A magnificent summer's day with Orcas and a Humpback whale
A magnificent summer's day greeted us when we headed out on our tour this afternoon. Summer had truly arrived on the North Island and we were all loving the extra warmth afforded to us on both land and water.
It was a stunning sight and wonderful feeling to be onboard the boat upon the ocean on such a beautiful day. We looked towards the shimmering blue waters of Johnstone Strait that lay ahead of us and upwards at a blue and cloudless sky that seemed to stretch forever.
Entering slowly into a channel though the Pearse Islands we enjoyed the magic that nature gifted us. With the tide still low but on the make, we were able to view a lovely sight of clean and sparkling waters where Bull kelp forests stretched almost across the entire passageway. Reaching to depths far below us, we could see looking down from the side of the boat, glorious floating forests of kelp as well as the rocky shoreline that sharply disappeared from our view.
Heading down Johnstone Strait we were thrilled to encounter orcas at the bottom end of Hanson Island milling about at Cracroft Point. They turned out to be Biggs Transient orcas, T018 and T019B's. Four orcas in total. We were mesmerized watching them move effortlessly through the water, their black and white bodies glistening in the brightness of the day and we enjoyed fabulous viewing before continuing on our tour. It was at Stubbs Island that we came upon a Humpback whale taking five minute dives and foraging back and forth. Other wildlife kept us fully alert and watchful along the way: Dall's porpoises, Harbour seals, a Stellar sea lion, Bald Eagles and their nests, Black Oystercatchers, Common Murres, Pigeon Guillemots, Rhinoceros auklets and several Gull species.
The viewscape in our surroundings at the top end of Blackfish Sound was impressive, if not spectacular. There was a white dusting of fog that evaporated before our eyes leaving us with a gorgeous snapshot of the Coast Range Mountains on Mainland BC. What more could we have asked for!