This was my first guided sea kayaking trip in August 2022 and wow, North Island Kayak really set the bar. My cousin Lindsay and I wanted to go on an adventure and see whales and this trip certainly delivered. We spent four days on a guided kayaking trip in the Johnstone Strait and Broughton Archipelago, off of Vancouver Island.
Day 1 – 12km
Following our morning orientation and group introduction we headed out traveling south from Telegraph Cove along the coast of Vancouver Island. En route to our lunch spot we saw some Dahl’s porpoise in the distance, already a great start! We made our way to camp and got settled in. It was so nice to arrive and not have to set up your tent or bed, such a luxury!
Day 2 – 16km
Waking up, cosy in your sleeping bag, hearing that coffee was awaiting and breakfast was almost done was soooo nice! I’m usually the first one up making coffee so to be the lazy one felt amazing. I was starting to understand the benefits of a guided tour – no meal planning, prepping, or cleaning. We packed up our sleeping bags and packs and headed out to cross the channel to Hanson Island. As we were bringing our kayaks down a pod of orcas came to greet us at the shore. We were beyond excited!!! What a way to start the day! The day just kept on getting better after encountering a crazy sea lion and several humpbacks. We then made it to Hanson Island where we would camp for the next two nights. At night we could hear the blows from whales lulling us to sleep. It was incredible!
Day 3 – 14km
Once again, as we were putting in our kayaks some orcas swam by. As amazing as it was to see them, I was eager to paddle with them! Couldn’t they have come by just like 10 minutes later?? Today was pretty rainy so it was optional paddle day, I think most of the group ended up paddling anyways. We were in luck to see a pod of orcas – this time while we were kayaking. They were decently far away but it was really cool to be on the water with them. In the afternoon we did a little hike near our camp. We did not want this trip to end!
Day 4 – 13.5km
We had an early start to get back to Telegraph Cove when the tides were to our advantage. It was a foggy morning, at times we had really poor visibility but could hear loud blows from the humpback whales. They had to have been so close! We also had to deal with a massive cruise ship that came through shortly after we crossed the channel. The wake from the ship was insane!! I was thankful for Lindsay to be in the front seat of our tandem that day, holy moly! It was terrifying, thrilling and hilarious. We made it back in one piece and headed back towards Nanaimo. Lindsay and her friend Johnny were off to adventure more on the island, while I took a seaplane back to the Vancouver. It was such an incredible trip, one I will always remember with one of my favourite people in the world.
