Tag Archives: vancouver island

EXPERIENCE THE WORLD’S ONLY ORCA PRESERVE – NORTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND BC CANADA – FROM NEW ECO-CAMP!

Why this trip: The best chances of close views of orcas from the newly eco-improved “glamping” basecamp in the HEART of the first and only orca preserve in the world; the best single time and place in the world to paddle with salmon-eating orcas; sheltered waters and base camp perfect for novice paddlers/whale watching buffs; orcas guaranteed each August – or get a free orca watching day cruise!

TELEGRAPH COVE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — Sea Kayak Adventures invites outdoor-minded whale enthusiasts to experience their newly eco-improved fully catered/guided basecamp novice paddling trips July-Sept 2013 in the heart of orca territory in BC’s northern Inside Passage, near northern Vancouver Island. The location doesn’t get any better. Perched right on the heart of the sheltered “orca loop” in Johnstone Strait, the company’s exclusive basecamp site is graced with regular killer whale visits during the summer months, as they herd salmon into the cove. The unique smooth pebble beach even offers an ideal “massage” for the orcas who enjoy rubbing their bellies at this spot. This amazing orca immersion, coupled with newly constructed wall tents and sleeping cots, and the culinary and “glamping” flourishes of all SKA tours means eco-touring at its best.

The company’s “4-day Orca Kayak Eco-Basecamp” is a taste of luxury camping for novice paddlers. This rounds out the company’s offerings, as they also offer more hearty kayakers full six-day kayak classic “orca loop” itineraries as well in the Johnstone Strait area. Johnstone Strait is a narrow “orca freeway” – world renowned for its summer congregations of hundreds of “killer whales” following the salmon runs funneled from the Pacific into this specific area. In fact, Canada is the first and only country in the world to establish and maintain an orca preserve there. The Michael Biggs Robson Bight Orca Preserve is set aside specifically for this unique species called “northern resident orcas.”

Participants will paddle two-person sea kayaks along the shore of northern Vancouver Island, enjoying this glacier-carved waterway between Vancouver Island and the rugged mountains of mainland British Columbia. Along the way, they’ll get close to wild orcas, as well as seeing them from the eco-camp. Guides scan the calm waters for spouts and point out whale behavior. Salmon leap and bald eagles dot the towering trees along the shore, feasting as do the orcas on the prolific salmon runs here.

The group will also explore the area’s rainforest on foot, visit the ancient First Nations sites, visit orca researchers and hopefully glimpse a black bear from their kayaks. Each night, after a wonderful beachside happy hour, bountiful dinner and legends and nature talks given by our naturalist guides, happy guests can even watch orcas from their tents.

Normally trips depart from Port McNeill on Vancouver Island BC Canada – weekly July through mid Sept (four days paddling/three nights at eco-camp; USD $1195/person). The prices includes camping and kayaking equipment, meals, kayaking instruction and guide services. Youth get 10% of the above prices. HST tax and airfare not included.

 

To plan your trip today:

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a
family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all thetravel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.

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Sea Kayak up close and personal with Killer Whales – Adventure giveaway WINNER!

Thanks to everyone that entered in our giveaway. Please be sure to follow us and look for future giveaways. The winner of our Sea Kayak Adventures on a 4-day orca Kayak trip in Johnstone Strait BC Canada with Sea Kayak Adventure is Merissa Bakos fellow WordPress user – http://worldtravelphotos.wordpress.com/ Merissa has agreed to post photos and do a little write up about her adventure on her blog.

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Courtesy: Sea Kayak Adventures

TELEGRAPH COVE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA – Sea Kayak Adventures, Inc. invites outdoor-minded folks (novices welcome!) to join its four-day guided paddling trips July and August 2012 through the wilds of British Columbia’s Johnstone Strait off northern Vancouver Island, camping at an exclusive basecamp at THE heart of orca territory. The company is now rounding its offerings to novice kayakers by adding this new “Orca Quick Adventure” four-day tour to its repertoire of six-day kayak tours in the area. This narrow sheltered orca freeway is world renowned for its summer congregations of hundreds of “killer whales” following the salmon runs funneled from the sea into this specific area. In fact, Canada is the first and only country in the world to establish and maintain an orca preserve there. The Michael Biggs Robson Bight Orca Preserve is set aside specifically for this unique species called “northern resident orcas”.

