Our Team 
Our Tour Experts Your guide on the trip is Sue Flood, a photographer, author, wildlife filmmaker and conservationist. Sue was an Associate Producer on the award-winning BBC series ‘The Blue Planet’, and also more recently worked on Planet Earth. Both The Blue Planet and Planet Earth featured several animal behaviours which were filmed for the first time, and Sue obtained unique images for the series. Her photographic highlights include diving with humpback whales in the South Pacific, face-to-face encounters with leopard seals in the Antarctic, filming polar bears in the Arctic, and photographing the wildlife of Zambia.
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Our Team Steppes Travel is made by the people who work here. Incredible holidays are made possible because of their vast travel experience and the great enthusiasm they bring to their work.
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Our Tour Experts We carefully select our experts based on their knowledge, companionship and influence, ensuring that you can travel with the most knowledgeable leaders in the field.
Canada
Great Bear Rainforest Cruise with Sue Flood
| Departure date | Duration | Prices Start from | Tour Expert | Max Group Size | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/09/20 | 10 Days | £7,495 ex. flights | Sue Flood | 10 | LIMITED | Reserve your place |
A unique opportunity to join an exclusive photographic cruise in British Columbia, sailing a section of the Inside Passage, now known as the Great Bear Rainforest. The rich ecosystem is home to a plethora of wildlife including whales, orcas, dolphins, bears, moose, wolves, elk, eagles and more making it a wildlife hot spot. Observe humpback whales bubble feeding, schools of orcas hunting and bald eagles swooping for salmon as grizzly bears fish.
Some say, that black bears and grizzlies outnumber the people that inhabit this remote piece of British Columbia’s coastline. Probably not the case, but bears certainly rule the roost and make for exciting photographic quarry, with the west coast’s towering mountains and lush, temperate forests providing a beautiful backdrop. The spirit bear also inhabits this region (a black bear with a recessive gene for snow-white fur). For ultimate bragging rights, a full frame photograph is a must-have. But let’s not be bear-centric as the Inside Passage is also renowned for humpback whale sightings, Steller sea-lions, spectacular displays from birds of prey and a fascinating First Nation cultural history.
Introducing your expert
Sue Flood
01285 601 784
Key Highlights of this Itinerary
1Expert photographer
Expert tuition from award winning wildlife photographer Sue Flood.
2Bears
Explore the Great Bear Rainforest and photograph black bears, spirit bears and grizzlies.
3Privately chartered yacht
Sail aboard the Island Roamer along spectacular British Columbia coastline searching for humpbacks.
4Salmon run
Spend two days at a bear viewing platform to photograph bears feeding on the salmon run.
Explore our suggested itinerary
- Day 1Vancouver
- Day 2Vancouver - Bella Bella
- Days 3-9Great Bear Rainforest
- Day 10Great Bear Rainforest - Terrace - Vancouver
The Great Bear Rainforest
British Columbia is one of the best regions in the country for bear viewing largely due to the Great Bear Rainforest. This extraordinary tract of pristine temperate forest covers the west and northern coast of British Columbia to Alaska and is home to a vast number of grizzly and black bears, and the elusive Kermode bear – the spirit bear. This region is also home to wealth of wildlife including whales, orcas, sea otters, dolphins, sea lions and a plethora of birds including the beautiful bald eagle.
Great Bear Rainforest Wildlife
The Great Bear Rainforest is home to humpback and orca whales, Stellar sea lions, wolves, grizzlies, black bears and the elusive spirit bear. This wildlife resides throughout the coastal islands with only a few species found in localised areas. As with any wildlife viewing, there are no guarantees, however, with an experienced naturalist guide onboard we won’t leave anything to luck.
Photography experience
Whether you have a simple point and shoot camera or a sophisticated SLR, Sue Flood will be on hand to give you tips on how to improve your photography skills. Therefore, you don’t need to be an experienced photographer to join. The maximum group size of just ten people will allow Sue time to spend time with you at different locations to help you get the perfect shot and develop your wildlife photography skills.
Time will be spent photographing some wildlife in low light conditions so it might be useful to have a tripod and be familiar with how you can use your increased ISO to photograph in darker conditions. There are restrictions of red-coloured low-intensity light to ensure the wellbeing of the wildlife.
Includes / Excludes
Important Information
Activity Level
Moderate ActivitySingle Supplement
Travelling on your own? Our group tours are perfect for solo travellers, as travelling as part of an organised group in faraway places provides security and peace of mind. We handle all of the arrangements for you and there will be a local tour guide on hand throughout to provide advice and help if needed, as well as the expertise of a Tour expert.
Flexibility
To allow flexibility, our group tours do not include international flights as standard. We can arrange international flights on your behalf and the above is an indication of the cost, based on return flights departing from London. All international flights from the UK are ATOL protected.
What is included
- Accompanied by Sue Flood throughout
- Accommodation in Vancouver (room only)
- Internal Flights
- Accommodation in Bella Bella (Bed & Breakfast)
- 7 Night / 8 Day Voyage Island Roamer on a full board basis
- A second day at the bear stands
- All fuels, crew and fees
- Canadian Taxes
- Transfers (shared and private)
What is excluded
- International flights
- Gratuities
- Travel Insurance
- Visa
- Items of a personal nature
Why a Steppes expert-led group tour
1.Experience matters
We have been running insightful and groundbreaking group tours since our inception in 1989. We have worked with institutions such as the British Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum and run wildlife tours in conjunction with conservation agencies such as Fauna & Flora International, Wildlife Conservation Society, the Orangutan Foundation, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and the Jane Goodall Institute.
2.Like-minded travellers
Steppes Travellers are like-minded people; interesting, interested and curious. Our group tours, usually consisting of eight to ten travellers, aim to create an easy and informal atmosphere – we have a lot of fun on our tours and many friendships have been formed.
4.Peace of mind
When you travel on one of our group tours, you will be looked after by our local agents and your tour expert with the back-up of our 24-hour emergency number and duty manager. All our holidays are fully bonded and protected – our ATOL number is ATOL 6495.
3.It’s about who you know
We have developed an enviable pool of expertise from which to choose our tour experts, who we carefully select based on their knowledge, companionship and personality. Often, these experts can use their influence to facilitate private access to sites not typically open to the public.
Our future tour dates
For further information about any of these tours please call 01285 601 784
| Departure date | Duration | Prices Start from | Tour Expert | Max Group Size | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/09/20 | 10 Days | £7,495 ex. flights | Sue Flood | 10 | LIMITED | Reserve your place |
Get in touch with our travel experts for tailor-made holidays
Get in touch with our travel experts to start creating your tailor-made holiday.
Expert-Led Group Tours
Explore similar expert-led group tours.
With an average group size of just eight to ten people our group tour itineraries enable you to travel to some of the most intriguing regions of the world in the company of experts guides in the field and, of course, with likeminded people.
Why Choose Steppes?
Our knowledge and expertise sets us apart. So too our curiosity. A curiosity of the world and of you, and your passions. It is this that drives us to create a journey that is really bespoke to you.
Are you ready to discover extraordinary?
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