The Artists Point - Bed, Breakfast and Phototours - Port McNeill, British Columbia

ln_peltier

J'ai fait le choix de sortir en mer avec Rofl Hicker en août 2017... Ce fut incroyable! Rolf met toutes ses compétences au service de ses "invités", et connait parfaitement la faune et les environs. Ce sont les meilleures chances de voir la faune de Colombie Britannique avec le plus grand respect pour les animaux (crucial pour moi).||Bref une expérience inoubliable qui me donne seulement l'envie d'y retourner!||A vivre!

clairepJ8206FN

Stunning scenery & abundant wildlife, beautiful views from the residence, and a warm reception from the cheerful crew… if I could give more than 5 stars; I would! Rolf’s deep appreciation, knowledge, and respect for the land and wildlife are front & centre, and his small sized tour was curated just for us. We watched - not just saw, but actually observed while Rolf provided information & answered questions about bears, orcas, humpbacks, sea otters, birds - all in or near the jaw dropping setting of the Broughton Archipelago. We will never forget the tour, and not just because we have some incredible photos. I have cleared my calendar to return for another tour next Spring!

Canadiantraveller027

My wife and I stayed here in the lower suite for 3 nights and also went on a photography tour by boat with Rolf for a full day. The B&B is located a short drive outside of Port McNeill in a what I would describe as the acreage community of Hyde Park. You ideally would want to arrive here via your own car as all the commercial amenities are a bit of drive away. The home is near the top of a hill, with a path to walk down to the rocky beach. It’s generally very quiet here with lots of trees and quiet lanes.||We stayed in the lower suite which is quite large and has its own entrance. It has 3 rooms, main area, bedroom, and bathroom. All beautifully finished and in a good condition. It is equipped with a fridge, sink, various cutlery to eat in if you desire, a TV with streaming service and a PC monitor should you be inclined to view your images from a foto tour off your camera. As the room is on the lowest level, it’s runs on the cooler side, but there is a small electric space heater provided in the cooler months.||Breakfast is served in the main kitchen of the house and was a mix of homemade or purchased granola or cereals, fresh fruits, homemade bread, jams, coffee, tea, juice, etc. There is typically a staff person also preparing and assisting with breakfast and other chores. We met both Eva and Tori while we there. Sarah was always about to assist you with your day’s predations and was an excellent host. Rolf also would be there to assist you with you with the photo tour preparation, unless you missed him and he was already off on a tour which may start early.||On our photo tour with Rolf, we had the best experience we had ever had seeing humpback whales, along with otters, sea-lions, eagles and other sights in the Queen Charlotte Straight and around some of the Broughton Archipelago islands. His boat was well equipped and perfect for the 3 people touring the morning we went out. We went in early October which was a bit dicey for luck with the weather, but it ended up being a perfect weather day for both comfort and photo opportunities. Lunch of the boat was some nice wraps and a other accessories and more than enough to feed us all.||All in all, a great stay and tour which was a highlight of our trip to the northern part of Vancouver Island!

heikor955

From July 31st to August 2nd we stayed at the Artist B & B and went on two tours with the awesome photograph and lovely guy Rolf Hicker. Both (the sea otter and the knight inlet tour) were absolutely stunning. Besides the great boat trip and the delicious homemade food for breakfast and lunch (thanks & cheers to Sarah and Tori) we had spectacular wildlife sightings: Grizzlys (with cups), orcas, sea otters, humpback whales (feeding and jumping), porpoises, minke whale, sea lions, seals, bald eagles and lots of sea birds. These days were the highlights of our BC-trip 🙂 We recommend both: the tour and the bed and breakfast. Thanks for everything, Rolf! Cheers Heiko & Nicole|