Read More:  Sea Kayak up close and personal with Killer Whales – Adventure giveaway!

To plan your trip today:

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.

WHALES FROLICKING UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL IS SOUL-REJUVENATING (Giveaway!)

BRITISH COLUMBIA  — For nearly 20 years, Sea Kayak Adventures, Inc. has pioneered wilderness whale watching and novice sea kayak trips in sheltered areas with the “biggest bang for your buck” close-up whale encounters. Since inception, the company has explored and obtained permits to operate in the best whale watching waters in the western hemisphere, including the orca waters of BC Canada’s Johnstone Strait by kayak, the gray whale calving lagoons of Baja by small skiff, humpback whales off Sitka Alaska by mothership, and the Southern Right whales of Argentine Patagonia. Check out the company’s YouTube channel for close encounters of the whale kind!

SKA co-founder Nancy Mertz remarks “each time we see whales frolicking up close and personal on our guided tours and see the faces of our guests light up with joy, we feel so lucky to be doing what we are. We all need this for our very souls.” She added, “since we’ve been in business since 1993, we have actually seen the numbers of whales increase in the areas we tour, which is thrilling. The local citizens have come to see whale watching and ecotourism as a very important source of revenue and pride in their communities. We also picked destinations that were relatively easy to get to by air, so that folks can spend their vacation whale watching”.

If you want to try kayak touring or whale watching, but have no desire to rough it or camp out, the company offers venues ranging from lodge-based trips, mothership trips (liveaboard a small 6-passenger ship), safari-style camping trips or even day tours from a hotel base. The company’s naturalist guides will inform and educate you about all things whale, while “wining and dining” you and providing all gear, transport and land costs needed to meet everyone’s needs.

From a sea kayak or small boat, you will have the opportunity to see whales, porpoises, sea lions and other marine mammals and sea birds frolicking in their natural habitat, attracted by the prolific and diverse sea life present in the world-class areas the company visits. All areas enjoy high levels of protection. Johnstone Strait off British Columbia’s northern Vancouver Island is home to the world’s only orca preserve – Robson Bight Ecological Preserve – a research focus for world-renowned orca researchers. Baja’s gray whale lagoons are federally protected and Baja’s Loreto Bay in Sea of Cortez is a national marine park and UNESCO World Heritage site. The calving lagoons of the Southern Right whales in Argentina are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Humpback whales are making an amazing comeback from Johnstone Strait to north Alaska.

After a day of wildlife watching, exploring, and nature walks, you will be back at your lodge, hotel, boat or safari-style campsite (depending on location/itinerary) to enjoy tasty hors d’œuvres and a delicious dinner watching sunset fade and stars appear. The meals are outstanding; featuring locally caught seafood and local wines – prepared fresh daily by the company staff.

People of all experience levels will find these tours an excellent introduction to whale watching and even novice sea kayak fully guided by the company’s naturalist and kayak guides.

You can win a FREE space on one of the upcoming adventure tours on the Johnstone Strait in BC Canada. Click the link to learn how. You can enter until May 23rd. Please read all instructions on how to enter. Thanks and good luck!

To plan your trip today:

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.

Sea Kayak up close and personal with Killer Whales – Adventure giveaway!

How would you like to join Terry & Nancy Prichard on one of their award winning tours in Johnstone Strait? You can! In cooperation with Sea Kayak Adventures we are offering one FREE space to a lucky winner to join them this summer.

You would need to fly or drive to Vancouver Island and the hotel recommended to stay at the Haida Way in Port McNeill. The airport you’d fly into is in Port Hardy.

Johnstone Strait is home of the world’s only orca preserve.

You will be required to have a passport for entry to Canada. Also, you will want to arrive a day before you leave on your kayaking excursion. On your return to Port McNeill you are encouraged to stay a few days after for a little rest and to visit the sites around the Port McNeill area.

