A Whale Wonder...

Trip Start Aug 15, 2005

Trip End Dec 21, 2005

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Where I stayed

Ocean Island Backpackers Inn Victoria

Urban Hideaway Guesthouse Vancouver

(Vancouver hotels)

Flag of Canada Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Friday, August 26, 2005

Friday 26 August 2005

Today we checked out of the Urban Hideaway Guesthouse, said goodbye to Ken and Janine and went to catch our bus to Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal where we were taking the ferry to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island.
The ferry crossing was fantastic. The sun was shining and the one and half hour journey we sat outside on the deck with a hot chocolate and a piece of cake taking in the beautiful scenery of the Gulf Islands...it was bliss! We could see the snow capped mountains as it was so clear. We arrived on Vancouver Island and took the 45 minute bus journey to downtown Victoria. We walked about 7 blocks to the Ocean Island Backpackers Hostel where we were staying for 2 nights. We got a smallish room on the 4th floor by the road. It's a bit noisy but not too bad with the ear plugs!
We took a walk down to the harbour and booked our tickets for Whale Watching at 2 pm tomorrow

A close whale!

. We have booked to go on a 12 man zodiac seen as though we have come to the Island especially to do it! We sat in the harbour watching the sea planes taking off and landing in the sunshine then found a nice little diner and grabbed some pizza. We had a browse round some of the shops close to where we were staying..and nipped into a bar for a sneaky beer! We then walked back up to the hostel at about 7 pm and sat in the lounge/bar having a beer where we met up with Paul. He was sitting alone so we invited him over to drink with us. He is from Toronto and was visiting his brother in Vancouver. We sat talking and at midnight I headed off to bed and Dan and Paul partied into the night and went off to find a few clubs.

Saturday 27 August 2005

Today has been what I can only say the most amazing experience of my life and a long awaited one. Dan is sure to agree.
We woke around 9.45 am and went to grab some breakfast as Dan was slightly hung over from his night on the town! Our Whale Watching trip was scheduled for 2 pm and we had to be there for 1.30 pm, we were both really excited. Paul decided to come along too and managed to get on the same boat as us which was great. The boat was a 12 man zodiac, it was orange with big inflatable sides, it sat 2 people at the front and rows of 3 behind

More Whales

. We had to wear orange float suits which were quite amusing! We looked like the astronaut drillers from Armageddon! Now before we got on the boat, Brad the Zodiac driver (crew member of whatever!) told us whoever sat at the front would get a heck of a bumpy ride and the ones at the back would just get wet. Paul, Dan and I sat second row from the front.
We cruised out of the Inner Harbour slowly as there are speed resrictions in this area. This harbour is used for mooring the boats and boat houses and is the main terminal for cruiseships and seaplanes so was very busy. As soon as we hit the open sea we sped up....the ride alone was worth the money, we were going so fast and the waves were 5ft in some places and we would literally just leave the water and splash back down! I was laughing so much my lips were stuck to my teeth and I heard Paul shout "I would give 60 bucks for the ride"!! We had to hold the rail and lift our bums off the seats it was that bumpy! We were just speeding through the open water and it was an amazing feeling. We were all literally soaking wet and very salty! The orange suits certainly came in handy!!! By the time we stopped the boat we were dry because the weather was that nice.
Brad stopped the boat and switched down the engines. He told us we were looking for black dorsel fins, all we could see at first were a few other boats....then in the distance we could see 3 or 4 fins rise from the water in one go, then a whale just jumped in the distance and splashed back down into the water...it was unreal

The harbour at Victoria

! Next thing we didn't know where to look, they were all travelling quite close to shore and were heading straight for us. We could see a large fin appear then go back under the water, we were all waiting quietly for it to appear again then out it came, right next to our boat! We had the underwater microphone switched on and we could hear them communicating to each other it was wonderful! I actually was close to tears as i couldn't believe I was really seeing it. We saw one whale just slowing rise it's head out of the water, it's beautiful white breast just appeared and then went back down under the water, it was just absolutely amazing and something we will never forget. Brad took us around the outside to try and catch them again before they headed off. The pod of Ocres we saw had about 40 or so in it. The boats are not allowed within 100km of the Whales but they can come close if the Whales choose to swim close to the boats so we were very lucky to get so close! We caught one last glimpse as they moved on and then headed back to the bay on what I can only describe as a doubly bumpy ride!!! Our legs were shaking when we got off the boat!
All the fresh air had given us an appetite so we went off to a good old English fish and chip bar and sat and stuffed ourselves! Dan and I tried iced tea for the first time which we actually found quite nice. We went back to the hostel and showered the salt from our hair and faces, nipped to the Internet Cafe to catch up on some emails book some accommodation for Seattle and then grabbed a few souveniers

Us in our float suits!

. The atmosphere at night in the town was great, there were people sitting in the street playing in a band, dancing around the drums, xylophone and steel drums, it was great. A nice end to a fantastic day. We sat in the bar having our drink of Kokanee Canadian beer and said our goodbyes to Paul. He decided to stay on an extra night as he loved Victoria so much. We sat laughing about our accents and how the English say lift instead of elevator and rubbish instead of trash!!! Here are few examples:
Jumper = Sweater
Trousers = Pants
Trainers = Runners
Cinema = Movies....etc!!

One thing we noticed more in Vancouver is the increased number of homeless people and beggers, every corner of every street people are asking for money. We are looking forward to the ferry crossing back to Vancouver and leave at 8am tomorrow.