Although Canada is a developed country it is also one with a huge focus on the outdoors and the natural environment in which we live, with some areas being brilliantly remote to give access to parts of ‘real’ Canada that offer the ideal wilderness wildlife holiday.

The Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis are also stunning here, casting a colourful light display over the clear winter nights.

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British Columbia is one region that would meet all such expectations. Here you can enjoy soaring mountain ranges, deep rivers, dense forests and all from the comfort of remote wilderness lodges.  On the western coast, the Bella Coola Valley is a biodiverse area of coastal mountain ranges, fjords and Pacific inlets that creates a pristine wilderness and perfect habitat for a wealth of wildlife, including grizzly and black bear, blacktail deer, wolves, beaver, cougar and mountain goats. The saltwater estuary is also rich with birdlife and waterfowl.  One of the advantages of visiting this region is that it is not known instantly for its bear sightings, so you can enjoy time with the majestic bears with hardly another person in view. Nearby conservancies such as Tweedsmuir Lodge provide the perfect complement to the natural splendour.

One way of exploring the icy rivers of British Columbia in search of the grizzlies as they fish the spawning rivers, is to take to water on the Pacific Yellowfin, discovering the majestic scenery of the Great Bear Rainforest, Desolation Sound or the Gulf Islands; a real wildlife holiday with a difference. Alternatively soar over the glacier covered summits of the surrounding peaks by helicopter or walk through the forests to discover the secrets and histories of the area. During the autumn humpback whales congregate in Whale Channel for feeding, and passing through breathtaking scenery you may stop at hot springs and look out for mysterious spirit bears as well as otters, wolf, deer and bald eagles. 

Further north in the cold extreme land of Churchill, the landscape is far removed from British Columbia; a forbidding and rugged land comprising icy tundra, mighty rivers and granite ridges where the King of the Arctic the polar bear roams in search of its preferred food source - seals. The season to view the white beasts is short, with just a 4-6 week window from mid-October to mid-November.  This is also the home of other wildlife from Arctic fox, gray wolves and muskrats, to caribou, arctic and snowshoe hare and Mink. Lynx are rarely seen but also exist. Marine life is equally abundant, with otters, walrus, whales and three species of seal; ringed, bearded and harbour.