When Erica Farrell booked a wildlife/adventure tour for her family, visiting from England, she was ever hopeful.
A whale, maybe鈥� perhaps a small pod.
What they got was more than anyone could have expected. Even the tour guide was beaming at day鈥檚 end.
The six-hour tour produced a family of orcas, a shoreline of sea lions, and a dozen humpback whales breaching, belly-flopping, and swimming right up to the boat.
鈥淪ince I鈥檝e been doing these tours, 20 years, that was probably one of my top 10 of all time,鈥� said Garry Henkel, owner/operator of 鈥淚鈥檝e done more than 3,000 tours, but today was a special day. Some days you just see humpbacks. Some days you just see orcas. Some days, you just see spouts. But today was special. I don鈥檛 get to do this often.鈥�
| Orcas at play in Desolation Sound. (Terry Farrell/Comox Valley Record) |
The British contingent was awed.
鈥淎lmost speechless with admiration for the beauty, the wildlife,鈥� said Erica鈥檚 mother, Brenda Nevard, who was visiting Vancouver Island for the first time. 鈥淒ifficult to put into words. A once in a lifetime experience.鈥�
Brenda鈥檚 son, Phil Nevard, and his wife, Lythan, were equally impressed, not only with the wildlife experience, but with Henkel鈥檚 expertise as well.
鈥淚t was great to have such a knowledgeable guide with a First Nations鈥� respect for nature and the sea,鈥� said Phil.
鈥淚t was one of the best days of my life and to be out with someone who respects the animals and is as excited to see them as we are was amazing,鈥� added Lythan.
| A humpback goes for a deep dive.(Photo by Erica Farrell) |
Henkel said the re-emergence of humpback whales to the area has made the adventure tour experience that much better.
鈥淲e never used to see any humpbacks here until probably the last four or five years,鈥� said Henkel. 鈥淢any, many years ago, they were hunted, back in the 1800s, early 1900s鈥� almost hunted to extinction. I think they are making a comeback now finally because there鈥檚 less pressure on them, and because there鈥檚 a lot of krill.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great, because we used to just look for orcas and dolphins and stuff, but now we have the humpbacks as well so it really adds to the experience.鈥�
Erica鈥檚 son, Ian Bowen of Grande Prairie, Alta., was also on the boat.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very lucky as Canadians to have this in our backyard,鈥� he said.
Henkel concurred.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not many places in the world you can see that - orcas and humpbacks,鈥� said Henkel. 鈥淚n our area, in September, now you can sometimes see orcas, humpbacks, grizzly bears, black bears and sometimes dolphins, all in one day.鈥�
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