When Erica Farrell booked a wildlife/adventure tour for her family, visiting from England, she was ever hopeful.
A whale, maybesa国际传媒� perhaps a small pod.
What they got was more than anyone could have expected. Even the tour guide was beaming at daysa国际传媒檚 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.
sa国际传媒淪ince Isa国际传媒檝e been doing these tours, 20 years, that was probably one of my top 10 of all time,sa国际传媒� said Garry Henkel, owner/operator of sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝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 donsa国际传媒檛 get to do this often.sa国际传媒�
| Orcas at play in Desolation Sound. (Terry Farrell/Comox Valley Record) |
The British contingent was awed.
sa国际传媒淎lmost speechless with admiration for the beauty, the wildlife,sa国际传媒� said Ericasa国际传媒檚 mother, Brenda Nevard, who was visiting Vancouver Island for the first time. sa国际传媒淒ifficult to put into words. A once in a lifetime experience.sa国际传媒�
Brendasa国际传媒檚 son, Phil Nevard, and his wife, Lythan, were equally impressed, not only with the wildlife experience, but with Henkelsa国际传媒檚 expertise as well.
sa国际传媒淚t was great to have such a knowledgeable guide with a First Nationssa国际传媒� respect for nature and the sea,sa国际传媒� said Phil.
sa国际传媒淚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,sa国际传媒� 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.
sa国际传媒淲e never used to see any humpbacks here until probably the last four or five years,sa国际传媒� said Henkel. sa国际传媒淢any, many years ago, they were hunted, back in the 1800s, early 1900ssa国际传媒� almost hunted to extinction. I think they are making a comeback now finally because theresa国际传媒檚 less pressure on them, and because theresa国际传媒檚 a lot of krill.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 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.sa国际传媒�
Ericasa国际传媒檚 son, Ian Bowen of Grande Prairie, Alta., was also on the boat.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e very lucky as Canadians to have this in our backyard,sa国际传媒� he said.
Henkel concurred.
sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 not many places in the world you can see that - orcas and humpbacks,sa国际传媒� said Henkel. sa国际传媒淚n our area, in September, now you can sometimes see orcas, humpbacks, grizzly bears, black bears and sometimes dolphins, all in one day.sa国际传媒�
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