Skipper Rob Bryce cuts the jet boat’s engine and switches to a silent outboard so we can slip through jade waters, closer and closer to one of the most feared creatures on Earth.
On the river basin shore, a huge brown back and humped shoulders swishes steadily through high sedge grass. Slowly, the apex predator’s head – with two furry rounded ears, long snout and a mouthful of vegetation – looks up into the sunshine, gives us an unnerving stare then resumes grazing.
Two more creatures appear on the opposite bank, tucking into post-hibernation sedge. We’re talking bears, here – not Yogi, Paddington, teddies picnicking in the woods, or victims of Goldilocks’ crimes – but razor-sharp clawed Canadian grizzlies, capable of out-running Usain Bolt and crushing a bowling ball with their bite.
Yet they can be surprisingly shy, particularly around larger groups of people. I was counting on this, as I joined a friend ashore to get nearer, with Rob nearby carrying bear spray just in case.
At this point, I recalled how excellent writer Bill Bryson said he would react to a close encounter of the ursine kind. He wrote in A Walk In The Woods: “Why, I’d die, of course. Literally sh*t myself lifeless. I would blow my sphincter out of my backside like one of those unrolling paper streamers you get at children’s parties – I dare say it would even give a merry toot.”
Attenborough moments
The Kemano River had one more surprise. Another bear came into view and, a few feet from her, movement in the grass turned out to be two, dark-furred cubs rolling around and playing.
Our day-long boat trip in northern British Columbia, Canada, was full of awe-inspiring Attenborough moments as we thundered through steep-sided, forested fjords, past snow-capped, cloud-shrouded mountains and crashing waterfalls.
We saw bald eagles, a cow harbour seal feeding her pup on the rocks, even an eagle trying to steal food from another seal.
A juvenile humpback whale breached in front of the boat, then blew a circle of bubbles underwater to confuse its prey. Then, it shot out, like a rocket, to feed.
There was even time on the Northern BC Jet Boat tour for a welcome paddle in the Shearwater hot springs on the surprisingly chilly June day.
The bear hunt, a second trip with Rob, was a highlight of our five-day trip to Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest, comprising three nights at the comfy Sandman Hotel Terrace in the city of Terrace, and two at the plush Prestige Hudson Bay Lodge in the town of Smithers, 130 miles away.
The adventure began on an 80-minute flight north from Vancouver to Kitimat, after a luxurious night of delicious, imaginative food and whisky tasting at the vibrant and quirky Versante Hotel.
Floats & boats & planes
Ten minutes from Vancouver airport, the Versante, with views of mountains from its sixth-floor heated outdoor pool, is the hotel equivalent of turning left on a long-haul flight.
Mixing three large whiskies with jetlag felt unwise as sunlight on the de Havilland propellers created a strobe effect in the plane, like a juddering, black-and-white movie.
But any discomfort was outweighed by the prospect of hiking up towering snow-capped mountains, boat trips on wild rivers, float plane trips to remote lakes and meeting First Nations people among lush temperate rainforests.
The Kitimat flight was spectacular. To one side, white-capped blue mountains of the Coast Range rose like waves in a violent sea. On the other, French-navy water carved through twisting, tree-covered islands and inlets.
From 24,000ft you seem to survey it all but the mesmerising, vast, empty and ever-changing scenery soon makes you feel very small.
Canada is unimaginably huge and even just the province of British Columbia is nearly the size of four UKs. Terrace, a short drive from Kitimat, is named after the tiered terraces rising up from the Skeena, North America’s longest undammed river. This adventure hub is known for its hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, skiing and world-class salmon and trout fishing.
It is also a prime spot to see the elusive Kermode bear, a white-furred rare subspecies of the black bear. It’s also known as the spirit or ghost bear.
There was no time to chase ghosts. So, after a relaxing walk around Ferry Island, passing its charming wood carvings in the bark of the cottonwood trees, and lunch at the friendly, retro Kathleen’s Grill, we hopped on Rob’s boat for a half-day trip on the Skeena to Kitselas Canyon, home of the Kitselas First Nation.
We were retracing the journeys taken by sternwheeler boats at the turn of the 19th century. Even in a boat with a 425hp, shooting the canyon’s treacherous rapids can be a wet but thrilling ride.
A historic site with totem poles and four decorated wooden longhouses offers a glimpse into the Kitselas’ past. Particularly impressive was a cedar canoe, shaped in the forest using fire-heated rocks and steam, and intricately woven hats made from tree bark.
A short walk through a mossy wood, past four striking poles representing the wolf, eagle, raven and killer whale clans, takes you to a viewing point over the Skeena. The Kitselas used to charge those passing below tolls of goods and resources, and rocks would be dropped on non-payers.
Saviour fish
A guided tour of the Nass Valley’s Nisga’a Museum, with its 300 priceless artefacts, provides more understanding of the area’s First Nation people.
Inside is a 36ft totem pole, stolen in 1929, and finally returned to the Nisga’a people from Edinburgh’s National Museum of Scotland last year and a large representation of the demi-god and bringer of light Txeemsim in raven form.
Guide Tina Moore brought the museum to life by explaining about the figures of spirits, the shamen with their bear-claw headdresses and puffin-beak noise makers and the importance of oolichan, the saviour fish.
The run of the oolichan, which were also used as candles due to their high oil content, signalled winter was over. Indigenous people dried and smoked the fish, they also rendered it into grease for trading.
There is even a gramophone which was played to drown out naming ceremonies, which had been banned by authorities.
Like the museum, local wood carver Calvin McNeil, 54, is trying to educate and keep the Nisga’a identity alive. He believes he is honoured to tell people’s stories and that energy and spirits connect us to everything.
He said: “How else are you going to understand anything if you don’t understand community.”
One spirit represented in the museum has an extendable nose, said to have been used to stop advancing lava flow from Tseax Cone, which destroyed two villages over 300 years ago and claimed 2,000 lives.
Swathes of unworldly lava beds are a memorial to the dead. Mounds of dark rock are covered in grey lichen and, when drying after a rain shower, began steaming.
Blown to smithereens
The drive back to Terrace was punctuated by stops at beautiful waterfalls, a spot known as the Drowned Forest and the serene Lava Lake. On to Smithers, via the ancient totems in Kitwanga and Gitanyow and the fascinating longhouses of the Ksan Historical Village.
My disappointment that the town was not named after The Simpsons’ character was made up for when I heard locals are called Smithereens.
I didn’t think the flight to Kitimat could be topped until Alpine Lakes Air’s nine-seater float plane took off from Lake Tyhee. Severine Oosterhoff flew us over forested hills and landed on a pristine glacial lake at the foot of 8,000ft Mount Howson.
After about 30 minutes on shore, we took an even more spectacular route back, over snowy peaks and a glittering glacier and were soon back above the tree line on a two-hour hike up Hudson Bay Mountain to the still frozen Crater Lake. The initial climb was a lung burster but the trek over streams and snow was worth it for the amazing panoramic views.
It also meant we had earned a few pints at the Smithers Brewing Company and there was plenty to toast after such a wild time in this magnificent country.
Book the holiday
- Canada As You Like It has a new 15-day self-drive Northern British Columbia’s Great Wilderness circular itinerary from Vancouver to Terrace via Smithers, Prince George, Mount Robson, Burns Lake, and Stewart, from £2,320pp. Includes international flights, accommodation and car rental. canadaasyoulikeit.com
- Wildlife and Skeena River boat tours are available from Northern
BC Jet Boat Tours.
northernbcjetboattours.ca
More info at hellobc.com