Paddle into unique experiences

On a gloriously cool and sunny day in late summer, as a friend and I kayaked in an estuary of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the Quebec Maritime near Baie-Comeau, an amazing thing happened. A beluga whale rocked my world.

As morning sunlight poured across the glacial water, Bard and I saw from a distance what appeared to be a small whitecap moving like quicksilver toward us. We stopped paddling right away as we instantaneously and startlingly realized the small wave was instead a beluga, her snowy white skin pristine and luminescent as she rose in and out of the water. With uncanny accuracy, she torpedoed straight toward our double kayak.

When she was but a few yards from us, the ghostly beluga raised her enormous, bulbous head above the water and then suddenly dived deeper, moments later sliding silently and directly beneath us, enough to slightly rock the kayak a foot or so but not overturn it, as if she knew exactly what she was doing.

It was then I realized I was shivering uncontrollably, not from fear but from a profound, primordial awe. In a moment of craziness, I wanted to jump in and follow her to discover her undersea world of marine majesty. Instead, I stayed put, Bard and I raising our paddles and shouting jubilant hallelujahs, the memory emblazoned in our souls forever.

No doubt the world abounds with scenic spots to kayak and canoe and experience firsthand nature and wildlife, among them the nutrient-rich St. Lawrence Seaway where beluga share the water with blue, fin, killer and humpback whales.

Other great places to hit the water in the U.S. are Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota, the Everglades, Prince William Sound and Glacier Bay in Alaska, and Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada. Globally, think of the Norwegian fjords, the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Fiji and Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast.

If you decide on visiting Quebec Maritime, a treasure trove of information on where to canoe and kayak and rental information is found at www.QuebecMaritime.ca, the official tourism website for Quebec Maritime. From Montreal or Quebec City, regional carriers fly to several smaller airports in the Maritime.

When you’re ready for paddle-worthy escape, here are four other places to see the world via the water, each with its own unique waterscape, landscape, birdlife and wildlife.

Whanganui River in New Zealand

The Whanganui Maori tribe of New Zealand’s North Island has a traditional proverb about the river: ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au, which translates to I am the river and the river is me.

In 2017, in a world-first move, the Whanganui River was given personhood, meaning it has been granted the same legal rights and responsibilities as human beings. The 180-mile-long serpentine river, its water silvery in sunshine, is best discovered by canoe. The Whanganui is the third-longest navigable river in the world, meandering past cavernous gorges, narrow canyons, bedazzling waterfalls and spectacular forests as green as emeralds.

Owhango Adventures offers incredible experiences through self-guided or guided tours on two- to six-person canoes for a day trip or multi-day journey up to five nights, with accommodations provided for the night prior to departure in Owhango. All food and provisions can be optionally catered. The longer adventures provide Maori-led cultural discussions of historical sites and stories of the river. Expect to see sheep. Lots and lots of sheep.

Find Owhango Adventures at www.canoewhanganuiriver.com for reservations. Get to Auckland on Air New Zealand on nonstop flights from Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Visit www.airnewzealand.com. Continue to Owhango via car rental or Kiwi Rail’s scenic Northern Explorer, with schedules at www.greatjourneysnz.com.

Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp

Call it what you will – mystifying, daunting, swampy, backwater, peculiar, spooky, bizarre – but still the Okefenokee Swamp remains one of Georgia’s most beloved natural treasures that’s an excellent choice for paddling adventures. Covering about 700 square miles of peat bog in southeastern Georgia, the Okefenokee Swamp, whose name means “Land of the Trembling Earth” in Seminole, is now a national wildlife refuge widely known for its staggering cache of biological and ecological wonders.

The dark, tannic water hosts a living jumble of pine, cypress and palmetto incorporated into peat bog, marsh, island and sand ridge. The unforgettable swamp, formed thousands of years ago, is now home to a hodgepodge of animal and bird life, including black bears, deer, otters, snakes, anhingas, ospreys and sandhill cranes. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that up to 15,000 American alligators dwell in the swamp.

Fly into Jacksonville, Fla., in Georgia either Savannah or Brunswick, with car rentals available at each airport. The North Entrance is at Okefenokee Swamp Park near Waycross and is privately owned. Visit www.OkeSwamp.com or call (912) 283-0583. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is at the East Entrance at Folkston and is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; visit www.fws.gov/refuge/okefenokee or call (912) 496-7836. The West Entrance is at Stephen C. Foster State Park. Visit www.GaStateParks.org or call (912) 637-5274.

The Galapagos

The blue-footed booby is a tantalizing little guy with its bright, almost neon blue webbed feet. The tropical seabird is the unofficial symbol of the Galapagos Islands, a far-flung archipelago off the coast of Ecuador. About the size of a goose, it lives primarily on the open sea except when it is breeding. The red-footed booby, a kissin’ cousin of the blue-footed variety, is also found in the Galapagos, as are marine iguanas, Darwin’s finches, sea lions and giant tortoises.

Mere words can’t express how special it is to paddle the stunningly clear water of the archipelago and see these wonderful creatures up close. There’s just no equal with its unique landscape, seascape and flora and fauna. On a sojourn with Natural Habitat Adventures, each day you’ll travel by private motorsailer catamaran from island to island and then explore each by kayak, foot or snorkel.

Natural Habitat Adventures offers small groups and more adventurous, active experiences because it has special kayaking permits to get to those places the big ships can’t. Find out more by visiting www.nathab.com or calling 800-543-8917. The trips begin and end in Quito, Ecuador. Natural Habitat can help you make flight reservations for the most efficient experience possible.

Florida’s natural, clear springs

An amazing array of about 1,000 natural freshwater springs are embroidered throughout north and central Florida, many of them ensconced within Florida’s 175 state parks. There is a reason the state has so many springs, and that’s because it’s situated atop the Florida Aquifer. The springs are created when rainwater collects underground and then bubbles up to the surface through the aquifer.

The artesian springs, about 72 degrees Fahrenheit year round, are majestically and luminously clear. As you glide over the glassy surface of the springs, you can look down even in the deepest of water and easily see their sandy bottoms. In addition to canoeing and kayaking are opportunities for birding, diving, snorkeling, swimming and wildlife watching, so don’t be surprised to paddle alongside a manatee.

A few to consider are Three Sisters Springs at Crystal River with its good chance of manatee sightings; Ichetucknee Springs State Park at Fort White, fed from a network of springs; Silver Springs State Park with the possibility of monkey sightings; and Weeki Wachee with its striking blue water.