The safari has begun and we’re with our guide for the next few weeks, professional photographer Paul Stone from Canada Photo Safaris. From the first meeting, which I’m sure I was only tricked into believing was supposed to happen at 9:00am and actually started at 6:30am, Paul seems to have the sense of humour needed for putting up with Dad and I over the long and many days ahead. Let’s see if he can still cope with us after a couple of weeks shall we? 
We started off with a very long drive in our huge GMC Suburban from the Quality Hotel Downtown in Vancouver at a little after 6:30am and after a few comfort breaks, free doughnuts from the girls at Tim Hortons and stops for food supplies, we ended up at the Chilko River Lodge and Guest Ranch (www.chilkoriverlodge.ca), adjacent the Chilko River at about 8:00pm. That’s one hell of a long drive in a single day with only a few litres of coffee, bacon, eggs, toast, sausages and a BLT in the afternoon to keep us going. It’s like driving from Brisbane to the Whitsundays.
This is truly Canadian Wilderness country, without a bitumen road or even electricity in sight. We’re staying in a homely rustic log cabin, with gas mantles for lighting, a wood stove for heating and yes … no electricity. There is a generator up at the lodge for power to download the thousands of photo’s taken each day, but nothing in the rooms. Housi and Annette are our hosts at the lodge and they have truly offered us the warm, friendly, welcoming host experience we were looking for.
The first few days have been dedicated to photographing the mighty Grizzly and Black Bears and we certainly haven’t been disappointed. We’ve found and photographed up to 25 Grizzly Bears each day. These bears are truly amazing creatures to be in the presence of and surprisingly calm when drifting as close as a few metres away in our 6 metre tinny. Watching the mothers guarding their cubs while they play, it’s very obvious that one eye is kept on us every second and I don’t think any of us would be met with welcoming arms if we ventured out of the boat. We’ve seen so many, it’s hard to keep track, but this has truly been an experience of a lifetime.MORE PHOTOS ADDED TODAY : NEW ALBUM
If you would like to see some more photo's of what we've seen so far, please visit our PICASA Web Albums page!
Go To: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/styleid/Safari2008Album02#
Keep smiling ...
Darren & Keith Gardiner
Grizzly Hunters Extraordinaire
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