22 — Wednesday, August 21. 1951 ~ North Shore News

~~

LACES TO GO... THINGS TO DO...

Whale watching beautiful in black and white

ORCINUS ORCA. Killer whales. We in B.C. enjoy what
may be the world’s most abundant population of these
magnificent marine mammals, but we are far from blase
about the abundance when it comes to viewing the black
and white beauty of kiiler whales.

For us, as for the people from
around the globe who journey to
our waters, visiting killer whales
in their natural habitat is the ex-
perience of a lifetime.

Many local residents, however,
don’t realize how accessible our
resident killer whale communities
are. Unlike the grey whale expedi-
tions, most of which are based in
the Tofino area, a trip to see the
kiNler whales is run right out of
Victoria’s inner harbor, rigit
across from the Empress Hotel.

Sea Coast Expeditions, owned
and operated by former North
Vancouverite Alex Rhodes, offers
its adventure tours in a 23-foot
Zodiac, a craft that adds to the
experience immeasurably.

Last summer, I travelled on the
Porpoise If, which carries around
a dozen passengers, Alex and a
naturalist. We were previded with
full-length flotation suits that pro-
tected us from the elements,
gloves and waterproof binoculars.

Suited up in our bright yeliow
garb, many of us sporting cameras
that ranged from the instamatic to
the multi-lensed, we looked like a

By Peggy Trendelt-Whittaker
News Reporter

team of research scientists em-
barking on a fact-finding mission.

The pleasant, !0-minute motor
out of the harbor had me wonder-
ing what the wet-weather suits
were for, but I wasn’t left in the
dark for long. Once oui in the
open, Alex upped the speed to
approximately 30 knots, and the
fun began. -

We encountered some unusually
choppy water, and our ups and
downs were reminiscent of one of
the better rides at the PNE. The
sea gods were liberal with their
contribution to our experience,
and many of us near the back of
the boat were showered with the
salty stuff on more than one oc-
casion.

Secure seating and the knowl-
edge that the Zodiac was sturdy,
safe and well-skippered allowed all
Passengers to enjoy the ride,
whether the sea was bumpy or
smooth.

Although whale sightings are
impossible to guarantee, Sea

Leap of faith a
religious experience

From previous page

what seems like much more than
60 kph; free-falling, the mind
switches into dream sequence to
take the edge off the full terror of
what it quite rightly considers to
be certain death.

Then you hit bottom, spiash
your head in the river if you are
lucky, and are catapulted back
up almost to the height of the
bridge for a second drop that is as
terrifying and exhilarating as the
initial jump.

Once you have finished spring-
ing up and down like a human
yo-yo, all the while howling like a

deranged beast, you are rescued
by a pleasant Bungy staffer in an
inflatable boat.

He hauls you aboard and wel-
comes you back to the other side
of the Bungy Zonc.

You might mutter some excited
gibberish to him; you might be
speaking in tongues. But he just
nods calmly; he has heard it all
before.

A religious experience, you say.
Certainly otherworldly, definitely
exhilarating, beyond anything else
you have experienced.

You have entered the Bungy
Zone, and you shall never be quite
the same again.

3295 Island Higrway West © Qualicum Beach, B.C.
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Free slide show “Once tn & World, Vancouver’,

Coast's statistics show that whales
are encountered more than 802%
of the time.

**He always gets his whale.’ a
fellow salt had quipped of Alex
back at the dock, and it's easy to
see how our skipper kas built for
himself such a reputation.

The Porpoise [is outfitted with
marine radios and 4 waterproof
cellular telephone. Acquaintances
throughout the area telephone the
craft. whenever they spot the
whales, and within seconds the
Porpoise [is of f to find them.

We had been travelling for
almost an hour and rain had just
started to pour down when the
first dorsal fin broke the surface
of the water.

Passengers were instantly
galvanized, pointing. grabbing
their cameras and trying to absorb
the wonder of seeing the magnifi-
cent creatures.

Eric, our naturalist, told us they
were members of the J pod, one
of the three pods (J, K and L) res-
ident in that area. Individuals and
family trees within each pod have
been charted, and Eric passed a
book of photos around with
which we could identify some of
our whales by their dorsal fins.

