We were buzzing with excitement as we had two boats leaving the harbour since we already knew there was whales close by! Early reports told us of a pod of orca that had been spotted in Pylades Channel, heading towards false narrows. Since we had a boat on the water for training purposes, we had them head over to check them out! It wasn’t long before they spotted and confirmed that there was indeed a pod of orca heading towards Nanaimo. Not long after the tour boats got there, and with our onboard cameras, confirmed this pod to be the T123s! This is a fun pod of Orca, since it has a little bit of everything. There are 4 members to this pod:

T123 Sidney ♀ (~1985)
T123A Stanley ♂ (2000)
T123C Lucky ♀ (2012)
T123D Darcy ♀ (2018)

Stanley is a very large male, being 23 years old he is fully grown, meaning he is sporting a 6-foot-tall dorsal fin! Darcy is the youngest of the group being only 5 years old, so she looks much smaller in comparison to her brother. Stanley is a favourite amongst whale watchers thanks to his large size, although Sidney holds a special place in many people’s hearts as well. Lucky and Darcy are interesting in their own right, not to be too overshadowed by their big brother.

We found these guys working their way against the tidal current that was ripping through Dodd Narrows, but they made it through without too much issue. It gave hikers a great view from Joan Point though! We continued with them north through Northumberland Channel until our time with them was up and we decided to head south.

After not long we once again had a report of Orca not too far away, so we decided to see if we could catch up with the second group! We found them just north of Maple Bay and it seemed they were just finishing up a hunt! There were lots of gulls around, most likely cleaning up after the orca.

Soon we got a surface from them and we recognized a familiar fin, it was Jack! Jack is a member of the T137s, a pod consisting of 4 members again, with the same composition as the pod we saw earlier:

T137 Loon ♀ (~1984)
T137A Jack ♂ (2002)
T137B Tempest ♀ (2006)
T137D Wright ♀ (2012)

Since these guys were in hunt mode instead of travel mode, we saw a little bit more surface action from them! Jack was having a blast, doing a bunch of pec slaps in celebration of their successful hunt. Since we found these guys later in the trip and ended up a fair distance from home, we couldn’t stay too long, so our time with them ended and we started the journey home.

On the way back, we saw some adorable rock sausages, better known as Harbour Seals, hauled out nearby, totally unaware that one of their buddies was most likely lunch for the T137s. They were relaxing, drinking up the sunshine and resting on the rocks. The next wildlife stop was for the Sea Lions that have been calling the log booms at Harmac home. The sea lions are usually interesting to watch, even when trying to rest, a fight will usually break out, leading to lots of funny faces and barking that win our hearts.

Another interesting stop this time of year is at the Gabriola Bluffs! We have cormorants that nest there, and we keep seeing them flying in with nesting materials! They will reuse the nests on the cliffside year after year, usually only having to make repairs at the start, instead of starting fresh each year. Would you believe me if I told you that them pooping all over their nest was an important part of this? Their poop hardens when it dries, acting like cement to hold their nests on the rocks! The birds themselves are also interesting while in their breeding plumage, as the usually bland, black birds are now shimmering with blue! You’ll also see striking white patches on the sides of the pelagic cormorants, and bright blue eyes in the other species.

The cliffs themselves are also a sight to behold, as about 74 million years of erosion of the sandstone on the cliffside has created beautiful sandstone caves and formations.

We finally made it back to the harbour, with both guests and staff left with an experience they will never forget!

All the photos from today were taken by onboard naturalists Aly Kohlman and Des Poier.