Cruising Khutzeymateen

The bears were calling. Taking a grizzly bear boat tour to the nearby Khutzeymateen Provincial Park was on my “must do” list during my year-long stint in Prince Rupert, but I wanted to wait for the perfect combination of a day off and sunshine before booking. Khutzeymateen Park was created in 1994 when activists were able to save it from being logged. It is now Canada’s only wildlife area dedicated specifically to preserving grizzly bear habitat.

Khutzeymateen Provincial Park is a sanctuary 45 km north east of Prince Rupert, at the head of the Khutzeymateen Inlet. It is accessible only by boat and is a place of incredible beauty.

Tours take about seven hours in total, about two hours travel each way from Prince Rupert, and about 2.5 to 3 hours are spent within Khutzeymateen park itself, toodling around looking at the fjord-like scenery and of course, searching for bears.

The big yellow boat doesn’t seem like it can hold that many people. Turns out it can accommodate up to 100 passengers, but thankfully we were only 2/3 full on the day I toured, so I was easily able to snag a window seat. The inside is clean and comfortable and there were views in almost every direction. The outside decks offer many options for viewing and photographs. One main deck is on the bow of the ship, with two levels of smaller deck at the back, and another platform at the top of the boat with 360-degree views.

We started off in Prince Rupert’s Cow Bay, at the Adventure Tours office in the Atlin Terminal building and boarded the boat efficiently. After a short safety talk, we headed south down the harbour and out past Dodge Cove on Digby Island. At first, the views and tour guide blurb included man-made sites, but we soon headed out into the vast and beautiful Chatham sound, going north towards Khutzeymateen. We passed the Tsimshian First Nation villages of Metlakatla and Lax Kw’Alaams on the way and learned a little about the history of each settlement.

This trip wasn’t just about grizzlies. There was a high likelihood that we might see some whales along our journey as well. The tour guides prepared us with all sorts of interesting facts and tidbits (Did you know that humpbacks can live to be 45 years old?), complete with a cute plastic whale who looked unimpressed with modelling as his career choice.

In elementary school, I remember assignments where one had to choose an animal and write a report on it. A lifelong lover of all things water, my perennial choice was some sort of whale. Many times, I had written about whales and how they eat, sometimes talking about toothed orcas, at other times talking about whales with baleen who feed on tiny creatures called krill. These assignments were completed before the internet so I was rather excited that on this trip I got to see what these wee krill critters actually look like.

Their cute little eyeballs make me feel a little sorry for them, but I guess it is the circle of life. They also had an actual piece of whale baleen that they passed around for passengers to gently examine.

Plates of baleen protrude from the whale’s mouth and the fibres along the edges and ends catch the wee krill. The whale feeds by taking in a mouthful of what seems like a swimming pool full of water, straining it out through baleen to feast on these tiny ocean creatures. Here you can see a side view of how the plates fit together.

The day I went, we saw humpback whales, seals and a number of eagles as well. Friends who have been on the tour have also seen various birds, orcas and mountain goats. The timing of tours is scheduled around low tides in order to view the bears while they are out on the shore foraging for food, rather than in the forest. No sightings are guaranteed, of course, as they are wild animals, and do not adhere to posted schedules, either because their English is poor, or they are impertinent and just don’t care. Regardless, chances are VERY good that you’ll have an amazing day. The team has over 20 years of experience in these waters and know where and when to go to certain places for the highest likelihood of seeing wildlife.

It took us awhile to find our first bears, and I could sense growing disappointment in some of the passengers who felt they may have been skunked by seeing no bears on the tour. I kept myself occupied taking interesting photos of the light and mountains reflecting on the water. It was so calm in the inlet, in many places, the water was flat and glasslike, disturbed only by the wrinkles our boat made on the surface.

Not gonna lie, I used this time to snap a few selfies as well.

I was a little disappointed in my bear photos, I will admit. I have a 70-300mm zoom lens which I was hoping would be enough to get good photos of the bears, but most of today’s crew seemed to be doing their munchy-munchy bear thing fairly far back from the shoreline amid shoulder-level, protein-rich sedge grass. The first bear we saw hid well from my sight, and only her head was in view for a while. It was a pleasant surprise to see two little furry heads pop up nearby – baby bears! My camera did a lot but photos on this particular day could have used a zoom lens like the monster-sized one the captain uses.

Two grizzlies did comply with everyone’s hope to get closer views of the bears, as they were on the sandy shore near the water’s edge, happily digging for clams.

It was fascinating to watch them work and ignore a curious raven that hung about hoping for scraps. They didn’t completely cooperate, however, as they spent much of the time digging with their backsides facing us. Bear bums!!

