Orca

Orca of the Johnstone Straits

    I had never been kayaking before this trip.  Although I had been canoeing.  Kayaking with killer whales sounded like a great time.   Yea, I know I have a weird sense of fun.  I like roughing it.  As a child our family vacations were always camping trips.  I still enjoying sleeping in a tent, especially when it rains.  This was 6 days of kayaking while camping on the beaches at night.

    As with many trips I have taken, I spent the first couple days regretting the decision to come and the last couple days wishing it would go on forever.  We were in sea kayaks built for two and neither my partner nor I took to kayaking right away.  There were 6 double kayaks of tourists and two single kayaks for the guides.  Three of the kayaks got the hang of it right away and could keep up with the lead guide.  The other three of us were always way behind.  Of course, on occasion the lead dogs would wait for us but as soon as we caught up they would take off again.  They got breaks and we had to paddle constantly.  That is always the way when you are the slow poke.  Anyhow, somewhere around the third day everything started to click.  I don't know what we were doing differently but suddenly keeping up wasn't a problem.  From that point on the trip was fun.

    The sight of a 6 foot dorsal fin heading for your kayak is something that has to be experienced.  There is no way to describe the exhilaration of watching a killer whale approach your kayak then glide down into the water less then 12 feet from you and miraculously appear on the other side of you about the same distance away.  It is breathing taking.  I will never forget the sound of a whale breaking the surface of the water and exhaling.  Quite often this is your first indication that there is a whale nearby.

    This area also has many bald eagles.  I enjoyed watching them glide overhead.  We even found an eagle next with a couple "babies" in it.  They were almost full grown but it was still neat.

Length:  6 Days not including flight time

Outfitter:  Northern Lights