Great Bear Rainforest tours set
January 29, 2011
Travellers will get an opportunity this year to learn about grizzly bears from the Canadian naturalist that the BBC nicknamed the “bear man” in an international television special about his work.
Charlie Russell, whose books and films on living and interacting with grizzlies and spirit bears have showed fans the bears’ sociable side, will be the naturalist on an adventure cruise aboard the Canadian schooner Maple Leaf in the Great Bear Rainforest. Trip dates are below.
Russell has had spirit and grizzly bears befriend him and initiate contact by gently touching him, in the Great Bear Rainforest and in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. He will share stories and findings with Maple Leaf guests, as they view the spirit and grizzly bears of the Great Bear Rainforest.
Maple Leaf Adventures developed its first Great Bear Rainforest adventure cruises in the early 1990s. Aboard the classic Canadian sailing ship Maple Leaf, the trips are multiday journeys through the fjords and islands of the central and northern B.C. coast. Since hunting was halted in a number of valleys visited by the Maple Leaf, the bears have rewarded guests by allowing people to observe their daily rituals.
Great Bear Rainforest trips begin in April this year, each with an expert naturalist. Russell leads the Sept. 12-20 trip.
Dates:
Spring:
Apr. 26-May 4 (9 days, $4,100);
Summer:
Jun. 5-12 (8 days, $3,880)
Jun. 12-21 (10 days, $5,030)
Jun. 23Jul. 1 (9 days $4,470)
Sept. 4-11 (8 days, $4,300)
Sept. 12-20 with Russell (9 days, $4,900),
Autumn:
Sep. 22-30 (9 days, $4,900)
Whales & Totems of the Great Bear: Oct. 3-8, 10-15 (6 days, $2,650)
Prices are all inclusive except airfare.
Information: MapleLeafAdventures.com or 250-386-7245 (in Victoria) or 1-888-599-5323 toll free.