Get back to nature, with a wilderness break in Canada – just don’t feed the bears! Paul Blaney reports
Canada is a vast, unspoilt land and is the perfect place to get away from it all. There are also plenty of opportunities to encounter wildlife from grizzly and polar bears, to whales and wolves.
Here are five of the best wildlife and wilderness packages on offer.
Birds, bears and belugas
As well as encountering the polar bears, visitors will get the thrill of seeing and hearing beluga whales. Other wildlife to look out for include caribou, Arctic foxes and ptarmigan. Night-time in the Arctic tundra often brings roaming wolf packs too.
Sample product:Travel 2 is offering an eight-day Birds, Bears and Belugas next year from £3,579 per person, including accommodation at the remote Seal River Heritage Lodge but not including flights.
The Hunt for the Spirit Bear
The elusive white Kermode or ‘spirit’ bears live deep in the primeval forests of British Columbia’s central coast. To catch a glimpse of these rare creatures, adventurous clients, with the help of local guides, must trek deep into the forests of Princess Royal Island.
Black bear spottings are almost guaranteed but only those with luck and perseverance will catch a rare sight of the sprit bear.
Sample product:1st Class Holidays offers an all-inclusive package based at King Pacific Lodge on Princess Royal Island from £2,919 per person.
The floating fishing lodge is a luxurious eco-resort and the package includes three nights’ accommodation, round-trip flights from Vancouver to the lodge and all meals, as well as fly-fishing, kayaking, spa treatments and (at an additional charge) spirit bear trips.
Kayaking with orcas
A wonderful way to encounter orca whales up close and friendly is on a sea kayaking tour. British Columbia’s Johnstone Strait is one of the best places to experience orcas in the wild.
A total of 19 pods move around Johnstone Strait. From the comfort of a sea kayak, you can watch these magnificent creatures as they burst from the water.
Several species of dolphin and porpoise also frequent the north Atlantic waters around Newfoundland.
Sample product:Windows on the Wild offers a nine-night Kayaking with the Orcas tour from £1,880 per person, including Air Canada flights to Vancouver, internal flights, two nights’ accommodation at Port McNeil, five nights camping , including equipment, kayaking during the day, most meals and guides. The season runs from June to September.
Grizzly bears of Knight Inlet
Accessible only by floatplane, Knight Inlet brings together magnificent wildlife, scenery and native culture in one location.
Situated in Glendale Cove, it is home to one of the largest concentrations of grizzly bears in Canada with viewing opportunities from May to October.
Methods of approaching the bears vary according to the season and include the use of boats, kayaks and bear-viewing platforms, all in the company of experienced guides.
Sample product: 1st Class Holidays offers the Grizzly Bears of Knight Inlet from £2,026 per person including international and domestic flights, accommodation, four nights in Vancouver, and a three-night package at Knight Inlet.
Whale watching in Newfoundland
This is a whale watching experience to savour and ideal for clients who don’t want to drive and the tour is based at the Village Inn, Trinity, Newfoundland.
The whale excursions offer far more than the standard fare as clients get to really study the whales, spending two or three hours alongside them. The boats take a maximum of six people on board, making for a more personal, up-close experience.
Sample product:Windows on the Wild offers a nine-night Whale Watching tour from £1,500 per person, including return flights to St Johns, Newfoundland, transfers, full-board accommodation and six whale excursions