Regardless of the photo quality, it was an astounding privilege to be so close to these magnificent creatures as they rear their young and feed intensely to regain their strength and girth after the winter’s hibernation.

There weren’t any other boats in the inlet during our tour, save one anchored sailboat, whose small zodiac was filled with tour participants just like us. The lifeguard in me was concerned that no one in their boat had PFD/lifejackets on. It seemed a little unsafe to me.

Beyond them, it was just us and the bears in the long silent and peaceful inlet. We were blessed with a calm day and only an occasional breeze. This made for some nice views of mountain and tree reflections. The tour went to the far end of the Khutzeymateen Inlet, and we could see the estuary stretching on towards the base of the mountains beyond – still dusted with a wee bit of snow, even in late June!

On the way back, we paused by the entrance to Work Channel to see if we could catch some humpback whales lurking. These are such beautiful creatures. I was enthralled. The poof they make when exhaling at the surface always surprises me with how loud it is. It’s sometimes hard to believe these giants are mammals just like us. Thank goodness they are, otherwise they wouldn’t come to the surface for us to see them!

I got the chance to meet the tour company owner who was on board (and turns out to be my neighbour!) and the Captain. Beyond all the techy-looking navigation equipment, I can’t believe a boat of this size is steered like this!

Heading back past Work Channel, we slowed down near a rocky islet festooned with chunky adorable harbour seals trying to catch some rays. When out paddling I’m accustomed to seeing seals in the water, and only spying their heads. This rock had a bunch of the portly critters in all different shades of brown and grey, with speckles and blotches. Each one was so cute and unique.

While they tend to scatter when approached by kayak, they’ve grown accustomed to the big yellow boat slowly going by each day, so they just sit and stare back as we quietly passed.

I was a little sad when the boat returned to Prince Rupert harbour, as it signaled the end of an amazing journey. Its not every day you can eat your lunch looking out on grizzly bears in the wild!

“Opinions provided in this post are entirely my own. I was not paid or compensated by these businesses or organizations to provide a positive review. I only recommend products and services that I have personally tried and loved.”

If You Go:

For more information about the park itself, visit it’s official website: Here

Book your trip through: adventuretours.net or by phone (toll free): 1-800-201-8377. The staff were all amazing – knowledgeable, personable, and professional. The trip was not cheap; the fee for one person, including taxes and the park entrance fee was just shy of CAD $300.

Lunch consisted of your choice of several types of sandwich and a choice of non-alcoholic beverage. Other snacks such as chips, nuts and chocolate bars were available for purchase should your sandwich not completely fill the hole. It is possible to bring a snack of your own on the trip as well, but keep it inside the boat, as you don’t want the bears to catch a whiff and become accustomed to people food.

Bring your camera and the longest lens you have. I wouldn’t bother with a tripod, as the boat runs continuously (quietly) and produces a very slight wiggle which I found is easier to minimize when standing. If you’ve got binoculars, by all means bring them.

I have led tours on sailboats with people wearing high heels, despite warnings to wear appropriate footwear, so this almost goes without saying, but I’m going to say it: Dress for the weather and for the activity. You’ll want to go up and down the flights of stairs to get optimal views of various wildlife, and you’ll want to do so quietly to avoid startling them (no one wants to be the person on the bear tour who scares the bears away into the bush because they are wearing clanky hard-soled shoes). Also, this is a rain forest. It rains here. Quite a bit. Bring a rain jacket and layers to make sure you don’t get cold and wet. Also, some days it is gloriously sunny and the rays reflect right back up off the water into your face. Bring sunscreen and sunglasses as well and you’ll be feeling groovy, enjoying this experience to the fullest.

The grizzly tours run at the time of year that they will most likely be seen onshore (mid-May to late July), before they move to spend more time deeper in the forest looking for other sources of food. For a lesser fee, the same company runs four-hour whale watching tours from late July through to the end of September. Check it out if that is more likely to ‘float your boat.’

Khutzeymateen Park

Adventure Tours

4 Comments

Suzanne Buller on July 10, 2018 at 1:56 am

Excellent article Heather. I am learning a lot from you.
Robin on July 10, 2018 at 5:45 am

Heather, as always, your commentary is funny yet informative. I’ve always wanted to visit the Khutz. If I’m ever up that way, I’ll do my best to see it. It sounds like a hidden treasure.
Gwenna on July 13, 2018 at 3:17 am

Great photos and interesting info and commentary — as always. Love this blog.
- Heather on October 29, 2018 at 8:47 am
  
  Thanks Gwenna! You are always so positive 🙂