Johnstone Strait is located between the northeastern end of Vancouver Island and the coastal British Columbia (BC) mainland. Johnstone Strait is internationally renowned as the finest place in the world to view the Orcas or Killer Wahles in the wild. The Broughton Archipelago Marine Park, snow capped mountain peaks, and stands of old growth forest provide a gorgeous setting for paddlers to witness the congregation of up two hundred resident and transient pods of Orcas from June to October. The temperate rainforest of the area provides habitat for an abundance of wild creatures including the magnificent Bald Eagle, Deer, Black Bear, marine life such as Salmon, Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, Dahl’s Porpoises, Seals, Sea Lions and the occasional Humpback, Minke or Grey Whale. The Johnstone Strait area is also situated under the “Pacific Flyway” bird migration path, and often-unusual types of birds are seen.
The Orca gather to socialize, interact, and visit the rubbing beaches of Robson Bight and feast on the numerous runs of salmon that must pass through the strait on their way to spawning grounds to the south. Ocean kayaks provide one of the most exhilarating vantage points from which to observe the whales. Undisturbed by our presence, they will allow a close encounter of the whale kind!
