Okisollo Explorer Kayak Tour

Sea Kayaking British Columbia Marine Parks: A Vancouver Island Sea Kayaking Adventure!

Okisollo Channel is a playground of tidal rapids, marine life and emerald islands treasured by British Columbia kayakers.

Our kayaking Vancouver Island adventure begins with an afternoon of paddling and instruction – we’ll review basic skills and practice new technique as we explore Surge Narrows Marine Park and nearby forested shores. A hearty lodge dinner will be followed by opportunity to learn and practice kayak rescue skills, as well as options for guided night-paddling and/or wood-fired sauna and plunges into the bioluminescent ocean. Time for sleep, too, but next morning we’ll be up and packing, and at slack tide we’ll paddle through the pass at Surge Narrows and up Okisollo Channel to Octopus Islands Marine Park.

We’ll make camp on one of the tiny islets and guides will prepare a delicious meal. Later there will be time for discovering the huge diversity of marine inertial life: crystal clear waters offer extraordinary opportunities for observing some of the world’s most abundant intertidal life! Our early and late summer Okisollo Explorer Tours are timed for low-traffic and good-odds on calm sunny weather.

On the second day of our kayaking Vancouver Island journey, we’ll paddle on through Hole in the Wall; narrow tidal divide between Maurelle and Sonora Islands. By afternoon we’ll reach Calm Passage where the view opens onto a spectacular panorama including some of the highest mountains of the BC coast. Across the channel, there are a few visible remains of Church House, deserted Xwemalkwu village that is fast being reclaimed by the rainforest.

Our kayaking Vancouver Island journey meanders south along the shore of Maurelle Island to a small provincial park where we will camp this night – near Rendezvous Island, the historic place where Spanish and British explorers met while mapping this coast in the late 1700’s. A low-tide walk (or a short paddle) leads us to a trail and we can stretch legs with a wander past a few small homesteads, up and across the island…

A leisurely breakfast is preface to the last paddling day, and we’ll continue our circumnavigation of Maurelle Island. Whiterock Pass is a place that was for many years a Native treasure – a sheltered summer home of abundant clams and fish, berries and other plants. We’ll ponder the mysterious native pictographs painted on underhanging cliffs… Late afternoon we return to our starting place, and again enjoy the amenities at Discovery Islands Lodge: hot shower, a home cooked meal, and a real bed. Time to seal new friendships and savour the beauty of the night sky - and maybe the sunrise - here it’s truly worth getting up for the experience! This is a sea kayaking Vancouver Island tour to remember…

• Trips start 1:00 pm From Discovery Islands Lodge, Quadra Island (near Campbell River on Vancouver Island British Columbia, Canada)
• First & final nights at Discovery Islands Lodge
• 2 Nights kayak camping
• Trip finishes after breakfast on the last day.
• Maximum 10 participants, 2 kayak guides

Okisollo Explorer Kayak Tour

Sea Kayak Tour in British Columbia Provincial Marine Parks

2013 Tour Dates
• June 6-10
• Sept 15-19

$885 Cdn plus HST
Payable by MasterCard, VISA, or cheque

About this Kayak Trip
• Easy to Moderate
• Paddling: 3 to 4.5 hours of kayaking per day
• Single and double kayaks.
• Average distance: 9-12 km (6-8 mi) per day.
• Sea conditions: usually calm, rising to max 0.5 metre (1.5 ft)
• Beaches: low sloping sandy gravel or medium boulders; may be slippery when wet.
• Weather conditions: usually sunny, sometimes hot. Extended rain unlikely, but possible.
• Temperature: 12-30 C (50-85 F). Water 8-15 (50-60 F)

Getting to Quadra Island British Columbia Canada
Please select "How to Get Here" in the navigation bar Thank you for visiting our website. We hope you’ll come to Vancouver Island for an island adventure sea kayaking British Columbia, Canada!

Coast Mountain Expeditions offers sea kayaking Vancouver Island tours and remote eco lodge on Canada’s west coast near Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Our Vancouver Island kayak camping wilderness eco tours and lodge based nature vacations start in BC’s Discovery Islands east of Campbell River, B.C. Guided kayaking trips include kayak instruction, rainforest lodge accommodation & Vancouver Island kayak camping in spectacular island locations. We are one of BC’s original sea kayaking companies – offering natural adventures since 1987!