Today provided PERFECT orca conditions! It’s always a BUZZ when we sight orca straight off the bat!
We were greeted by Nibbles and Urkel’s pods, RIGHT at the bow! The adults charged off in front while the juveniles stayed back, spy-hopping, tumbling and playing beneath our feet! It looked as though the animals were joining together to hunt! By now and between the vessels we had at least 3 pods scouring the seas!
It wasn’t long at all before customers were pointing and screaming….BREACH!!!! Once one orca starts it often sets off a chain reaction! We had orca of ALL ages launching their ENTIRE bodies out of the water! It’s incredible being able to compare the size difference between a calf and a full-grown adult orca once their completely airborne RIGHT next to each other!
Something was definitely exciting the orca out in the canyon today! The surface activity quickly shifted as the pods did a complete 180! By now you could see orca surging from every direction. The call had gone out! We had orca pulsing up from behind us and launching their inverted bodies completely out of the water within metres of the bow! Nibbles and Digby were thick as thieves today, tossing their bodies out in unison! That’s almost 18 TONNE of killer whale BREACHING at our bow!
The orca picked up speed, taking us on the LONGEST run we’ve ever been a part of, a whopping 15 miles!!! Throughout the whole encounter, we had orca punching through the waves, their entire bodies being uncovered by the crystal blue swell!
White water plumes STILL bursting at the surface in every direction, soon followed by both large and TINY black dorsals! (We had a lovely close encounter with little NEO!)
We sighted at LEAST 5 different male orca throughout the day, indicative of 60-70 killer whales in the vicinity!
As the orca slowed down, almost to a complete halt, the calves became curious and playful, coming right up alongside us! You could see the glows of the underbelly before they rose to the surface…with their mouths WIDE OPEN! You could see down their entire throat, tongue poking out and all!! We RARELY get sightings of killer whales teeth and this season we’ve had at least 5 now!!
The sub-adults and males wanted to get in on the action too, darting across and under the vessel as they rode up to our wake! The hours of endless action was over quicker than it started. Every orca making their way back to their own pods before diving and disappearing into the distance! Perfect timing to wrap up another EPIC day in Bremer Bay Whale Watching Tour!
