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These are some selected pictures from my sea kayaking
trip in Canada. I went with an organization based in Idaho, Sea
Kayak Adventures. The trip was seven days and six nights.
Most of us had not done much kayaking before, but the two guides gave us
a lot of tips, and by the end we were paddling like pros. The paddling
was a little harder than I expected, but the scenery was breathtaking.
We kayaked through Johnstone Strait, which is between Vancouver Island and mainland western Canada. |
| Whenever we stopped we had to carry the kayaks above the high tide line, so they wouldn't wash away when we weren't looking. A kayak full of gear weighs a ton, so everyone has to help out. |
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We camped right on the beach most nights. Below is a picture of my favorive campsite. After pitching our tents this evening, we spent the last of the daylight hours sitting by the water, drinking wine and watching a pair of bald eagles fish for their dinner, while our hosts prepared us a fantastic meal of poached salmon. |
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The highlight of the trip was the whales. Johnstone Strait is famous for Orca whales. We saw Orcas almost every day but always in the distance and too far away for a decent picture with my little camera. The next three pictures are from the last day when we were lucky enough to have a close (but not too close) encounter. |
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It was early in the morning. We paddled out of the bay where we had camped the night before and soon heard the whales blowing in the distance. You're not allowed to chase or in any way interfere with the whales, so we rafted up our kayaks (pulled alongside one another so we created less of an obstacle for the whales) and waited. |
The group of five or six whales worked back and forth
coming closer and closer then finally they turned swam right past us.
It was amazing how close they got!
Click on the picture to see the enlargements, it makes a big difference. |
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To the left is the last of the five whales, and she came
the closest. After taking about fifty pictures of black dorsal fins
from a hundred yards away without a telephoto lens, I was thrilled to finally
get one or two close-ups.
I highly recommend the trip. Kayaking is a great way to experience nature. You are able to travel pretty good distances so you can see a lot in a short amount of |
| time, and because it is so quiet it is a very unobtrusive way to see wildlife and hear the sounds of nature. I saw dozens of bald eagles, several seals, a sea lion, a mink, and many different species of birds. It was probably the best vacation I have ever had. | |