On this page we will be posting the latest changes to the trip Schedule, special trips, last minute berths and other information that would be of interest to our quests. Our 2007 News Letter should be appearing soon.
This year the 'Curve of Time' is offering three bear viewing trips in the spectacular Desolation Sound area. In the past we have come across Black and Grizzly bears during our various kayaking and exploration trips but this will be the first year that we will center a trip around bears. Thanks to Rod McVicar who put us on to the tours, the 'Curve of Time' will travel to Bute Inlet in Desolation Sound to take advantage of the bear watching tours offered by the Homalco First Nations. The Homalco have been conducting these tours for the past five years and have established viewing platforms in the most optimal grizzly areas. They have small busses to transport guests to and from the viewing areas, a salmon hatchery and a coffee/souvenir shop.
Due West is offering three trips this year, maybe more if the demand is there; in the last week of August for those folks who have to return to work after the summer and two trips the first two weeks in September. Homalco Wilderness Tours has indicated that the bears usually begin arriving in mid August and stay till into October. One has to remember that these are wild animals and will only appear when the salmon start running. The first trip will start and finish in Campbell River while the other two will start and finish in Lund.
Generally, we will spend the first two days of the trip kayaking and exploring Desolation Sound as we make our way to Bute Inlet. Then on the third day we will journey to Orford River (old Papknach village site). TRIP DATES.
Orford River, one of the last pristine watersheds, in Bute Inlet is home to the largest concentration of Grizzly Bears in British Columbia. Every season over 35 Grizzly Bears gather within the 7 kilometer stretch of the lower Orford River. This unique river and tributary system merges the high number of Grizzly Bears to within a small area - creating quite simple the best Grizzly Bear viewing experience in Canada!
Grizzly Bears are abundant from August to October as they converge on the Orford River system spawning channels to feed on abundant returning wild salmon. Homalco Wildlife Tours prides itself on providing a non-invasive viewing experience allowing the Grizzly to fish, play and move within its natural and undisturbed habitat. Our Guides are certified and trained to provide the safest, educational and most exciting Grizzly Bear viewing experience possible.
The spectacle is as incredible as it sounds. Photographic opportunities abound from 7 different viewing areas and 5 platforms which have been specially constructed to provide a safe and comfortable viewing base to work from. It is not uncommon to see up to 18 bears during a typical tour - some as close as 15 feet away (from a tower of course).
Tour with us through old-growth forest and mystical Homalco lands in search of the Grizzly Bears of Bute. It is an experience of a lifetime!
This year we will journey again to the Bella Bella area to paddle among the sea otters. It has been a few years since we have offered trips to this exceptional archipelago but it is time to kayak once more among these rocky islands with the wind stunted trees, rolling surf and prolific wildlife. During these expeditions we will travel from Bella Bella and explore the islands around Queens Sound, Cultus Sound and Joassa Channel. There are a number of sea otter rafts in this region and it was here that the 'Curve of Time' and its crew took part in the first sea otter capture and release conducted by Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Bella Bella can only be reach by ferry from Prince Rupert, Bella Coola or Port Hardy. TRIP DATES.
Photos by John Harvey on the Winter Harbour Trip 2006. To see some of his other trips and photos click this link. John Harvey - Kayak Trips. Or you can go to his Home Page at John Harvey.
