I have been putting off posting these pictures, because I haven't been able to find the words to describe how amazing my trip was. So hopefully a few quotes from the Great Bear Tour website will help... "From early May through October, Great Bear Nature Tours offers grizzly bear viewing excursions from Port Hardy, to a beautiful river valley on the central coast of British Columbia. Known as the Great Bear Rainforest, this area is one of the best places in the world to observe grizzly bears." All clear? Here goes my attempt to explain and show my experiences. This will be the first of several posts.
DAY 1: After a long flight to Vancouver the night before, Nick and I boarded a plane to Port Hardy, where we met some of the Great Bear Lodge staff and boarded a sea plane to the floating lodge. The first photo is from the tiny plane!
After a few moments to unpack, we jumped in an old school bus and took the first of MANY bumpy rides to several locations along the river, all roughly 45 minutes away. When we arrived at the first "blind", it wasn't 10 minutes before I saw my first wild Grizzly Bear.
And the bears kept coming. Our visit was during the annual Salmon run, so both the bears and fish were plentiful. We watched for a few hours as several different bears came and went -- catching fish, tearing them apart, and then leaving for more fish or a nice nap. They got so close on several occasions! It was amazing.
And right before we left, a momma and her two cubs came out for a few fish. These cubs are two years old.
Stay tuned for Day 2 and 3!
Ah! How brilliant for you all! Such a great eye you have!
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