SKA Blog

Kayaking with whales is a “Bucket List” item for many outdoors enthusiasts. Floating on tranquil tide at eye level with a spy-hopping whale is an unforgettable experience. There is something special about meeting this intelligent, wild creature in its home habitat. Kayaks allow for a more intimate setting than commercial whale watching cruises, as you can observe the whales’ behavior without the sound of a motor or flocks of other guests jostling to a boat railing for a look. Additionally, the eco-minded will enjoy the low impact of carbon-neutral kayaks on the ocean habitat of these gentle giants. Best of all, Sea Kayak Adventures offers a number of tours to kayak with whales in a variety of the world’s most beautiful wilderness areas. Where would you like to go?

Strait from the Strait: Final BC Trip Report

On our last trip, August 28-Sept 2, started out with some thick fog in the Johnstone Strait but it thinned out enough to find the A30′s (10) orcas foraging for salmon. We saw a bear swimming from one island to another.  And, we saw an adult humpback whale breach some 10 - 12 times in Blackfish sound.  What a show!  Learn more about why whales breach by clicking here.

The orcas were in the area again later in the week as well as Steller sea lions, harbour seals and lots of sea birds.  We ended our season with calm seas and sunny skies.

Straight from the Strait: Guides Report from the Field

Orca Base Camp August 22-25

It was a terrific four days on the water with lots of Orca and several Humpback whale sightings during the trip. Each day we watched the resident fish-eating orcas as they slowly traveled down Johnstone Strait.  The highlight was watching a juvenile orca come into our bay at Little Kaikash and pass within a few meters of where we were standing. The little guy provided some excellent photo opportunities and everyone at camp got lots of great pictures.  The trip also offered some incredible Humpback whale viewing.  Guests witnessed two of these huge whales cruising close to shore next to the rocks near our base camp.  

The glass calm water made for perfect paddling and watching for whales, porpoises, Stellar sea lions, seabirds and quite a few bald eagles.  Add a freshly caught Chinook salmon (courtesy of a local fisherman) barbequed over a campfire and we had a 10 Star week.

This week was amazing from start to finish, with orca encounters to take your breath away! Guests on our Johnstone Strait Base Camp tour Aug 15-18 on northern Vancouver Island were thrilled to view over 60 killer whales!  We observed pods: A30′s, I15′s, A23′s, A35′s & Springer, A36′s, A12, A34′s and the A24 matrilines of fish-eating "northern resident" killer whales feasting on the peak salmon runs. Quite often it seemed like everywhere you turned there were killer whales!

Straight from the Strait: Guides Report from the Field

From Leah, on the August 7-12 Johnstone Strait Trip:

"Last week was amazing in Johnstone Strait, orcas close every day in the Strait, plus humpback whales & minke whales in Blackfish Sound. Also, Pacific white-sided dolphins and Dall's porpoise. Views were very close and guests were really 'stoked' to witness such wonderful creatures in the wild! Weather great not a drop of rain all week. Listed over 40 bird species."

From Terry, on the August 8-13 Wilderness Islands Trip:

"Lots of orcas, humpback whales and harbor porpoises on our Wilderness Islands tour. On the first day water taxi shuttle to the Broughton islands we saw a pod of orcas, all males with their large 2 meter fins too impress everyone on board.  The next day we were able to see a humpback from our kayaks. Watching a humpback whale fluking is one of those magical moments that stay with you forever.  The trip had calm seas with cloudy mornings and sunny afternoons. We had a spectacular sunset from Owl Island.  We weaved our way south through the myriad of small islands and channels.  Each granitic island is covered with emerald green forest of windswept trees, moss and salal. On our fifth day we headed towards Johnstone Strait where we encountered a group of resident killer whales who were slowly traveling down the strait past our camp.  During the trip we saw Dall’s porpoise, harbour seals, Steller sea lions, 100′s of rhinoceros auklets, common murres,  and dozens of bald eagles filled the week to the brim with sightings! What a fabulous trip we had in this beautiful and remote place!"

Photo: Rhinocerous Auklet by Dow Lambert/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Orcas prevail this summer! Rarely have we witnessed a season so full of wonderful wildlife sightings.  The humpbacks seem to be ranging farther into the Johnstone Strait this summer, making them more visible to our sea kayak travelers as they navigate the many untouched island channels in these calm waters.

This weekend marked the end of two more successful trips in the Johnstone Strait.  A charter group of high school students followed orcas between Robson Bight and KaiKash on only their second day of paddling. A close sea lion encounter also enthralled the group, whose younger members initiated a drenching water fight with their parents and chaperones after a day exploring the Broughton Archipelago Marine Provincial Park.

The other kayak group hosted no water fights, but was thrilled nonetheless with a variety of wildlife experiences.  Seals, sea lions, and black bear were spotted as well as Humpback, Dall’s porpoises, harbour porpoises, birds, and of course, orcas.  The Orcas were present a number of times and enjoyed a good belly rub near the shore.  One pod chose to make a dramatic appearance by swimming right past the group at the end of an orca presentation by the Strait watch warden - talk about perfect timing! All were delighted by this display and the marvelous opportunity to view these animals up close in the wild. 

Both trips enjoyed beautiful paddling weather with little rain in this secluded, idyllic location, offering a cool respite from the blazing temperatures elsewhere in the continent.

Sound like fun? Don’t miss your opportunity to secure one of the last 4 spots on our August 14th or August 28th departures. This summer is truly a year of abundant orcas and magnificent marine mammals.  NOW is the time to book and take home memories to last a lifetime.  Visit our website at www.seakayakadventures.com for more information on all of our BC tours.

BC Canada - The northern resident salmon-eating orcas are back in Johnstone Strait, as per 2 whale watching day cruise boats in Johnstone Strait: Stubbs Island and MacKay

Also exciting news reported by Stubbs and MacKay are that there are many more humpback whales than ever before in the area, and they are seeing minke whales, transient orcas, Dall's porpoise and Pacific white-sided dolphins.   

It's not too late to book a wildlife kayaking tour of 4 days or 6 days in length, suitable for novices, in Johnstone Strait this summer - we have room still on selected July and August 2011 tours.

BAJA - And a reminder of our special offers for Baja tours! Some folks calling us to book 2012 Easter and spring break trips recently reported that flights to Loreto are already filling fast for prime dates. There is only one carrier into Loreto, only one flight a day, and only 70 seats per flight - so don't miss out if you are planning to visit Loreto soon.

1.    Do whales sleep? Not the way we do.  Because breathing is a conscious act for whales, they cannot sleep for very long periods, and they need to move up and down to the surface, keep moving to prevent stranding and watch for potential dangers, so they do not fall deeply asleep.  They must rest, but they require very little sleep.  Evidence suggests that whales require less sleep because the marine environment induces a brain state that resembles sleep.  Even humans who spend a lot of time in the water, require less sleep. Whale relatives, dolphins and porpoises are able to “sleep” half their brain at a time.