Summary:
Royal Canadian Geographical Society launches west coast trips with Robert Bateman & Maple Leaf Adventures
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society is launching a series of expedition cruises that explore Canada’s west coast. The inaugural trip, June 19-27 this year, explores British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest. Famous Canadian naturalist and artist Robert Bateman (a fellow of the Society) joins the trip as special crew.
- Updated: Private cabins now available on the second ship, a classic power yacht.
The trips complement those that the Society already offers in the Arctic and the east coast. The expedition cruise is a fundraiser for the Society, and is operated by veteran Canadian company Maple Leaf Adventures.
Guests, aboard a flotilla of up to three small, coastal ships, will explore the fjords, rainforest, and islands as well as do bear viewing and whale watching, visit whale researchers and local villages, and explore the area’s history.
In addition to the features below, this trip also includes local airfare and transfers and travel local travel arrangements as well as the sustainability fee. (These are extra on our other trips, but are included in this trip’s price, for your added convenience.)
$9995 plus GST all inclusive with local flights.
Read about it: www.MapleLeafAdventures.com/CanGeo
Inquire about it here or call 1-250-386-7245
###
FULL INFORMATION
Explore Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest & Routes of the Explorers with Robert & Birgit Bateman and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
Canadian Geographic and Maple Leaf Adventures Launch West Coast Expedition Cruises;
2014’s Exclusive Trip with Limited Places Will Raise Funds for Geographical Society
Stand on the bow of a classic sailing ship as it slices the waters of the Inside Passage and you may be channeling Captain George Vancouver, one of the great explorers of Canada. But just as likely, you may be talking to Robert Bateman, arguably Canada’s most famous living nature artist. Both experiences are possible next summer, aboard a special expedition cruise in Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest, by Canadian Geographic and Maple Leaf Adventures.
This 9-day trip, June 19-27, 2014, aboard a flotilla of one to three small, coastal expedition ships, will raise funds for the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and coastal conservation.
With just eight guests per ship, participants will have the opportunity for in depth conversations with the trip’s experienced captain and guides, including naturalist Bateman and his wife Birgit, an accomplished photographer.
This very exclusive opportunity marks the beginning of a series of west coast trips between Canadian Geographic and Maple Leaf Adventures.
The cruise includes onshore explorations and visits with residents and researchers. Highlights:
- Coastal fjords, where waterfalls drop from granite mountains to the sea.
- Grizzly bear viewing and exploration of the grizzly bear’s daily life in spring.
- The routes of explorers, including Capt. Vancouver, who charted the area in the 1790s
- Visits to coastal First Nations communities and tours and discussions with residents.
- Visits to west coast island beaches, and walks in the ancient rainforest.
- Planned visits with researchers, such as whale researchers, to discuss their findings.
“So much of the Great Bear Rainforest is pristine, like the world used to be everywhere before modern man changed it,” says Bateman. “It’s kind of a Garden of Eden.”
Located on the British Columbia coast, the 6-million hectare Great Bear Rainforest stretches from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to the Alaska border. It’s becoming famed for its deep, granite fjords, its rich whale population, and its bears – grizzly and black bears, including the rare, white spirit bear. There are almost no roads, and people travel by water. Since 2006, over a third of the land area has been protected, and eco-tourism has flourished.
“The Great Bear Rainforest is one of Canada’s globally significant places,” said Kevin Smith, Maple Leaf Adventures’ president, and a geographer whose been involved in the highest level of land use planning for the area. “Its landscapes, wildlife, cultures with an ancient connection to the place, and its history of exploration make it the perfect place for a Canadian Geographic trip.”
“Our motto at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society is making Canada better known to Canadians, and exploring the west coast by heritage Canadian ship is the perfect way for Canadian Geographic and Society supporters to do this,” said John Geiger, president of the Society. “Having the Batemans and the schooner Maple Leaf’s crew as our personal guides to their home is the icing on the cake.”
Trip Details: Great Bear Rainforest Expedition with Robert & Birgit Bateman and Canadian Geographic – a fundraiser for the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
June 19-27, 2014, 9 days / 8 nights, $9995 per person, depart & return: Vancouver, BC. Info and booking: www.MapleLeafAdventures.com/CanGeo or 250-386-7245 / 1-888-599-5323
Price includes all cruising and accommodations, all meals and snacks prepared by our chef, all beverages including quality wine and beer, all shore excursions and guiding, local flights between Vancouver and Bella Bella, BC, and use of all gear on board including kayaks.
About Maple Leaf Adventures
Selected for Canada’s “Signature Experiences Collection” by the Canadian Tourism Commission, Maple Leaf Adventures has provided conservation travel experiences aboard a classic sailing ship 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. National Geographic Adventure has rated Maple Leaf one of the “Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth”. For more information, visit www.MapleLeafAdventures.com
About Canadian Geographic
Canadian Geographic magazine is a Canadian magazine that is unapologetic about celebrating Canada. We’re dedicated to uncovering and communicating the stories about Canadian people, places, frontiers and issues (past and present) that Canadian magazine readers want. Owned by The Royal Canadian Geographical Society,Canadian Geographic magazine is more than a geography publication, each issue of Canadian Geographic is a voyage of discovery and exploration that features the latest science, environment, travel and human and cultural stories from across Canada. Info: www.canadiangeographic.ca
About Robert and Birgit Bateman
Robert Bateman is one of the world’s most celebrated wildlife artists and naturalists. His work is in many public and private collections and art museums and he was recently commissioned by the Government of Alberta to paint a gift for newlyweds Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. With a degree in geography from the University of Toronto, Bateman taught high school for 20 years, before becoming a fulltime artist. His work reflects his commitment to ecology and preservation. He has become a spokesman for many environmental and preservation issues and has used his artwork and limited edition prints in fund-raising efforts that have raised millions of dollars for worthy causes.
Photographer Birgit Freybe Bateman’s latest honour was an exhibit, Mindful Vision, sponsored by the State Russian Museum in the Stroganoff Palace in St.Petersburg from June 1 to August 31, 2011. Due to great public interest, the exhibit was then extended to the end of September of that year. To quote their web site, “The content of her works is not a concrete subject but the plastic motifs dictated by the expressive forms of objects, fragments and details commemorated by the photo lens.” She has lived in British Columbia for 27 years and also travels as a resource person on photographic expeditions.
