Orca Dreams offers Canada’s first whale watching camp, with BC packages that include 4 days of luxury camping. Orca Dreams has twenty years of experience hosting people from around the world in the wildlife-rich waters of Johnstone Strait and Broughton Archipelago, off the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Watch surfacing humpback whales, pods of orcas, dolphins, eagles, sea lions or a curious seal pass by while sipping your morning coffee from your waterfront safari-style tent. Whale watch from camp or boat, while kayaking, surrounded by the rich wildlife of coastal BC.

Orca Dreams is situated within the traditional territory of the Mamalilikula-Qwe’Qwa’Sot’Em First Nation, on Compton Island on the edge of Blackney Pass, one of the most wildlife-rich marine ecosystems in the world. Blackney Pass connects Queen Charlotte Strait with Johnstone Strait where the strong currents churn up nutrients from deep below, feeding everything from small herring to the 40-ton humpback whales.

Blackney Pass is also one of the best places in North America to view Orcas – also known as Killer Whales – as they make their way to and from Johnstone Strait and the rubbing beaches of Robson Bight on Vancouver Island.

Orca Dreams
Box 353
Heriot Bay
Quadra Island, BC
V0P 1H0

Phone: 250-202-2765
Email: info@orcadreams.com
Website: www.orcadreams.com

 

 

Fortune favours the brave, we’re told, and adventurous souls carve their own path where few others have travelled before them, creating for themselves a wilderness paradise that would be the envy of most of us, or at least those who can imagine themselves living off the grid, a good distance from shops, services and the modern comforts we consider so essential to our very survival.

In the care of two of these intrepid folks, you can travel beyond the end of the road and wake up in the comfort of a hand-crafted floathouse or seaside cabin, listening to the heartbeat of nature and exploring secluded shorelines by kayak – alone or in the company of your hosts Bruce and Josée McMorran, owners of Paddler’s Inn in Simoom Sound in the Broughton Archipelago, accessed from the community of Telegraph Cove on northeast Vancouver Island.

Bruce McMorran

Bruce moved to his chosen secluded site by kayak in 1980, at the age of just 18, following the call of the whales and nature and his passion to live in and be a part of the wilderness. His homesteading began as a seaside squatter, who after years of persistence and on-site presence and development, was able to arm wrestle the provincial government into allowing a small tenure and right of occupation.

The form of the resort began to unfold over the years, facilitating seaside vacations, guided kayak tours, and wilderness immersion. When not ‘homesteading’ or offering guided kayak trips, Bruce could be found planting trees where once great forests had stood. This suited Bruce’s all-seasons approach to outdoor life, assuring that his personal activities demonstrated a form of wilderness immersion, and an ecological contribution, and allowed for a communal living experience, a welcome contrast to his independent pioneering hermitage lifestyle.

After 10 years of reclusive ocean-side living, Bruce met Josée the world traveller, and they began their family life together. They lived in Simoom Sound running the resort in the summers, and a tree-planting company in the fall and spring.

When the children (Indra and Solomon) were school age, the family moved to Cortes Island to begin a new life of schooling for the kids, and seasonal employment at the Hollyhock Retreat Centre for Bruce as a bodywork practitioner, where he provided Jin Shin Do acupressure, Reiki, deep tissue Esalen massage, and Hakomi body-centered psychotherapy for six years.

Once the offspring were on their own, Bruce turned his attention back to their homestead, and life in the wilderness, returning to re-open the lodge, and live in ‘the cradle of nature’ again. Bruce gets great pleasure out of welcoming guests to reconnect with nature and experience the beauty of the Broughton Archipelago.

Josée McMorran

Josée comes from a large Quebec family, where everybody and their friends would gather every Sunday to celebrate family life by cooking and dining together. Her father’s career as a chef taught her both comfort and expression in the kitchen by preparing nourishing meals for people to savour and enjoy.

Josée’s love of people and children, combined with her curiosity and hunger to know the world, first led her toward a degree in education, followed by years of travelling to many countries to experience a variety of cultures, languages, and ethnic foods.

During one of Josée’s periods back in Canada, after traveling abroad, she met and fell in love with Bruce. She appreciated his lifestyle of ‘living off the land’ and being self-sufficient, living in a small community in the wilderness, where kayaking was their primary mode of transportation.

Never one to shy away from hard physical or mental work, the idea of raising a family and building a business in this wilderness paradise, having to paddle to the post office for mail or paddling home in the dark after a dinner out with a neighbour, seemed more like adventure than hardship.

While on Cortes Island, Josée studied to be an herbalist, and started a line of products under the name Living Soul Herbs. Josée had a huge garden where she grew over 100 varieties of herbs and much of the vegetable needs of her family. Freezing, canning, and drying foods and herbs seemed constant. The life of a farmer is closely connected to the soil, and health of the earth. Her children learned all of the things that would nurture their growth and understanding, as well as their independence and creativity.

Today, with her family grown and rippling out into the world, Josée finds great pleasure in creating an environment where she and Bruce can welcome and receive guests from around the world to enjoy the peacefulness and vibrancy of the nature. She can easily recall the needs of the traveller, and loves to now be able to host world wanderers.

Josée manages guest services at Paddlers’ Inn, ensuring that all the accommodations are fresh and welcoming. She also creates dozens of flowering baskets, adorning and accenting the beauty of each cabin. Her Quebec culture continues to express itself as she creates spectacular meals, inviting guests to gather around their table, to dine, laugh, and celebrate the good fortune of being gathered together in the Broughton Archipelago.

Contact Bruce and Josée McMorran
Paddler’s Inn Broughton Archipelago
Simoom Sound
Broughton Archipelago
British Columbia

Voice Mail: 250-230-0088
Website: www.paddlersinn.ca

The Flow Wilderness Retreat is located on the wilderness Maurelle Island, just east of Quadra Island in the Discovery Islands, surrounded by emerald green waters offering some of the finest kayaking in the world. Our central location allows us to explore three unique provincial marine parks and return to our luxury base camp each evening.

Enjoy a fresh shore lunch at a different scenic location each day. Relax after a day of adventure with our cedar-wood-fired hot tub, hot showers, hammocks and your private, cozy, cabin accommodation. Three-course gourmet meals with wine are served each evening on our seaside patio overlooking the islands of the Surge Narrows Marine Park.

Water-taxi pick up from Campbell River on Vancouver Island or Heriot Bay on Quadra Island can be arranged through our office with Discovery Launch Water Taxi. Kick back, relax and enjoy a scenic cruise through the enchanting archipelago that is the Discovery Islands.

The Flow Wilderness Retreat
Maurelle Island
Discovery Islands
British Columbia

Website: https://www.theflowretreat.com
Phone: 250-287-0946
TollFree: 1-888-435-2925
Email: brody@gowiththeflow.ca
Mailing Address: Box 706 Quathiaski Cove, Quadra Island, BC V0P 1N0