Saturday, 29 November 2025

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 09:00, 13:00

Report from Elding: With the stars fading and the sun starting to rise over the horizon, we bundled up and set sail, excited to see who we would find today. Since the cetaceans have been close to port we decided to look around the islands before setting sail. Just as the sky was casting pinks and purples across the skyline, we spotted a blow and went to check them out. That was when we came across 2 very sleepy humpback whales. They were logging just at the surface, coming up every so often for a breath. Popping up periodically during the beginning of our viewing we also had 2 harbor seals. It seemed like they woke up because then the did a little dive. When they resurfaced, they were right in front of us! We could smell their fishy breath on every level  of the boat as they surfaced for air. The water was very calm and with the sun rising, it was very picturesque. We could watch them through the surface of the water as they swam right next to the boat. After such an amazing viewing, we decided to see if we could spot anyone else. Although we admired our birdlife and the beautiful sunrise, no other cetaceans were around. Thus we headed back to our pair. Right away, they treated us to a double fluke dive! It was amazing to see their unique fluke prints. After a few surface sequences, and another double fluke dive, we waved our humpbacks goodbye and headed to port. A wonderful morning!

-Samantha Smith

Report from Elding: With snow just starting to fall, we grabbed a hot chocolate, bundled back up and headed out, excited to see who we would see this afternoon. As we headed out, the snow started to fall a bit harder, which cast a winter wonderland across the mountains and skyline. Not too far away from port we spotted the same pair of humpback whales from this morning! Unlike their sleepy behaviour this morning, They were on a feeding mission and showed us their impressive flukes right away! After they resurfaced, they were nice and close and we could smell their fishy breath. After multiple surface sequences, one individual fluke dived, while the other started to peduncle throw their tail around! After a few throws, this humpback showed off their fluke as well. It was amazing to see their white pectoral fins through the surface of the water, and this allowed us to easily track them as they swam right next to us. With the snow bringing clouds low down around us, it was as if it was just us and the humpbacks in a snowglobe. After a magical viewing, we waved our humpbacks goodbye and went to see if anyone else had come to the bay since this morning. We admired our surroundings that now were freshly coated in snow and the admired some birdlife. We then spotted 3 harbor porpoises. They came very close to the boat, and it was great to see their little bodies through the surface. After viewing our harbor porpoises, we stopped by our humpback pair again for a few more surface sequences, and then headed back to port. What a great way to end our day on the bay.

-Emily Erskine

Eider duck, glaucous gull, black-headed gull, great cormorant, common guillemot, black guillemot