July 2008

The Pacific Orca Lodge has entertained its first clients of the season with great success. Christy 'follow me to Orca Ville' Taylor got clients in line to see Transient Killer Whales hunting off Bald Head in Blackfish Sound and had quite a few sightings of Humpbacks just outside the Lodge in Queen Charlotte Strait. The Grizzly Bears at Glendale Cove have also given our guests a treat on our Wednesday excusrions up Knights Inlet.

We will still boast a superb location on the North West tip of Swanson Island with captivating views across Knight Inlet, Queen Charlotte Strait and all the way to the snow capped Coastal Mountain range.

The back of the Lodge also gains a lot of attention with the regular presence of Black Bears and their cubs feeding at low tide. Nestled in a secluded bay surrounded by Cedar and Hemlock, Bald Eagles, Blue Herons, Kingfishers, River Otters, Humpback and Orca whales also call this place home, all within a 10 minute paddle to Blackfish Sound.

Our Wild Orca Discovery Expedition Base Camps are looking incredible and have taken on some major transformations for the good of the planet and guest comfort. Its incredible to be able to improve our services in line with making our operations as Eco as we can. We have installed composting toilets at both Maggy Point and Hanson HideAway and also water catchment features.

Pictures coming soon! Alternatively you can book a trip and see for yourself!

By popular demand we have been requested to report upon our BLACKNEY PASS BLACK BEAR RESCUE 2006. So here is the report and offical photos!

It was late August in the Johnstone Strait and WeGo guides Christy Taylor, Jamie Sharp and Mark Blackman were conducting safety checks at our Maggy Point base camp. In the early afternoon we heard on the radio that a Black Bear was caught in a rip tide in Blackney Pass clinging onto a bed of kelp. Intrigued by this and also worried for the bear, we set out in the tinny to see what was going on.

Upon reaching the location of Blackney Pass we scanned the horizon and the confusion of the water's surface to pick out a large black shape which turned out to be our Bear.

After observing the Bear for a few minutes it was clear that it had become exhausted from battling against the flood tide. The Bear had its feet out of the water and was trying to remain bouyant on the bull kelp which was acting as its lifeline.

We had no other option except to fashion together a driftwood raft which we put together at Cracroft Point soon after realising that the Bear needed to be moved.

Naturally the Bear did not want to cooperate with any rescue attempt and started swimming away anxiously. We were very persistent in getting the Bear on the raft and so we circled the area trying to present the Bear with a good opportunity to grab the raft without adding to the Bear's distress.

The Bear finally saw that the two chunky pieces of wood were so much better than the nest of bull kelp and made a break for it.

Once on the raft we towed the Bear back to the Hanson side of Blackney Pass very slowly so not to panic it further. It was the last moments of the tow back from the middle of the Johnstone Strait, when we witnessed the Bear fall off the raft next to the island and then panic before it realised the island was only a step away.

The Bear seemed ever so relieved to get onto the island after a brief doggy paddle. Once ashore and he had found his escape route, he gave a glance to his rescuers and ran off up the bank.

What we failed to know at this time is that we may have brought him back to where he was trying to get away from. Also after not really thinking about ourselves, we had no option but to put him on the island that we currently have a base camp on. Dont worry, its a big island.

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Pacific Orca Lodge and Wild Orca Discovery were our most popular trips last year and we cant wait to do them again!

2008 will see a few changes at WeGo:

1. We intend to drive forward our innovative style of kayak trip lunches and get closer to freshness!

2. The installation of new water conservation features at our base camps to sustain our prime operative locations and maintain our services to clients. See our Environmental Ethos in the about us section.

3. The start of our Wild Orca Discovery Base Camping Weekender trip which boasts all that a 5 day trip entails but meets the needs for people requiring a shorter kayaking vacation.

4. Both Nuchatlitz Wild West Coast Expedition and Broughton Archipelago Expedition trips will run this season. Click on the trip links to read more!

5. Same quality personal guides and some old time favourites are back for 2008.

>>>Click to see a map of our camp/lodge locations and common travel routes of the whales.

Wego Guides: Christy, Mark, Sophie and Ash.

Online Booking and Reservations Available

WeGo Kayaking is very excited to be the only company offering the convenience of online booking to it's customers! You can now check availability on any of our trips and register online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

>>>Click here to read more about our online booking system!

World Nomads Travel Insurance

WeGo Kayaking has teamed up with World Nomads Travel Insurance to offer the easiest, most convenient way to purchase your travel insurance. You can either visit our insurance page or on each trip description page you will see the logo link (as shown below) A quick, no hassle way to get your insurance quote and coverage!

New Itineraries for Pacific Orca Lodge & Wild Orca Discovery in 2008.

Based on client feedback from this year, we have revamped our Pacific Orca Lodge and Wild Orca Discovery kayaking tours for 2008. The new itineraries are now posted, click the links above and learn more about these exciting British Columbia kayaking tours.

Free Coffee Mug! Everyone that books a 2008 kayaking expedition receives a free insulated WeGo Kayaking Expeditions coffee mug to take home.

Links
We are always on the lookout for new links to and from our website. If you would like to link up to our site, send us an email.