Grizzly bear viewing in Canada’s awesome Great Bear Rainforest combines with an Alaskan Inside Passage cruise aboard Norwegian Sun and a stay in Vancouver in a new fly-cruise-and-tour holiday.
‘Glaciers and the Great Bear Rainforest’, as the holiday is named, lasts 17 days and costs from A$6599 twin share per person. It’s on sale from Worldwide Cruise Centres (worldwidecruisecentres.com.au) until the end of November 2014 or until sold out, whichever happens first.
The Great Bear Rainforest at the heart of the holiday is sometimes nicknamed the Amazon of the North. Stretching for more than 400 kilometres along the coast of British Columbia, the 85,000-square-kilometre wilderness is one of the world’s last surviving big expanses of coastal temperate rainforest. As well as a thriving population of grizzly bears, local wildlife includes wolves, black bears, otters, pine martins, mink and bald eagles. A floating eco-lodge is the perfect vantage point.
‘Glaciers and the Great Bear Rainforest’ departs Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne for Vancouver on 17 May 2015. On arrival, you’ll stay a night at the Pan Pacific Vancouver – dramatically located above Canada Place cruise ship terminal in the city’s downtown area.
Next day, board Norwegian Sun and sail to Alaska on a seven-night Inside Passage cruise. The ship offers 16 dining options, 11 bars and lounges, the Body Waves Spa and the Sun Club Casino – but it’s the wonders ashore that will captivate you.
The cruise takes in majestic Sawyer Glacier, in a world where wildlife often consists of black and brown bears, deer, wolves and seals. Norwegian Sun calls at the historic town of Juneau at the foot of grand mountain peaks, the Klondike gold-rush settlement of Skagway, and Ketchikan with its totem poles before returning to Vancouver for another two nights at the Pan Pacific Vancouver.
The following day, enjoy a sightseeing tour of Vancouver’s magnificent North Shore, including Capilano Suspension Bridge, a salmon hatchery and Grouse Mountain. Take the Skyride to the Peak of Vancouver during this grand excursion.
More adventures follow in coming days, with a flight to Port Hardy to transfer to a floatplane base for a scenic flight over the Queen Charlotte Strait. Get acquainted with the floating Great Bear Lodge, your home for the next three nights. After a brief introduction to the lodge, head out on your first grizzly bear excursion.
National Geographic Adventure rates Great Bear Nature Tours as one of the world’s best adventure travel companies. Wilderness-gourmet meals await you on return from the two guided viewing sessions per day. The lodge’s maximum of 16 guests assures a personalised wilderness adventure.
Each bedroom has an ensuite bathroom with shower. Wilderness-gourmet meals await you at the lodge. Think freshly caught salmon roasted on a cedar plank with a marinade of maple syrup, mustard seeds and balsamic vinegar.
Other options include a sea-kayaking tour of the estuary or a boat cruise to explore the glacier-carved inlet.
If you’re very lucky, you may even spot the very rare Kermode or Spirit bear. The animal’s exquisite, creamy-coloured coat is the result of a single recessive gene carried by both parents.
After a final night in Port Hardy, you’ll have plenty to think about, and a lot of photos to go through, as you head back to Vancouver and then on to Australia.
To find your local Worldwide Cruise Centres agent go to: www.worldwidecruisecentres.com.au
SOURCE Worldwide Cruise Centre