Firsthand Report from the Great Bear Rainforest & Itinerary

Day One

“I’ve arrived in the Great Bear Rainforest with no particular expectations – my camera and I are ready for whatever unfolds. Time to jump aboard the Island Roamer, introductions all round, cabins allocated, safety briefing and we’re away.  It’s clear from the outset that our crew – skipper, first mate, chef and naturalist guide – is a top-notch team. The boat is well-equipped and comfortable and there’s “No Puffin” on board.  We’re a happy bunch. Eyes get busy and we quickly spot our first bald eagles and some basking seals.  Dryad Point, Seaforth Channel, Ivory Island, Percival Narrows – we glide past the landmarks, and tens of thousands of salmon, to our first shore stop at Salmon Bay.   The ancient forest is breathtaking, its shapes and colours stunning. High massifs rise around us, scarred by ancient glaciers. I feel dwarfed by the geological history of our planet.

Day Two

Great excitement, we sight our first grizzly upstream from the zodiac.  Soon after, a second appears, intent on catching lunch.  Thankfully, he doesn’t find us at all tempting! 

Day after day I’m ‘blown away’ by the shoreline scenery and the photographic opportunities everywhere – huge moss-covered tree stumps, swathes of green-filled landscape, delicate lichen and colourful flora, surrounding mountains top reflected in mill-pond inlets, misty mornings, blazing sunsets.  It’s simply magnificent.

At night under star-studded skies, the slapping of gentle waves against the hull of our motionless boat is the only sound.  Even the rainforest sleeps.  As sunrise approaches I kayak from our anchorage to watch the rising sun shimmy across the water, illuminating colourful sea-stars and casting a glow over the kelp.  The overwhelming serenity and spectacular shapes of nature cast a spell that’s hard to escape.   Do I even want to?

Day Five

Marvin, a First Nations guide, leads our search for the rare and elusive Kermode or ‘spirit’ bear. There’s no guarantee we’ll see one, after all there are only about 400 in existence, but we’ll enjoy our surroundings anyway.  We arrive at the hide and can’t believe our eyes – a spirit bear, there in the river! Is this a set-up? No, just great good fortune. We watch in awe. Later a black bear comes by, then another.  Our camera shutters go crazy.

The Tshimshian people have lived here for thousands of years.  What a backyard!  1,000-year-old cedars soaring 90 metres, glittering waterfalls plunging 90 metres and bears roaming beaches and estuaries in search of salmon!  

Day Six

We’re accompanied by barnacle-encrusted humpback whales and dall porpoises that perform just for us for hours.  We come across a fin whale, the second largest whale and the second largest animal on earth, and its calf.  Soon more humpbacks and, later, when we take to the inflatables, there before us are five wolves frolicking in the grass.

Day Seven

We arrive back in Bella Bella around midday. I don’t have the words to fully describe the experience I’ve had over the last week, or how wonderful our crew were.  But the Island Roamer had a fantastic library and I read something that sums up the Great Bear Rainforest perfectly: ‘one of the last great places, not only in a geographical way, but in a spiritual sense as well’.  It’s so much, much more than just the hide-out of the white ‘spirit’ bear and his brown and black companions. I can’t wait to return.

Itinerary in Alaska & British Columbia

Day 1:	Auckland/Sydney/Melbourne – Vancouver (BC)
Day 1:	Vancouver (BC) – Anchorage (AL)
Day 2:	Anchorage – Talkeetna
Day 3:	Talkeetna
Day 4:	Talkeetna – Gakona via Denali Highway
Day 5:	Gakona – McCarthy
Day 6:	McCarthy/Kennicott
Day 7:	McCarthy – Valdez
Day 8:	Valdez
Day 9:	Valdez – Homer
Day 10:	Homer
Day 11:	Homer – Seward
Day 12:	Seward - Anchorage
Day 13:	Anchorage – Juneau – Depart on Alaska Marine Highway
Day 14:	Sailing Alaska Marine Highway (Inside Passage)
Day 15:	Arrive Prince Rupert (BC), float plane to meet GBR boat charter
Days 16 – 21:	Private Boat charter in Great Bear Rainforest
Day 22:	Great Bear Rainforest – Vancouver
Day: 23:	Depart Vancouver
Day 24-25:	Cross International Date Line – Arrive New Zealand/Australia

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Published 19th Jul 2010

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