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