamalillaculla, the abandoned kwakwaka’wakw first nation village, you will see a modern aboriginal settlement at New Vancouver; from the water you will see the modern infrastructure, as well as a great traditional long house. Arriving at Mamalalcolla, Village of the Last Potlatch, for lunch, you can explore and witness the evidence of an abandoned village returning back to nature. Here one will see the totem remains and great beams of long house structures. Upon the beach is the evidence left by the tribe members that lived here up until the late 1960s. This island is a home to many bears that are frequently observed and provide great photo opportunities. Remember to keep your distance!

After lunch you will take to our kayaks and will head off towards our campsite for the night. From witnessing the jaw-dropping beauty of this part of the world, you may start to understand why people choose to live out here in the wilderness. Throughout the day there will be opportunities to observe a multitude of creatures and paddle between tiny islands with a new and even more breathtaking view around each corner. Your guide will once more surprise you with their culinary skills to ensure you do not go to bed hungry.

After breakfast on day four we will break camp and head out between the islands enroute to our next campsite. Exactly where we choose to camp for the night will depend on he weather forecast and the direction of the tides, however you can be sure that the scenery will be second to none and that we will encounter all sorts of wildlife. Our route will take us further north towards the mainland using channels between deserted islands. We will stop on another beach for lunch before paddling to our target campsite in the region of the Echo Bay marine park. In this area there is still opportunity to camp on unnamed islands as some are only identified by number.

Please feel free to name these islands yourself as we find them! Echo Bay has a functioning marina, store and post office along with some of the best cinnamon buns in the area. Either today or tomorrow we will stop by for a visit with the locals and for maybe grab a hot shower. Once camp is set, you will again enjoy your dinner as the sun starts its descent over the horizon.

Day five will start with breakfast, after which we will break camp and head out for another day of paddling. The route will take us around Islands and Coves and into the more remote areas of the Archipelago. Hopefully Billy Proctor will be around to open his museum and to share some of his lifetime of stories with us. Our destination today will be in among Islands called Fly, Insect and The Burdwoods where we will again see ancient evidence of those that have called this beautiful area home. You must remember to look and not touch, island beaches out this far still have artefacts of important aboriginal history and value. We can visit these islands only with the understanding that we leave no trace of our passing and with due respect to the ancient culture of the native bands. We will camp on one of these islands for our final night in the wilderness and sleep knowing that the ancestors of the Kwakwaka'wakw are resting undisturbed by our passage through their territory. Our final breakfast will come all to soon, no matter how many days you spend in this area there always seems to be one day too few. Once camp is broken we will get on the water and start heading to our rendevous with the water taxi.

Were there any spots that must be re-visited for a final photograph? Maybe we can find a way to paddle by, or should we see what is round just one more corner? There is still time to explore and relax as the water taxi will be coming to collect you, usually at your lunch beach, at around 3pm. Once all kayaks and gear are stowed safely on the water taxi, the exhilarating 45 minute water taxi ride will return you to Telegraph Cove for between 3-30 and 4pm. 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.