We started the day off with high hopes. Bright skies and a warm day promised this trip to be a good one. After heading south out of Victoria Harbour, we were surprised to find our first spotting only 20 min outside of the breakwater! A humpback whale’s blow drew our attention and we made our way closer. We were even more surprised when the animal displayed a large tail slap, slamming its large flukes onto the surface of the water. The large splash was an exciting sight to see! Staying with the whale, we found ourselves swinging our necks back and fourth as the animal took turn surfacing on either side of boat. It must have been motoring underneath the surface to make so many trips to either side!
We continued further south and then turned west to continue our search. We had a brief viewing of a group of harbour porpoises, their black dorsal fins popping up briefly. We sometimes call these animals the “ghosts” of the sea, appearing briefly and disappearing again without a trace. Needless to say we were happy to get a quick glimpse!
We made our way back east and made a stop at Race Rocks. The ecological reserve was alive with wildlife as always, giving us great views of harbour seals, Steller sea lions, a pair of bald eagles and a plethora of sea birds. We got a particularly good look of a harbour seal pup with its mother!
We began making our way back to Victoria, and managed to spot the blows of the humpback we saw an hour and a half earlier! Clearly there was something tasty beneath the surface for this animal to stick around in one spot for so long.
For more photos from today’s tours check out our Facebook album here.