If you want an exciting west coast adventure, take a yellow POW Zodiac trip to explore the incredible wildlife and scenic vista that surrounds the Victoria area. With the west coast rocky shoreline on one side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the majestic Olympic Mountains rising in Washington State on the other, there is no better place to see all this beauty. Our 2pm Zodiac left the harbour with Skipper Shaun, 'Saltchuck' at the controls. He gave an in-depth account of the wildlife seen in this area to our guests, from Asia, USA and Canada. We saw a Gray Whale feeding at Crescent Beach, Elephant and Harbour Seals, along with Steller Sea Lions at Race Rocks. A preening bald eagle was also seen on the rocks. Returning to Victoria Inner Harbour, we found a Great Blue Heron and a River Otter. Our guests were thrilled with their adventure.
Photos by Marie "Orca-Magic"
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Zodiac Wildlife Adventure 3pm April 26
The excitement continues with Prince of Whales Wildlife adventures. Now that Spring has arrived the days are longer, warmer and sunnier. Our 3pm Zodiac with guests on board from Italy, Spain, Denmark, Germany, England, Seattle and Calgary, headed off into brilliant weather. Skipper James 'Radar' took us south east into the Strait of Juan de Fuca to catch up with the 5 Transient Orca, the T49's, that had been sighted on an earlier trip. Our time with these illusive mammals was exceptional. They showed us behaviours that included hunting, spy-hopping, tail lobbing, deep diving, and zig-zagging. We concluded our trip with a visit to Race Rocks to view Elephant and Harbour Seals as well as Steller Sea Lions. Our return trip took us close to the rocky but very scenic shoreline of Vancouver Island where we saw the historic and oldest lighthouse of BC, 'Fisgard Lighthouse' at Esquimalt Harbour. It was built in November,1860. Once again it was another wonderful trip out on the waters of the west coast .
Photos by Marie "Orca-Magic"
Photos by Marie "Orca-Magic"
Monday, April 27, 2009
Ocean Magic Wildlife Adventure 12:15 April 26
Sundays Ocean Magic Wildlife Adventure sailed into a perfect afternoon. The sun was shining, the water was flat and the wildlife was plentiful. Our Skipper Tyler took us west and up past Race Rocks to Secretary Island. Here we caught up with the apex predators of the ocean, the Transient Orca. This group of five individuals was later identified as the T49A's and T49B's. They worked the shore line doubling back a few times as they made their way past. We had spyhops, fluking and logging. Such a great experience for our passengers to view these majestic Killer Whales. We then took a tour of Race Rocks to view Steller Sea Lions, California Sea Lions, Elephant seals and Harbor Seals. To top it all off we also got to see several Bald Eagles. Just a wonderful trip on the Ocean Magic!
Photos by Clint "Orcawizard"
Photos by Clint "Orcawizard"
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Zodiac Wildlife Adventure 11:30 April 24
The 11.30 am yellow Zodiac left the harbour and headed across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with Skipper 'Mark' at the controls. Visibility was excellent for spotting marine life. Our first encounter was with a young Steller Sea Lion at the harbour entrance just as we were leaving. With blue skies above and relatively calm water all around we took our guests from Saskatchewan, Calgary, Ontario, parts of the USA, and Taiwan toward Dungeness Spit, Washington State. We were in search of the illusive 'Orca' . They were out there somewhere, but not to be found on this trip. A visit to Race Rocks, a protected Marine Reserve, gave us good looks at Steller and California Sea lions, Elephant and Harbour Seals and a Bald Eagle's nest at Whirl Bay. The spectacular scenery on both sides of the Strait made this wildlife trip a very special one.
Photos by Marie "Orca-Magic"
Photos by Marie "Orca-Magic"
Monday, April 20, 2009
Zodiac Wildlife Adventure 1pm April 19
Today we had two Zodiacs at 1pm. The lead Zodiac, skippered by Brian "Beemer" along with Clint POW photographer, headed out east past Trial Island and on to Whale Rock south of San Juan Island. The second Zodiac, skippered by James "Radar" along with Darcy and Marie POW photographer, headed north east past Oak Bay through the Chain Islands to Turn Point. Both trips enjoyed the warm weather and sunny skies as they viewed the variety of marine wildlife the west coast waters hold. Our guests from Sidney, Edmonton, Germany, Korea, Switzerland, and France took in Dalls Porpoise, Harbor Porpoise, Steller Sea Lions and Harbor Seals. We also spotted some Oyster Catchers, Bald Eagles, Harlequin Ducks and many varieties of Gulls. Just a wonderful wildlife adventure with Prince Of Whales.
Photos by Clint "Orcawizard" and Marie "Orca-Magic"
Photos by Clint "Orcawizard" and Marie "Orca-Magic"
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