Fischertouren

Letztes Jahr im September hatten wir das Glück 4 Nächte bei Rolf im B&B verbringen zu dürfen. Das familiär geführte B&B würden wir jederzeit wieder sehr gerne besuchen. Wir wurden offen und herzlich willkommen geheißen und haben uns sehr wohl gefühlt.||Unser Wohnbereich lag im Erdgeschoss mit eigenem Eingang und Terrasse und verfügte über ein sehr großes Bad. Der äußerts großzügige Wohnbereich war sehr sauber und wir hatten viel Platz uns auszubreiten.||Rund um das Haus konnten wir Kolibris und Seeadler beobachten.||Das sehr leckere Frühstück wird in der Küche von Rolf serviert. Besonders hervorzuheben ist, dass die angebotenen Speisen entweder aus dem eigenen Garten stammen oder von Nachbarn zugekauft werden (z. B. Eier von glücklichen Hühnern). Rolf legt sehr viel Wert auf Nachhaltigkeit und hat den Traum irgendwann kpl. unabhängig zu werden. Das fanden wir sehr beeindruckend.||Rolf ist in allen Belangen sehr hilfsbereit und hat uns immer gute Ratschläge, auch außerhalb von seinen Touren, mit auf den Weg gegeben.||Während unseres Aufenthalts durften wir auch zwei Touren mit Rolf und einem weiteren Paar auf seinem Boot verbringen. (Wildlife & Scenery Photo Tour / Knight Inlet und Wildlife & Scenery Photo Tour / Broughton)||Wir hatten das Glück und konnten viele Wale, Seelöwen, Bären und Seeotter beobachten. Bei Rolfs Konzept nur 4 Gäste auf sein Boot mitzunehmen zahlt sich jede Minute aus. Die Stille, wenn Rolf den Motor abstellt, und man die Bären am Strand die Steine umdrehen hörte. Das ist eine der vielen Erfahrungen, die wir nie vergessen werden.||Rolf ließ uns an seinem großen Erfahrungsschatz im Umgang mit der Natur teilhaben und wir merkten in jedem Augenblick wie wichtig ihm die Erhaltung der Umwelt ist.||Die selbstgemachten Salate zum Mittagessen haben uns hervorragend geschmeckt. (hier auch wieder vieles aus eigenem Anbau)||Wir würden diese Touren auch so sofort weiterempfehlen.||Unser Fazit: Vancouver Island in Verbindung mit Rolf war für uns ein besonderes Erlebnis, dass wir nie vergessen werden.

VictoriaF448

My husband and I visited Rolf and his partner Sarah at their lovely house, Artist’s Point, at the end of May for five nights. We could not have been made more welcome. Rolf is an amazing photographer and instinctively knew how to position his boat to give us the opportunity to get wonderful photos of the fantastic wildlife around him. He took us out on his boat each day and always laid on a delicious lunch whilst on board. Amongst other things we watched and photographed black and grizzly bears, eagles, seals, sea lions and, my absolute favourite, the charismatic sea otters. There were even deer in the garden that we photographed from our very comfortable bedroom. Regrettably, the whales were very late in arriving this year, and we only managed to see a couple from a distance. Still, that wasn’t all that bad as it gives us an excuse to return. We really hope to come back. If you want an amazing wildlife holiday in truly beautiful surroundings, I don’t believe Rolf could be beaten on every count.||||Vickie and Bob Faint||London, England

IGH7

The main reason for staying here was for Rolf's nature tours but we were also delighted with the suite we stayed in. It was spacious, comfortable and great views across the water. Continental breakfast perfectly adequate. However, his tours were even better. We did a whale watching trip and a bear spotting trip with him. Both were highly successful in spite of very heavy rain most of the first trip. One very big plus on that day was the fact that as well as an open area Rolf's boat also has a fully enclosed cabin. It was needed! Rolf's passion for wildlife, knowledge of the area and heart for accommodating his guests' wishes couldn't be beaten. We really hope to be able to come again in the future.

Elliot L.

My wife and I joined Rolf for a full day Knight Inlet tour in July, and it was phenomenal. Absolutely the highlight of our honeymoon in Canada. Rolf was very welcoming and knowledgeable, and made sure we had the best wildlife viewing opportunities possible.

Not long into the tour, Rolf brought us to a small island where we got the most incredible view of a young grizzly bear, who remained in view for the best part of a mesmerising hour. It was something we will never forget. We also saw a couple more bears, as well as many dolphins, seals, whales and more. As well as the wildlife, he also showed us some breathtaking scenery including beautiful waterfalls.

I would absolutely recommend this tour to anyone interested in seeing or photographing some of the most amazing scenery and wildlife Canada has to offer.