About Us

At Kingfisher we have five basic principles to ensure we are "doing what is right".

Doing what is right for the environment. Our business depends on a healthy environment, so how we operate is designed to minimize our impact on the environment. We purchase supplies locally, buy in bulk to minimize packaging and waste, serve only “Ocean Wise” seafood, compost food scraps, and reduce, re-use and recycle as much as we can. It not only helps us run a sustainable business, it’s simply the right thing to do.

We are just a small part of a larger solution, so we try our best to educate our guests about issues that effect our environment. Our belief is that by role modelling a high standard of sustainable environmental and social ethics, we can make a difference.

Doing what is right for the wildlife. Responsible viewing of wildlife is paramount on all of our tours. We follow the Be Whale Wise Marine Mammal viewing guidelines and are founding members of the North Island Marine Mammal Stewardship Association (NIMMSA). Andrew Jones, the owner of Kingfisher, is the current president of NIMMSA.

It is our belief that responsible wildlife viewing starts with having realistic expectations. We follow wildlife viewing protocols that treat the animals with respect, and work towards minimizing our impacts on their behaviour. This includes keeping a safe distance, being conscious of their travel patterns, and monitoring their behaviour for signs of stress.

Some tour operators show imagery of whales in close proximity to their guests, closer than the Be Whale Wise guidelines. While this may occur at the whim of the animals, please don’t expect that this is a regular occurrence. They are wild creatures and need their space.

Doing what is right for our communities. We believe in supporting the local communities that we operate in. We purchase many of our supplies locally, use local service providers, and support other local tourism operators.

We are also actively involved with many community, tourism, sea kayaking, and marine mammal organizations. For more info visit our Community Involvement page.

Many of our kayak tours take place within traditional territories of many different BC First Nations. We respect these traditional lands and have established protocol use agreements where relevant.

Doing what is right for our staff. We hire certified guides from the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of British Columbia and support them with continuing professional development.

Each season we conduct a guide training and orientation session to augment our guides training and knowledge. This includes safety protocols, guest relations, camp craft, and wildlife interpretation skills. Our guides often spend years working with our company – and we like to think it’s because we hire only the best, and then treat them right.

Doing what is right for our guests. If we have done all of the above this comes naturally! We started Kingfisher Wilderness Adventures because of our love of the outdoors and our desire to spend as much time in it as we can. Our choices in how we run our company reflect that – in everything from our choice of equipment, to how we treat our visitors as friends rather than clients. We are driven by quality, not profits. We want the time you spend with us to become a life long memory and will help you find the kayak tour that is right for you.

Be Whale Wise

Marine mammal viewing is a federally regulated activity and Kingfisher follows the Be Whale Wise guidelines. No matter how well guidelines are followed we are still dealing with wild animals and sometimes they may unexpectedly approach us closer than the guidelines. More +/-

Whale watching and kayaking with whale tours are often promoted with photos of whales right next to a boat or kayak. While this does happen, even to the best and most ethically minded operators, it is an exception and not the norm. That is why all the photos on our website do not show kayaks close to whales. We do not want to set unrealistic expectations with our guests nor have other kayakers who see these photos think that it is appropriate to get too close to the wildlife.

Our industry leading maximum group size of 8 guests and a guide to guest ratio of 1:4 is more controllable than larger groups and minimizes our impact when viewing wildlife

Ocean Wise _TM

All seafood served on our kayak tours is locally sourced and is an Ocean Wise sustainable choice. Ocean Wise is a Vancouver Aquarium Conservation program and Kingfisher is a proud partner. We encourage you to visit their website and learn how you can make your own Ocean Wise seafood choices. 

Save Our Salmon

Kingfisher is a proud supporter of the SOS Marine Conservation Foundation. SOS works collaboratively to protect B.C.'s wild salmon stocks and the marine environment from the negative impacts of open net-cage salmon farms while establishing B.C. as a leader in creating a globally renowned, stable and viable finfish aquaculture industry.