As they repeatedly dove and
surfaced, sometimes only 30 feet
from our boat, we could hear the
spray coming from their
blowholes and their indrawn
breaths. We tracked the whales
for about 45 minutes near Pender
Island, then turned for home.

Along the way we had another
treat in store as we found
ourselves amongst 2 frolicking
group of Dall’s porpoises. These
miniature killer - whale lookalikes
leapt around the boat, swam
under it, followed it and otherwise
amazed us for several minutes.

As you can see by watching
their forms under the water, they
travel at incredibly fast speeds at
which they can execute seemingly
impossible hairpin turns.

Once again cruising home,

digesting our memories
dreaming about tea at

press, the unexpected occurred.

WHALE HO! Out of the blue,

Alex had spotted another pod of

whales, cavorting near a point just

off the Victoria coastline.

It wasn’t long before we had
caught up io the L pod, and none
of us could hold back our cheers
— Alex and Eric included. For the
whales were putting on a show par

extraordinaire — all around us,

young and cld orcas were slapping
the water with their tails, flipper-
lobbing and coming up out of the

water to execute
breaches.

Although the trips are scheduled
for three hours, Alex kept us out
for almost an extra half hour to
enjoy this unexpected experience.

Enthusiasm was high all around
when we docked, and our skipper

stunning

TOFIN O, B.C.
WHALE WATCHING

IN TOFINO

March into October
53° “lady Selkirk”
49’ “Devilfish” — Zodiac

Charting the course for
responsible Whale
Watching since 1982
HOT SPRINGS & FISHING

725-301¢
Box 590, Tofina BC. VOR 220

Special 2 day getaway ... eee

Now’s the time for a weekend getaway to Surf Lodge, the easy-to-

get-to seaside resort that’s been p:
Located on bdeautiful Gabriola
Nanaimo), you’ ll enjoy two night

ampering guests for forty years.
Island (a 20-minute ferry ride from
Is accommodation (with private

bath), one dinner and two breakfasts in our romantic ocean-view

restaurant for
an all-inclusive

$189 per couple

Special Rates
available after

For reservations & informaticn

6. call 1-247-9231 or

Fax 1-247-8336

dged

Labour Day since 1959, your first resort

Sq oo OrF

One Reguiar Admission
Valid Anytime -- Expires September 22nd, 1991

SUMMER FEATURES
The Last Buffato in IMAX 2D

and
The Em-

had his hand wrung repeatedly by
grateful passengers. Although the
whales were the obvious highlight
of the journey, cruising in the
Zodiac had been excitement
enough, and one man remarked
that “it had been one of the nicest
things he’d ever done.”’

A three-hour trip costs $70 for
adults, $45 for children; the two-
hour version is $45 and $25
respectively. Guaranteed sighting
arrangements cost $80 and $50 for
kids. Reservations are strongly
recommended (call 477-1818), but,
if vou happen to be near Dock A,
near Victoria’s tourist information
centre, you might catch Alex
there.

Sea Coast expeditions run from
May through September, at 9 a.m.
and I p.m.

Haids artist Bil Reid's massive cedar
sculpture “The Raven and the First Men”
See one of the world’s most srunning displays. of

Northwest Coast Native indian
spectacular, award-winning building overlooking
mountains and sea.

UBC BUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY
6393 NW. Marine Drive, Vancouver
822-3825
822-5087
822.6240

Dail am Ma Som He as to9 pm
icved Mondays atter Labour Day

Recorded message
Museum office
Gift shop

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Photo Viewing Plaques. Historical Displays,
Tour Guides.
Open 6:30 am - 10:30 pm 7 days per week,

Grand Canyon

OPEN DAILY fo: matinzes and evening double l ee
features. For showumes call 682-6422. t FRIENDLY SERVICE SINCE 1952

7 Write or Phone for Reservations:
IT’S CANADA'S ONLY IMAX 3D THEATRE WITH A ! 58, Madeira Park, BC. Vi

Box 153, Madeira Park, 8.C. VON 2HO
SCREEN 5 STORIES HIGH! 883-2456

Harbour Centre -

555 West Hastings. Vancouver, B.C.
For intormauon cull 689-0423. H

cu - é

N'T MISS THE BEST VIEW IN VANCOUVER! |

[DON'T MISS THE BEST VIEW IN VANCOUVER!

—— eee ome ee owes cue oe oe oe eee ee