| If you are an adventurer looking to pick your next | | | | each day is possible. There is so much to explore in a |
| vacation, consider taking an ocean kayak tour. There | | | | small area. Moving beyond the middle of the group, |
| are some amazing destinations all over the world to | | | | the waters get a bit more movements and are more |
| get into an ocean kayak and see the marine life. If | | | | prone to wind waves as well as ocean swell. The |
| you are particularly looking for abundance and | | | | outer island can be challenging for beginners, but also |
| diversity of sea life, the temperate waters are | | | | bring a wildness that is not found anywhere but just |
| incredible. The west coast of Canada fits this | | | | at the boundary of the open ocean. This is where |
| perfectly. During the summer months, the kayaking | | | | the sea lions haul out and play, the whales swim by, |
| possibilities around Vancouver Island are immense, | | | | and the surf crashes onto the beaches. Just inside |
| ranging from warm, calm waters to misty, Pacific | | | | these outer islands, a beginner can get the feeling of |
| swell. | | | | the wildness without committing to dynamism of the |
| The Gulf Islands are on the east side of Vancouver | | | | open ocean side. The diversity of sea life here |
| Island, protected from the weather and waves of | | | | explodes into a scene of color everywhere. |
| the open Pacific Ocean. These islands are a paradise, | | | | Another west coast destination that is more remote, |
| so the residents tell. The communities are small and | | | | but just as diverse, is around Nootka Sound. One of |
| quaint, but leavened with an international flavor from | | | | the most interesting area around the sound is at the |
| the diversity of backgrounds of the residents. The | | | | northwestern tip of Nootka Island where the |
| southern Gulf Islands sit in a rain shadow stretching | | | | Nuchatlitz Inlet opens into the island. This area has a |
| from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state to | | | | number of small island groups that offer protection |
| about mid-Vancouver Island. The drier climate allows | | | | from much of the ocean swell, but allows visitors to |
| the beautiful arbutus trees to grow in abundance and | | | | peek out into the open ocean. This area is prime |
| makes for some award winning vineyards. Touring by | | | | habitat for the endangered sea otter. Rafts of |
| kayak among these islands means paddling by | | | | hundreds, floating on their backs together among the |
| sandstone cliffs that look like they were foamed up | | | | kelp beds can be seen from the small islands. Whales |
| from the earth and the bubbles popped, leaving an | | | | pass by on their migrations. Eagles call their shrill cry |
| incredible landscape. The southern resident orcas also | | | | overhead, and ravens cackle their mimicked calls of |
| ply these waters, often swimming through the areas | | | | many strange sounds in the trees. The diverse |
| looking for the salmon. Kayaking here can be a close | | | | history here connecting the First Nations peoples of |
| and intimate experience with a life that few live, but | | | | the area and the explorers that came and took |
| is dreamed about by many. | | | | control has had world importance, affecting European |
| The west coast of Vancouver Island has some of | | | | history in big ways. For west coast adventures by |
| the most abundant and diverse waters on the planet. | | | | kayak, this is one of the best. |
| A number of locations offer protected paddling, yet | | | | Although there are many more possibilities around |
| fully reveal the west coast, Pacific experience. The | | | | Vancouver Island and up the BC coast, These |
| Broken Group Islands in Barkley Sound are about 100 | | | | destinations are important because of their |
| small islands, forming a roughly rectangular group. The | | | | accessibility to beginners. A number of guiding |
| eastern part of this group is near a large bay and | | | | companies offer guided tours of these areas, |
| several other small island groups. These groups are | | | | catering specifically to beginner kayakers, or those |
| full of oysters, although mostly claimed by | | | | who have never kayaked before. So, if you are |
| commercial interests. In the eastern half of the | | | | looking for a Canadian ocean kayak experience, look |
| group, the summer waters are warm and calm. | | | | at one of these. You will get a new appreciation for |
| Because of the number of islands, the ability to | | | | the sea and our planet. |
| paddle around for days and see many new things | | | | |