Oct. 7 Grizzly Bear Tour

Upon boarding in Port McNeill at 7:30 a.m., equipped with life jackets and binoculars, our guide welcomed us in the soft-spoken tones of his Kwakwala language.  Our small group then had an incredible all-day sailing adventure in the remote channels of the Queen Charlotte and Broughton Straits, between Port McNeill and Knight’s Inlet.  We saw diverse wildlife: black bear, grizzly bear, whales, sea lions, eagles & hundreds of sea birds.  In Knight’s Inlet we transferred from a loud motorboat to a flat-bottomed skiff – which the captain and guide then quietly (to not scare away wildlife) dragged upriver (!!) pausing every few steps to let the foraging bear get used to us being there.  Sadly we didn’t have professional telephoto cameras to do justice to the amazing scenery all around us.

We had good coffee and snacks while cruising, and enjoyed the captain’s and guide’s description of the landscapes and local history.

After a long day on the water we overnighted in our pristine, well-appointed cabins at the Alder Bay Resort, before the 3.5 hour drive home the next morning.

photos by Bryan Beazley, Jane Currie