Overnight Family Adventure
This unique, all-inclusive tour is always led by experienced and certified guides who will provide you with an engaging on-water experience, four delicious and hearty meals, and a comfortable stay at one of our basecamps.
You can expect to spend four to six hours a day on the water, to eat lunches on remote beaches, and to explore the Vancouver Island shoreline within the Johnstone Strait. If weather conditions are favourable, you may cross the Strait to the Plumper Islands. The timing and routes of our trips are always determined by our guides. This allows them to create the best possible experience, based on the daily conditions, your group, and wildlife! No two trips are ever the same.
Our permanent base camps allow you to spend more time with your family on the water and enjoy backcountry camping without any of the hassle. All our camps are similarly equipped with large tents, outhouses, tarped dining areas with picnic tables, and a wilderness kitchen where your guide will prepare your delicious meals! Naturally, all of our camps have beaches and oceanfront views steps from your tent. Many of our best wildlife sightings happen at camp!
ENVISION YOUR TOUR
Itinerary
We recommend that you stay in Telegraph Cove or Port McNeill the evening before your scheduled departure. We will have your dry bags available for pickup at our office anytime before 5:30 p.m., the day before your trip. If you are wondering about nearby slumbering places, please see our list of places to stay! If you are not able to pick up your dry bags the day before, please let us know. You will have to check-in at 7:30 am on your departure date, if you have not picked up your dry bags. If you have please meet us for 8:30 am.
DAY 1
At 8:30 a.m. on your departure date, you will meet your guide at the North Island Kayak gathering area, at the end of the historic Telegraph Cove boardwalk. Your kayaks will be set out on our dock and all of the group gear will already be loaded. There will be some onshore orientations regarding the area, the gear, the kayaks, and paddling. After logistics are taken care of, you will launch and embark upon an incredible adventure in the Johnstone Strait!
In the early afternoon, your group will stop to stretch its legs and enjoy a picnic lunch on a remote beach before paddling the last stretch towards camp for the night.
You will likely reach one of our three Kaikash Creek base camps in the mid-afternoon. You'll be able to get settled into camp with lots of time to enjoy the late afternoon sun. Orca, Steller sea lions, dolphins, eagles, river otters and seals are frequently seen hunting in the kelp forest near our camps. Keep your eyes and ears open!
Once you are settled, an appetizer will be served while your guide cooks up a homemade beachside BBQ dinner that will leave you smiling, stuffed, and nourished.
After dinner, enjoy card games with your party, take a stroll and explore the beach, or hang around the campfire and get to know the other members of your group.
DAY 2
Wake up to the smell of hot coffee and sizzling breakfast. Breakfast will be served between 7 and 8 a.m., and there will be lots of time to relax and get organized.
Your route home will depend on the weather forecast, but our focus will remain on what the group desires and possible wildlife viewing. If your group happens upon a pod of orcas, your guide can deploy a research-grade hydrophone and amplifier, allowing you to listen to their incredible conversations.
You will have lunch on a remote beach before paddling the last leg towards Telegraph Cove. Your group will return to the cove by 3:30 p.m.
Be sure to take some time to visit the Whale Interpretive Centre’s incredible collection of skeletons before departing Telegraph Cove.
We typically follow this itinerary; however, on some occasions, guides need to make changes due to weather or tidal considerations. Our goal will always be to provide you with the best possible wildlife and kayaking experience.
Trip Features
WILDLIFE
While we do not guarantee sightings on any of our tours, Johnstone Strait attracts an abundance of marine mammals during the summer. Your guide will be using marine VHF radios to communicate with other guides regarding wildlife sightings. If there are any reports of orcas, humpbacks, bears, or other mammals in your immediate area, your guides will do their best to ensure your group does not miss the opportunity to see them!
EXPERIENCED SEA KAYAK GUIDES
Our outstanding team of certified guides is the backbone of our company, facilitating your experience from start to finish. On trips, our guides fill the roles of group leader, paddling instructor, naturalist, risk manager, weather forecaster, chef, and wildlife tracker.
BASE CAMPS
Our network of base camps allows us to offer a completely unique experience. Our trips include guaranteed accommodations each evening, which means we may arrive at camp at any time, without the possibility of it already being claimed by another group. Our two people to one tent ratio allows you lots of space to relax. Each of our camps has its own unique and beautiful geography, but all have their own beach where you can enjoy some peace and quiet, or gather around a crackling fire at sundown.
Base Camp Amenities:
- Wilderness kitchens with full sized BBQ
- Covered dining areas with picnic tables
- Outhouses
- Small Library
DELICIOUS HOMEMADE MEALS
You will not go hungry on a NIK trip!
We provide homemade breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day, plus appetizers, desserts, granola bars, coffee, tea, and water. If you are still hungry, your guide will whip up something else to fill you up. Our menu is designed to be nutritious, delicious, substantial, locally sourced, environmentally friendly, and flexible to dietary restrictions. We can safely manage food allergies, as well as cater to gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian diets upon request.
All our guides are Foodsafe Level 1 certified.
We guarantee your guide will surprise you with their culinary skills. Here are just a few examples of what you could be served on your trip:
BREAKFAST
- Frittata
- Shakshuka
- Breakfast burritos
- Granola and fresh muffins
- Pancakes or french toast
- Fresh fruit
LUNCH
- Greek salad with hummus and pita
- Chickpea salad
- Sandwiches
- Bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon
All lunches include fruit, cookies, and chips
DINNER
- BBQ salmon with risotto and roasted vegetables
- Halibut and prawn soba noodle stir-fry
- Homestyle chili
- Quinoa soup and burritos
QUALITY EQUIPMENT
We provide all kayaking equipment for our day tours. Come with the clothing and personal items noted in the ‘What to Bring’ section and we do the rest. Some of the equipment we provide for our trips includes:
- DOUBLE KAYAKS: Top of the line Seaward fiberglass kayaks, the best way to enjoy your tour together!
- DRY BAGS: Photos are a must, having a waterlogged phone is not.
- PADDLES, SPRAY SKIRTS, PFDS, AND SAFETY EQUIPMENT: The essentials for safety and comfort.
FLUID ITINERARIES
No two trips are the same! We pride ourselves on our fluid itineraries. The weather, tides, wildlife, and interests of groups are different every trip. Because of this, we both trust and empower our guides to adapt the trip as they see fit, so you can have the best experience possible!
Tour Map
June 3rd - September 23rd 
Overnight 
Discover
NorthIslandKayak