From Sea Kayak Adventures, Inc.:

FAMILY QUICK GETAWAYS TO WATERS OF THE WORLD’S ONLY ORCA PRESERVE
Northern Vancouver Island, BC Canada


Why this trip:
First and only orca preserve in the world; best single time and place in the world to paddle with salmon-eating orcas; sheltered waters and quick tour perfect for novice paddlers; orcas guaranteed in August – or you get a free orca watching day cruise!

TELEGRAPH COVE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — Sea Kayak Adventures, Inc. invites outdoor-minded folks (novices welcome!) to join its four-day guided paddling trips July and August 2012 through the wilds of British Columbia’s Johnstone Strait off northern Vancouver Island, camping at an exclusive basecamp at THE heart of orca territory. The company is now rounding its offerings to novice kayakers by adding this new “Orca Quick Adventure” four-day tour to its repertoire of six-day kayak tours in the area. This narrow sheltered orca freeway is world renowned for its summer congregations of hundreds of “killer whales” following the salmon runs funneled from the sea into this specific area. In fact, Canada is the first and only country in the world to establish and maintain an orca preserve there. The Michael Biggs Robson Bight Orca Preserve is set aside specifically for this unique species called “northern resident orcas”.

Participants will paddle two-person sea kayaks through the glacier-carved waterways between Vancouver Island and the rugged mountains of mainland British Columbia. Along the way, they’ll get close to wild orcas, as the strait is a traditional gathering place for these whales. Guides scan the calm waters for spouts and point out whale behavior. Bald eagles dot the towering trees along the shore, feasting as do the orcas on the prolific salmon runs here.

The group will also explore the area’s rainforest on foot, visit the ancient First Nations sites, visit orca researchers and hopefully glimpse a black bear from their kayaks. Each night, they’ll camp on secluded island beaches where they can watch orcas from their tents.

We truly enjoyed this trip and consider it possibly the best vacation we have ever had. Your attention to detail, care of your equipment and planning is evident in the success of your trips. We are so glad you made our first kayaking adventure a pleasant, memorable one. Keep up the good work.” ~Bob and Elizabeth Mills (Kayak with Orcas in Johnstone Strait – Vancouver Island)

Giveaway

One (1) FREE Space with Sea Kayak Adventures on a 4-day orca Kayak trip in Johnstone Strait BC CanadaJuly 15-18 (arrive to Port McNeill afternoon of July 14), Aug 19-22 (be there Aug 18) and Aug 27-30 (arrive to Port McNeill afternoon of Aug 26) – it will be for one of the above three trips, but will be worked out with Sea Kayak Adventures providing space availabilities.

If you have traveled with us in the past email me at anje @ allabout-travel.com or leave me a comment below letting me know, this will get you 5 entries. Confirmed via our client database.

You (anyone, regardless if you have traveled with us) can enter until May 23rd, 2012. Thank you and good luck!

Each of the following will get you one (1) entry.

“Like” this post.

Tweet about this giveaway; comment below alerting me that you have tweeted this. (Please include in your comment a link to your tweet)

Follow All About Travel on Twittercomment below letting me know you are following us on Twitter.

‘Like’ All About Travel on Facebook comment below that you have ‘liked’ us on FB.

Subscribe to Sea Kayak Adventures on YouTubecomment below letting me know you are subscribed to Sea Kayak Adventures on YouTube.

‘Like’ Sea Kayak Adventures on Facebookcomment below letting me know you “liked’ Sea Kayak Adventures on FB.

Subscribe to this blog, comment below letting me know you have subscribed.

Reblog about this giveaway, comment below letting me know you have reblogged this giveaway with Sea Kayak Adventures. (Please include in your comment and a link to your blog)

To plan your trip today:

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.

Sea Kayak Adventures with Killer Whales

Terry & Nancy Prichard, owners and operators of Sea Kayak Adventures, Inc. have been leading quality tours since 1993.

