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Alberta & B.C.
  • S Tara Styles
  • John Seesink
  • S Tara Styles
  • John Seesink

Alberta & B.C.

A 10-day adventure by S Tara & John Read more
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  • Alberta & B.C.

    On the way to Orca Camp

    September 8 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We stopped to see some Dall's porpoises (have yet to find a photo that shows more than a splash), Pacific white-sided dolphins and Humpback whales (mother and calf).

  • Alberta & B.C.
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    Welcome to Orca Camp

    September 8 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    After our 2.5 hour boat ride to camp, we were shuttled off in a row boat and got a tour of camp. Then after lunch, we had an orientation paddle. After that was dinner. I’m proud to say that I (Tara) spotted a bear on shore across the creek!Read more

  • Alberta & B.C.

    Bear!

    September 8 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    On our first evening in Orca Camp, I was sitting by the hot tub and spotted something moving on the beach across the creek. I reported it to one of our guides, Georgia, and when she confirmed I had indeed spotted a bear she stopped me from yelling "bear!" ( I forgot that we yell for other things but only yell bear if it's actually IN camp!) and spread the word to other campers and the group out for an evening paddle.Read more

  • Alberta & B.C.
    1

    Orca Camp - Day Two

    September 9 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Tara’s first night camping was actually a decent sleep. We took our first middle of the night trip to the toilets at 2:25 am and heard orcas blowing.

    We went for a pre-breakfast paddle to look at some intertidal creatures and then had breakfast. After breakfast was a long kayak to a beach for lunch (sandwiches and a giant cookie). Tara went on a hike to a waterfall while John chilled at the beach. Then we paddled all the way back. In total it was about 5 hours out. We were exhausted!

    We saw orcas and the DFO pulling over a sailboat that was illegally in the Robson Bight (Michael Biggs) Ecological Preserve. Then we saw lots of dolphins and briefly saw a bear.

    After dinner we crashed! (Dinner was chicken but I only took a photo of dessert!)    Read more

  • Alberta & B.C.

    Our first orcas

    September 9 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We left our tent to head to the kitchen and I made a comment like "watch there be orcas and I have to come back from my camera". Sure enough we had missed the "orca!" cries somehow and there were in fact orcas just to the west of our camp. I ran back to get my camera and came back to see the Department of Fisheries and Oceans had pulled over a U.S.-flagged sailboat that was illegally in the Robson Bight (Michael Bigg) Ecological Reserve. Soon after a pod of dolphins came by.Read more

  • Alberta & B.C.
    1

    Goodbye Orca Camp

    September 11 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Saw some orcas 🫍 this morning before breakfast. After breakfast (eggs Benedict for everyone but me) we finished packing up, stripped our bedding, swept out the tent, and dragged out luggage to the beach for the return trip to Campbell River. While dragging the first bag there were calls of “orca” so we abandoned the bag and went to watch orcas. After they left the area, we had some time to kill so we sat by the hot tub and jumped into the sauna to warm up from time to time.Read more

  • Alberta & B.C.

    Return to Campbell River

    September 11 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We spotted a pod of six Transient orcas (a different ecotype from the ones we saw from camp). More photos and videos to come. The first two are from John’s iPhone!

  • Alberta & B.C.
    I heard this male surface before I saw him as he surfaced on the opposite side of the boat.
    I heard this male surface before I saw him as he surfaced on the opposite side of the boat.

    Campbell River Whale Watching (Part 1)

    September 12 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    On our final full day of the trip, I (Tara) headed out for a four-hour covered boat whale watching tour with Campbell River Whale Watching, a company owned by the same company that runs Wildcoast Adventures. I ended up on the same boat that took me to and from Orca Camp - Eagle 56. We saw at least 11 orcas and lost track of how many humpbacks we saw.Read more

  • Alberta & B.C.

    Campbell River Whale Watching (Part 2)

    September 12 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We got incredibly lucky with not only the number of humpbacks we saw but the photographic angles. We were watching a pair of humpbacks surfacing to breathe when a third one nearby surprised us with a breach. I managed to turn quickly enough to get one shot of the whale completely out of the water (and 8 splashes!). We also got to check out an island with a number of lounging (and some swimming despite the Transient orcas not far away) harbour seals and Stellar's sea lions.Read more

    Trip end
    September 13, 2026