Colorado Cruiser: Whale Watching British Columbia Day 6

Whale Watching

The plan for the day was whale watching here in Torfino, then travel to Victoria.

We rolled out by 9:00 and made our way into Torfino and Jamie's Whale Watching Station. We thought about going out on a 12 man Zodiac inflatable, but instead we chose the 64 foot boat named the Leviathan II. The thought of bouncing over waves at high speed just didn't seem that enticing. It also sounded nice to have a covered heated deck to retreat into with hot chocolate and a bathroom.

There were 23 of us on the boat. The captain explained that all of the whale watching boats keep in contact by radio, so the boats already out were reporting back any sightings and unfortunately there were none yet.

He took us to the bay where they've seen whales for the last 5 days, but we saw nothing and another boat that had been there 20 minutes before us had also seen nothing, so he continued driving us north.

It was very chilly, probably in the mid 50s and with the windchill it felt like 40s. Most of the other passengers opted to wrap themselves in complementary blankets, but us tough guys waved them away and faced into the wind to look for whale sign. If you've never been whale watching, the thing you're looking for is that white puff of steamy air as the whale surfaces to breath. I could see allot of white plumes around us because there were rocks and sholes everywhere and waves were pounding on them. I sure hoped the captain knew his business because it would be very easy to sink a boat around this stuff.

Eventually another boat reported a while far to the north of us and swimming slowly south. So we arrowed toward the area to intercept them. Then another boat reported a smaller whale a bit closer in a large bay so he switched to that one. We we got deep into the bay we caught our first sighting, but just a single puff of air. The captain explained that a single puff usually means the animal is swimming and not feeding or diving. When they feed they normally take 3 to 5 breaths, then arch over and dive, sometimes showing their dorsal fin.

We watched the small whale for 20 minutes but it continued to meander slowly around the bay taking single breaths.

A third boat reported yet another whale nearby that was feeding, so we gave up on the small one and headed back out to the mouth of the bay where we spotted the larger whale near what the captain said was a rock outcrop just beneath the surface. The whale took 3 breaths fairly close, then arched it's back and dove, but no fluke showed.

We loitered around for 40 minutes and watched the whale repeat the process several times but never lifted his tail out.

We'd been a long time coming this far out and the captain said we had to head back now, so I went below for that hot chocolate and a break from the wind. It felt heavenly.

The ride back was nice and the captain took use very close to many of the islands so we got a close look at them. They are all packed with trees and vegetation right down to the water's edge. We didn't see any bears or other animals but we did see an eagle in the top of one tree.

Once we were back on land, we grabbed some lunch then started pouring over the map to figure out what we wanted to see before heading to Victoria. Yesterdays' hike around the rain forest was so fun we thought we should do another one. But the descriptions quickly changed our minds in most cases.

"Steep", or "a challenge", or "long" ruled out most of the hikes. Eventually we settled for "suitable for a toddler" and headed out. It wasn't that bad, but we did avoid the multi kilometer hikes and settled on a hike around a bog.

The bog was very eerie. The trees were all stunted and the ground covered with a thick moss. When we tried stepping off the path, our shoes would sink several inches into the moss. It was like stepping on a very thick sponge.

The walkway was like yesterdays', wooden raised boardwalks, but this time without stairs (maybe it was suitable for a toddler). We met an oriental family coming out and the father said it was simply the best thing he'd seen. I'm not sure why he told us that, or exactly what he found so amazing. It was nice, but not earth shakingly nice. We walked around taking pictures and listening to the roar of the ocean just the other side of some large trees.

When we reached the end we looked on the map again and found a trail that lead along a bluff and eventually down to the ocean. It was a very peaceful hike that ended with a long staircase leading down to the beach.

"You know" I told Mike, "when you go down stairs, it often means you have to climb back up them".

We stared for a few seconds, then took the plunge.

We walked along the beach for about 15 minutes before starting back to the car. The climb wasn't bad, but after all that time on the boat and hiking, it was the end of physical stuff for me for the day. We piled into the car and stared the drive back across Vancouver Island toward the city of Victory which is also the capital of the province of British Columbia.

Yesterday when we came, we were stuck behind several slow moving vehicles for most of the trip. This time, Mike had no hindrance and hit the road with a vengeance. The road is far more twisty than I remember it. It really would be a fun motorcycle road, but you'd be very tired after riding it for 90 kilometers.

Mike settled into a rhythm and my eye lids slowly closed. I slept for about an hour and it felt great. It took roughly 4 hours to drive to Victoria. We were both wiped out by the time we got here, but we checked in, then walked about a kilometer to get dinner and a kilometer back.

I'm not sure the whale watching was really worth all the effort because all you really see is the breath blow and some of their back. The ride was fun and the tour kind of nice, but it didn't need to be so long. Maybe bear watching would have been better. We heard you can really see them well.

Pictures from yesterday that I didn't get uploaded last night:

Me on the rainforest path