When Erica Farrell booked a wildlife/adventure tour for her family, visiting from England, she was ever hopeful.
A whale, maybe含羞草研究社� perhaps a small pod.
What they got was more than anyone could have expected. Even the tour guide was beaming at day含羞草研究社檚 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.
含羞草研究社淪ince I含羞草研究社檝e been doing these tours, 20 years, that was probably one of my top 10 of all time,含羞草研究社� said Garry Henkel, owner/operator of 含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檝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含羞草研究社檛 get to do this often.含羞草研究社�
| Orcas at play in Desolation Sound. (Terry Farrell/Comox Valley Record) |
The British contingent was awed.
含羞草研究社淎lmost speechless with admiration for the beauty, the wildlife,含羞草研究社� said Erica含羞草研究社檚 mother, Brenda Nevard, who was visiting Vancouver Island for the first time. 含羞草研究社淒ifficult to put into words. A once in a lifetime experience.含羞草研究社�
Brenda含羞草研究社檚 son, Phil Nevard, and his wife, Lythan, were equally impressed, not only with the wildlife experience, but with Henkel含羞草研究社檚 expertise as well.
含羞草研究社淚t was great to have such a knowledgeable guide with a First Nations含羞草研究社� respect for nature and the sea,含羞草研究社� said Phil.
含羞草研究社淚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,含羞草研究社� 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.
含羞草研究社淲e never used to see any humpbacks here until probably the last four or five years,含羞草研究社� said Henkel. 含羞草研究社淢any, many years ago, they were hunted, back in the 1800s, early 1900s含羞草研究社� almost hunted to extinction. I think they are making a comeback now finally because there含羞草研究社檚 less pressure on them, and because there含羞草研究社檚 a lot of krill.
含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 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.含羞草研究社�
Erica含羞草研究社檚 son, Ian Bowen of Grande Prairie, Alta., was also on the boat.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檙e very lucky as Canadians to have this in our backyard,含羞草研究社� he said.
Henkel concurred.
含羞草研究社淭here含羞草研究社檚 not many places in the world you can see that - orcas and humpbacks,含羞草研究社� said Henkel. 含羞草研究社淚n our area, in September, now you can sometimes see orcas, humpbacks, grizzly bears, black bears and sometimes dolphins, all in one day.含羞草研究社�
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