This is the teaser for your own personal IMAX movie. The setting? A natural region larger than Ireland, nestled between north tip of Vancouver Island and the Alaska border.
The Great Bear Rainforest’s unique topography gives life to a thriving ecosystem of bears, whales and wolves. It’s a fabled land of fjords, islands and great river estuaries, where days are measured in the rise and fall of the tide, and glacier-cut fjords confront us with greater spans of time than the imagination can begin to comprehend.
From mid-August onward, the Great Bear becomes an epic safari as Pacific salmon return to their natal creeks to spawn. Magnificent megafauna like black bears, grizzlies and whales converge all along the coast to catch salmon, which we view and learn about on our trips. This yearly event offers the best chance to see the rare white kermode or “Spirit” bear. North America’s last great temperate rainforest, the Great Bear is a destination where trips directly support coastal community efforts to build a conservation-based economy.
Conservation-based Travel Done Right
Maple Leaf Adventures expeditions explore beautiful, intact systems like the ones in this video, that might not be around today if not for the ground-breaking agreement to protect much of its old-growth. This watershed moment, steered by government, First Nations, environmental groups, forest industry representatives and our very own Kevin Smith, has allowed ecotourism to flourish.
The Great Bear Rainforest has since secured a spot on the bucket lists of discerning nature travelers around the world—helping support millions of acres of rainforest and countless bears, wolves and whales in the process. Guests can learn more about the conservation work being done during our expeditions, with opportunities to meet stewards and scientists in the field. No matter what journey, guests have the chance to connect with nature in the best kind of way.
Photography and video production by Jacob DeGrace and Brodie DeGrace of Coastline Films, on expedition with Maple Leaf Adventures aboard MV Swell last fall. Additional footage provided by Dan Batchelor of Profile Creative and Jeff Reynolds, a Maple Leaf Adventures Naturalist. We also cannot forget to credit our superb crew aboard Swell, for steering us into the path of magic, each and every day.
