Royal Visit 2016: How You Can Explore Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii
The yachts Swell and Maple Leaf explore Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii on award-winning expeditions. Photo by Greg Shea / Maple Leaf Adventures
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge splash light on two spectacular but little-known parts of Canada this month, with their royal tour visit to the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii.
How can you explore the protected rainforest, bears, and monumental cultural sites that they will see, yourself?
Local companies have been pioneering safari-like trips in the region for over 30 years, quietly winning international awards from National Geographic and other bodies.
Maple Leaf Adventures, one of those companies, offers weeklong, boutique expedition cruises in both regions. With a small group, gourmet chef, naturalist and First Nations guides, you move from island to fjord, going ashore to view wildlife, walk the rainforest, and visit monumental cultural sites.
You ship: either a classic converted tugboat or classic sailing ship, that feels like your private yacht.
The company has been involved with efforts to protect the regions for decades, including the campaigns to end the trophy hunt of bears, stop wholesale clear cut logging, respectfully travel in Gwaii Haanas, ban oil supertankers from the treacherous waters, and develop a conservation-based economy instead.
Trips run May through October every year and range in price from approx Cdn $2000 to approx Cdn $11,000, all inclusive.
They are designated a “Signature Experience of Canada” by the government and one of the “50 Tours of a Lifetime” by National Geographic Traveler.
Info: www.MapleLeafAdventures.
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About Maple Leaf Adventures
Selected for Canada’s “Signature Experiences Collection” by the Canadian Tourism Commission, Maple Leaf Adventures has provided conservation-focused, big adventures aboard small ships since 1986. With a reputation as one of Canada’s top sustainable tour operators, its multi-day excursions give guests one-of-a-kind experiences in some of the most beautiful and rare places in the world, often in areas that were once under threat of destruction or in dire need of protection. In 2012, Maple Leaf was awarded the Parks Canada Sustainable Tourism Award, for promoting the appreciation of Canada’s natural, cultural and aesthetic heritage, while also protecting them. As a long time practitioner of ecotourism, Maple Leaf Adventures pioneered travel in BC’s Great Bear Rainforest and northwestern Vancouver Island and has made significant contributions to conservation. National Geographic Adventure has rated Maple Leaf Adventures one of the “Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth”. For more information, visit www.MapleLeafAdventures.
Media contact: Maureen Gordon, Maple Leaf Adventures Maureen@