This July they will be kayaking with a group in the Johnstone Strait. Johnstone Strait is known for the number of orcas (killer whales) that return to the area to feed on the salmon. So your adventure would guarantee seeing orcas. This is a nice reassurance. Last summer I was in Nova Scotia and paid for a whale watching tour and not one whale spotted. We did get to take pictures of many birds that trailed our boat for the food the tour conductor was feeding to them.

Limited space is available on the upcoming tour to Johnstone Strait to sea kayak with the whales. Make your arrangements now.

Awards and Achievements of Sea Kayak Adventures:
2009 Recipient of National Geographic Adventure Magazine’s “Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth”
2009 National Geographic Traveler Magazine’s “50 Best Trips of a Lifetime”
2010 National Geographic Travel.com “Best Deals for Adventurous Travelers”
2011 National Geographic Traveler Magazine’s “Best Whale Watching Locations”

Plan Your Trip Today:

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

Travel Tidbits – All things Art Deco in Napier, New Zealand

Evita’s Buenos Aires    
Sixty years after her death, Eva Peron’s legacy continues to spread throughout this city… New York Times

 

 

 

 


A vendor sells tofu along a narrow street leading to Dong Xuan Market, one of Hanoi’s largest and busiest markets. (Jessica Gelt / Los Angeles Times / March 9, 2012)

Hanoi emerging as a destination for foodies
In the quest for the best pho, bun cha and more in this culinary capital, look for the stands favored by elderly Vietnamese — they know quality when they taste it… LA Times

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicago, that tippling town    
The Second City’s history is linked with alcohol consumption, and its bars live up to the reputation… LA Times

 

 

 

 

 

Walk Of The Month: Ashover, Derbyshire
The village of Ashover, in north Derbyshire, is a hop, skip and a jump from the Peak District National Park, and would fit the description of a tourist honeypot – if only it received lots of tourists… The Independent

 

 

Logging some time in Vancouver Island    
Remote reaches of this craggy place hold the history of the timber and maritime industries. Hop aboard a train or boat, or lace up your hiking boots… LA Times

 

 

 

 


The Dome, with its rooftop terrace, is in the T&G building, an iconic Art Deco structure dating to 1937 on the Marine Parade in Napier, New Zealand. (Dome / March 24, 2007)

All things Art Deco in Napier, New Zealand
After a deadly 1931 quake, the North Island town rebuilt itself in the then-modern style. Today, fans of the curvy, free-flowing style flock to the city to revel in all things Art Deco…. LA Times

 

 

 

To plan your trip today:
All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
415.384.3880

Where to go Whale watching

The Cetacea hold an important lesson for us. The lesson is not about whales and dolphins, but about ourselves. There is at least moderately convincing evidence that there is another class of intelligent beings on Earth beside ourselves. They have behaved benignly and in many cases affectionately towards us. We have systematically slaughtered them. Little reverence for life is evident in the whaling industry – underscoring a deep human failing…In warfare, man against man, it is common for each side to dehumanize the other so that there will be none of the natural misgivings that a human being has at slaughtering another…” ~Carl Sagan, The Cosmic Connection, New York: Doubleday, 1973 (quoted in “Whale Nation” by Heathcote Williams, Jonathan Cape ltd,1988)

Although there are many amazing places to go whale watching, such as Hawaii, New Zealand, and Spain, I have just listed a few below.

  • Alaska

 

  • Azores – Portugal

 

  • California

 

  • Iceland

 

  • Massachusetts

 

  • Mexico

 

 

  • Norway

 

  • Scotland

 

  • South Africa

 

  • Vancouver Island

 

“The brain size of whales is much larger than that of humans. Their cerebral cortexes are as convoluted. They are at least as social as humans. Anthropologists believe that the development of human intelligence has been critically dependent upon these three factors: brain volume, brain convolutions, and social interactions among individuals. Here we find a class of animals where the three conditions leading to human intelligence may be exceeded, and in some cases greatly exceeded. ~Carl Sagan, The Cosmic Connection, New York: Doubleday, 1973 (quoted in “Whale Nation” by Heathcote Williams, Jonathan Cape ltd,1988)

To plan your trip today:
All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
415.384.3880

 

Blue Whale

 

Amazing Blue Whale – the biggest animal on Earth!