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Whale watching.
Fast forward a week - you've just got to see this. Check out the pictures and videos. We have sailed out of telegraph cove into Johnstone Strait in the hope of seeing a whale blowing in the distance and a dolphin or two. Instead we sailed into a once in a lifetime marine experience. Our captain had spent 60,000 hours in the Straits and had never seen anything like it.
We saw a large flock of sea birds whirling over a section of the sea and steered towards it. The birds were obviously feeding but the sea beneath them was churning. As we got closer it became clear that there was a large number of dolphins feeding on the fish as well. The captain killed the engines and the boat drifted to the edge of the turmoil. Hundreds of dolphins were leaping and diving on the fish. A hydrophone was lowered over the side and we could hear the cacophony of dolphin voices as they excitedly chased their lunch. The excitement attracted the attention of Humpback Whales and before long about eight of them were cruising regally through the maelstrom, blowing and diving. Their voices came booming over the speakers - deep and mellow against the chirping of the dolphins. A Stellar Sealion tried to get into the action but seemed to be out-manoeuvred by the other mammals.
After some time the chirping and booming died down and the feeding frenzy seemed to subside. It looked as if everyone had eaten their fill. But after lunch playtime for the dolphins began in earnest. The synchronised leaping teams began strutting their stuff - forwards rolls and backward twists. In teams of two or three they would have won the Olympic event. They began charging the boat in large numbers and swimming underneath at high speed.
Meanwhile the whales had drifted away. All around we could see and hear their blasts as they cruised around digesting lunch. We made our way up to a small family group. Mother, calf and a large male. They hung around the boat and came quite close at times. In the distance Humpbacks were breaching just for the joy of it. The team estimated that we saw well over 1,000 dolphins and around 20 Humpbacks on our trip.
Eventually, we pealed off and headed for the Stellar Sealion colony. They were hauled up on a little island. They were all males and they were bellowing and snapping at each other. They were sorting out the pecking order for the breeding rights. Soon the females would join them and the fighting would begin in earnest. As the boat drifted downwind of the island the air was filled with the smell of a thousand fishy farts. Only one in seven male Sealions wins the chance to breed in their lifetime.
We also saw several Pacific Harbour Seals and a few Bald Eagles.
- comments
Lesley What a wonderful experience. I have really enjoyed reading all about your trip. I can't believe the time has passed so quickly
Robin Thanks Lesley, we have had a fabulous time. We fly down to Vancouver Airport on a float plane tomorrow morning to catch our flight home. One more big adventure to go. Hope you are recovering well from your op.