Grizzly bear watching holiday in British Columbia
| country: | Canada |
| location: | British Columbia |
| price: | From CA $1400 (4 days) excluding flights. Departures are available any time from 15 Sep to 31 Oct |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
read 1 travellers review
description
Autumn in our valley is a time of great natural beauty as the colours turn red, yellow and golden. It is also the time of the grizzly bears when these magnificent creatures come to our river to fish. The Kokanee salmon, the principle food for the grizzlies, usually begin their run in the first week of September, bringing bears from thousands of square miles around. From the middle of the month it is common to see these remarkable animals feeding on the red fish, scooping them from the river into their giant paws.
Watch grizzly bears fishing for the spawning Kokanee salmon Join us as we map out local bear prints, rub trees and day beds Float down our river spotting wildlife on our 14 foot raft
At these times we head out by 4x4 and raft to watch the bears and map their distribution. It is one of the few places in the world where you can watch grizzlies undisturbed in their natural environment.
We keep the numbers of guests strictly limited to make sure the experience remains a personal one and to minimise our impact on the environment. Usually our maximum is six, occasionally seven. As well as bears the area around the ranch is home to dozens, sometimes hundreds, of bald eagles who also come to feed on the fish.
Each bear-viewing experience at the ranch is a little different but typically it will include a number of early-morning and late-afternoon forays equipped with cameras and binoculars.
We may also head out in the middle of the day to look for grizzly footprints, bear paths and day beds. We often take out our raft and float down the river so as to better observe the bears and other wildlife in its natural habitat.
At these times we head out by 4x4 and raft to watch the bears and map their distribution. It is one of the few places in the world where you can watch grizzlies undisturbed in their natural environment.
We keep the numbers of guests strictly limited to make sure the experience remains a personal one and to minimise our impact on the environment. Usually our maximum is six, occasionally seven. As well as bears the area around the ranch is home to dozens, sometimes hundreds, of bald eagles who also come to feed on the fish.
itinerary
Each bear-viewing experience at the ranch is a little different but typically it will include a number of early-morning and late-afternoon forays equipped with cameras and binoculars. We may also head out in the middle of the day to look for grizzly footprints, bear paths and day beds. We often take out our raft and float down the river so as to better observe the bears and other wildlife in its natural habitat.
travellers' tales
Getting to watch grizzly bears in their natural environment was the most exciting part. Superb! Julius and Krisin were fabulous hosts, who helped to make a great end to my month in British Columbia. (more)
travelling with a local operator
This holiday is operated by a company based in the holiday destination and they will be able to provide expert local knowledge. They will be able to tailor make your holiday to suit your requirements not only concerning the dates of travel but also typically the standard of accommodation, and thus price. It is rare for local operators to be able to help with the booking of your flights.how this holiday makes a difference
|
We take our guests to view ancient stands of remarkable cedar threatened by logging and encourage them to carry home a message that such natural treasures should be saved from harvesting. We also take guests in the spring to view a local environmental project to save the population of the local Gerrard trout, the largest rainbow trout in the world, from extinction.
On the construction front, in our latest cabin we have installed a modern composting toilet and a super-high-efficiency on-demand water heater. The body of the renovation is carried out using local wood and all the finishing uses organic products. The floors are treated with a mixture of tung oil, linseed oil, citrus essence and bee's wax, giving a wonderful aroma to the cabin and a long-lasting organic finish. Well over 80 percent of our waste and all our paper and cardboard is recycled at our local transfer station. Finally we are investing in new high-efficiency appliances including a very high-efficiency SunFrost fridge. We are off-grid and our generator, which we use sparingly, runs on a biodiesel blend. We conserve power using a large battery bank. All our light bulbs are CF. Our lawn maintenance is organic. We do not offer guests bottled water but instead provide water from our well. All our showers are fitted with low-flow heads. Of the food we serve more than 80 percent is organic. Although we have no full-time employees, all paid help is sourced as close to the ranch as possible. In the autumn we sub-contract an expert on grizzly bears in the area to give interpretive talks to our guests who have come to view these magnificent animals. We make a particular effort to use the various skills of the five or six families living in our remote valley, whether as carpenters, mechanics or in their other capacities. The ranch was opened in its present incarnation in 2006 in a remote part of southern BC with high local unemployment and very few non-winter tourist facilities. We have committed to buy all our groceries and the vast majority of our non-grocery supplies from local retailers. We buy many of our vegetables direct from local farmers. More than 85 percent of all food and drink that we serve is grown or produced in British Columbia. We also encourage our guests to make use of local businesses and other tourist-related facilities in the area. We have integrated the offerings of a local company, Kaslo Kayaking, into our programmes and around half of our spring and summer guests have booked tours with them through us. On a more general level we have endeavoured to show that wildlife-viewing and wilderness walks and treks can provide an alternative revenue stream to hunting and fishing in this area. Prior to its reopening in 2006, the ranch operated as an ATV Centre and its perimeter was littered with old fridges, freezers and other junk. The pristine river that runs along the edge of the property was frequently used as a garbage point and toxic compounds were used in everything from lawn care to building maintenance. Since taking over we have reversed these policies and enacted a series of measures to turn our lodge into a model eco-facility. We phased out the ATV tours because of environmental and safety concerns and, instead, introduced trekking, tree-viewing, scenic rafting, wildlife-viewing and mountain tours. For the latter we use a reconditioned Toyota Land Cruiser operating on a biodiesel blend and only travel on existing logging and mining trails. Once we reach the alpine, we hike. We have a no-litter policy in place for our activities and encourage guests to pick up litter left by others. Before each of our day tours we hold a safety and environmental briefing during which we instruct guests in no-impact trekking and touring. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |