Homalco Wildlife & Cultural Tours

09/15/2026

The face you make after filling up on a fresh salmon lunch.

Nearly half way through χawgəs (Grizzly Bear) season in Bute and Toba Inlets. Tours available until the end of October.

📸: Penny Vandyke, taken from a responsible distance with a zoom lens.

09/09/2026

The χawgəs (Grizzly bears) of yɛkʷamɛn (Toba Inlet) are out and about. Thanks to our Sister Nation, the ƛoʔos qayɛmɩxʷ (Klahoose People), for hosting our guests.

Whether in Bute or Toba Inlets, grizzly viewing with authentic Coast Salish guides is an amazing experience.

📸: Penny Vandyke

08/31/2026

What an amazing August it has been.

The annual return of the χawgəs (Grizzly Bear) in Bute & Toba Inlets, lots of great sightings of qʷənɛs (Humpback Whale) & nənqam (Killer Whale) on the Salish Sea, some sightings of mɛxaɬ (Black Bear) around the Discovery Islands... it's all been incredible.

Looking forward to the next 2 months of wildlife viewing & cultural tours leaving from Campbell River.

📸: 1,2,6,8 johnny_dinan
📸: 3,4,5,7 Penny Vandyke

08/31/2026

Thanks for the feature CBC! Great to be included among the many fantastic Indigenous-led businesses across British Columbia and Canada as a whole!

Thanks to Indigenous Tourism BC for all their work in leading travelers to Indigenous experiences here in BC.

Shout out to Songhees Tours and Sea Wolf Adventures for being featured as well.

New research, conducted by the Angus Reid Institute and commissioned by Intrepid Travel, suggests fewer than half of British Columbians feel confident finding and choosing an Indigenous-led tourism experience. On Vancouver Island, operators say they’re seeing the opposite during their busiest seas...

08/26/2026

The kʷətɛčɩn [kwa-ti-chin] (Pink Salmon) & ƛoχʷay [klo-hoy] (Chum Salmon) are making their way up the Orford River and the hungry χawgəs [how-gus] (Grizzly Bear) are getting some good eats.

📸: Tyler Cave

08/21/2026

We are now in the full-swing of χawgəs (Grizzly Bear) viewing season at Homalco Wildlife & Cultural Tours. Today marks the first day of our award-winning Great Bears of Bute and Toba Bears & Wilderness Tour season.

Be welcomed to the ancestral territory of the Χʷomaɬkʷu [Homalco] People in Bute Inlet or ƛoʔos [Klahoose] People in Toba Inlet, to watch these amazing animals in their natural habitat.

We raise our hands to our ƛoʔos brothers and sisters for welcoming our guests as their own.

The Great Bears of Bute experience is available until October 31, while the Toba Bears & Wilderness is available until October 18.

🟠 By joining a Homalco Wildlife & Cultural Tour, you are supporting a business built by coastal First Nations with 100% of proceeds going back to the Homalco People.

08/18/2026

It really has been a season of Ultimate Coastal Wildlife viewing here on the Salish Sea. As our full-day tours now transition to χawgəs (Grizzly Bear) viewing, guests still wanting to see marine wildlife can do so on our partial-day Salish Sea Whale Watching, People Water Land, & Sunset on the Salish Sea tours.

These images were shot on an Ultimate Coastal Wildlife tour by our own guide Penny Vandyke from a responsible viewing distance with a zoom lens.

🟠 By joining a Homalco Wildlife & Cultural Tour, you are supporting a business built by coastal First Nations with 100% of proceeds going back to the Homalco People.

08/14/2026

This flag has been getting quite the workout here this summer.

This is the Whale Warning flag, developed by the North Island Marine Mammal Stewardship Association (NIMMSA) and flown in this region by its members. When the flag is flying, it acts as a symbol to other vessels on the water that there are whales nearby and urges them to proceed cautiously.

As stewards of these waters and the marine life that thrives here, we are proud to work alongside NIMMSA and all its members to promote ethical and sustainable wildlife observation practices.

📸: Tyler Cave

08/10/2026

Beginning today, and for the next 12 weeks, we will be welcoming guests to the Χʷomaɬkʷu village site of pɛʔpqnač [pep-quan-atch] (Orford Bay) to view the mighty χawgəs [how-gus] (Grizzly Bears) as they patrol the Orford and Algard Rivers in search of salmon.

We are thrilled to have this opportunity to connect people from around the world to this special area to responsibly and sustainably view these animals in their natural habitat.

Here's to another great season of Grizzly viewing in the ancestral Territory of the Χʷomaɬkʷu People.

📸: Tyler Cave

08/06/2026

Picture perfect moments with Qwanes (Humpback Whales) out on the Salish Sea.

🟠 By joining a Homalco Wildlife & Cultural Tour, you are supporting a business built by coastal First Nations with 100% of proceeds going back to the Homalco People.