After a night in the majestic Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in Quebec City – a quaint old place of narrow, winding streets and Parisian-style cafes, we drove to Tadoussac, almost a ghost town except for the thousands of tourists who come here each year for the whale-watching.

At 8.30am, we boarded a boat and 1½ hours later we were at the junction of the Saint Lawrence and Saguenay rivers. The long wait and bitterly cold winds were worth it for different species of whales we saw moving gracefully in the water. Every time a whale was spotted the captain would sail the boat in that direction. There would be a few seconds of amazement and then the moment was gone.

The trip only got better, with the most memorable experience at Saint-Félicien zoo, one of the largest zoos in Québec, which is dedicated to wildlife conservation. A behind-the-scenes tour took us around the huge open land in a small minibus to see pigs and beavers, American bison and elk. We even saw the face of a black bear metres away from our window.

The day ended with a sunset canoe ride on a lake, then we camped in luxurious hut-like tents in an enclosed area of the forest. We had rare and intimate contact with the caribou, who wandered around our campsite. They were completely uninterested in us, contrasting with our enthusiasm to be so close to these beautiful creatures. Our guide told us that not too long ago a lady got up to use the outdoor toilet at 3am and realised there was a bear clawing at the roof once she had locked herself in! The guards had to be called to rescue her. We had no such drama and slept through the night peacefully.

• Frontier Travel (020-8776 8709, frontier-travel.co.uk) offers a one-week wildlife tour including London-Montreal flights with Air Canada, car hire, six nights' hotel accommodation and one night in a Prospector's Tent at Zoo St-Félicien. Prices start from £1,499pp for 2012. For more information on holidays in Quebec see bonjourquebec.co.uk