Painters Lodge, a beautiful resort, offer their Wildlife Adventure Tours to their guests and outsiders, as well as whale watching tours and ocean rapid tours aboard 12-seater, 24 foot zodiac boats. We were outfitted with bright orange floater suits, ski goggles and toques to make our adventure as comfortable as possible. I thought because it was so warm, that these were overkill however once we were in the Discovery Passage experiencing the force of the northwesterly winds I truly appreciated their protection. We saw a large colony of harbour seals, some of approximately 60,000 that live here, and a few eagles fishing for dinner.

Our guide then took us up to the Bute Inlet on the mainland coast, hoping that we would be able to see some of the area bears feasting on berries. Unfortunately none made their presence known to us however the scenery was spectacular and we were in awe of the beauty surrounding us. We saw some impressive oceanside estates several of the controversial fish farms and we played tag with a passing cruise ship. (They sure are much larger up close and personal than they seem to be when they pass by our campsite at night.) On our way back we enjoyed riding the waves, which were akin to being on a wet rollercoaster. One of the couples on our adventure was from Collingwood, Ontario and another was here from England and we enjoyed exchanging some of our experiences with each other. We had a blast and the $79 per person fee was well worth the three and a half hour ride.