Vancouver Whale Watch, British Columbia, Canada > Reviews > Awesome Orcas!

Author's product rating:   

Is it worth visiting?
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Advantages:	Very special experience, with a surprisingly high rate of success
Disadvantages:	None major, but read and be aware of what you are getting into .   You could be on that boat a long time !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Planning A Whale Watching Trip In British Columbia

The waters off BC hold a great range of sea mammals, including seals, porpoises and several types of whales, all of which you’ll have a good chance of seeing. However the main aim of the whale watching tours from Vancouver and Victoria is to observe Orcas (Killer Whales). I hear you have a good chance of seeing Grey Whales if you go to Tofino, but I wasn’t lucky enough to be able to travel that far!

There’s 3 separate populations of Orcas in the waters off BC. The one I’ll be dealing with here is the ‘South Resident’ population. They range between Vancouver and Victoria, which is on Vancouver Island to the South. Apparently they are more commonly down at the Southern end of their range. This is important in practical terms when it comes to choosing a company to go watching with. You can take the option of going to Victoria (some people fly from Vancouver to Victoria by float plane, which I guess would be an experience in itself!). If you go there, chances are the tour will be shorter. That doesn’t mean less time with the whales; it means less time getting to where they are. The downside is that if you get unlucky and they are at the Northern end of their range when you go, the company is unlikely to take you all the way and you may have to make do with seals and porpoises. If you go with Vancouver Whale Watch (who are one of a couple of companies actually based in Steveston which is just to the South of Vancouver) they more commonly have to travel further and so are set up to allow for that. The tour will commonly be longer (again note that that does not mean more time with the whales…) but you have a bit better chance of seeing them. Either way though chances are good. The firms all seem to advertise 85-95% chance. I think that Vancouver Whale Watch was slightly more expensive than the Victoria operators (about $100 Canadian with tax on top) but they guarantee sightings. If you don’t see a whale you can return for free at a later date, or get a discount in their gift shop.

Vancouver Whale Watch also says you shouldn’t really go with them if you have back or neck problems, which I do. So I was naughty! ;-) I did talk to my Doctor first and her reaction was a look of incredulity that I was even asking: ‘You’ve got the chance to go whale watching? Take a paracetamol!’ Those with worse conditions than mine should still heed the warning though. They actually advised me to go with a Victoria company. The trips from Victoria, because they are shorter, are more suitable for those who are likely to have problems. I’m always impressed with customer service that is honest enough to recommend a competitor!

I choose Vancouver Whale Watch because of their guarantee, because people had told me they were good, and because they are convenient for Vancouver. If you follow my lead, the next thing to consider is what boat to take. Vancouver Whale Watch run both larger covered boats (Explorathor) and smaller open boats (Lightships). Most people I know prefer the smaller boats as they are supposed to be more fun. I went in one of the larger, covered boats, which are supposed to be easier. But I still did have problems with my back when the sea got rough.

All the boats had toilets. However the one on my boat was primitive (no flush or wash basin), had gaps around the door and was also on the open back area of the boat. At times it was hairy for an able bodied person to go into that area. Anyone who’s not steady on their feet (or is prudish!) should probably be prepared to hold it! I doubt the ones on the Lightships are any better.

They can provide packed lunches, for a charge. I took my own food though and I think most did. They did provide crystallised ginger for anyone who wanted it to prevent seasickness. I think I’d also consider taking a cushion if I went again as the seats are hard! Camera, sunglasses, sun cream and warm clothing are also recommended.

The Day

My day started with the journey to Steveston. Vancouver Whale Watch do lay on a shuttle for a price, but I used public transport. I was staying in Downtown Vancouver at that point, and there is a bus from there to Number One Road in Steveston. It actually went through a lot of the suburbs: quite a long ride. It was only a short walk from there to their office. This is actually in a building one row back from the shoreline, near to the Cannery. It’s on the first floor (or second floor in Canada!), so there are some steps up to it. Here you fill in a form and pay your money. There’s also a few gifts, maps and pictures on the wall, and a toilet in the back that’s obviously used by the staff as well. There was a queue for that as folks prepared to head for the boats! People taking the lightship also get kitted out with waterproofs at the office.

Then it’s a short walk from there to the quay. Vancouver Whale Watch have their own quay space. There’s a ramp down at least most of the way, but I think there may have been some steps as well. We actually waited around for a bit as the shuttle bus was late!

Finally we got onto the boat. I headed straight for a seat near the front. Then realised that due to being on the upward slope of the bow it was tipped back and was going to take about ten seconds to put my unsupported neck in agony… I very quickly scooted to one further back!

Then we were underway. It was a very bright day, with smooth glittering seas. I was torn between opening the windows, getting some breeze and using my camera but getting blinded, or having that little bit less visibility… I went for having them open most of the time. The windows were slightly tinted, which helped with the bright sun. As they opened by sliding across one another opening them meant another patch would then have double thickness of tinted plastic. It all took a bit of negotiation with other passengers. But everyone was in good spirits so we worked it out.

The boat heads out from Steveston along a shipping channel. Plenty of cormorants and a lighthouse at the end. Then a straight dash across open water to the smaller islands between Vancouver and Vancouver Island. The water was calm and I think we were going at a fair speed. Just stopping occasionally to clear some weed from the inlets (the boats are powered by water jets). The islands are green and attractive looking, with little clusters of nice houses appearing in little bays between cliffs. Very picturesque. Partway through the main channel we paused to observe a colony of seals. I have to admit, I find them pretty boring when they are just lying about! Then off along the side of the islands heading South towards Victoria.

The further we went the more the excitement built. At one point we slowed, and it was explained that we were inviting a porpoise to bow ride. Not sure exactly how the inviting is done, but it seems both sides know, and in this case the answer was no. We moved on, leaving the porpoise in peace. A couple of times we’d be told the whales were close… only to find out they’d apparently moved on. It seems our pilot was in touch with other boats by radio. I think the different companies may help each other with whale sightings. Certainly they were getting information from somewhere. We stopped another time as the pilot had sited an elephant seal. Apparently they are very rare, and have only been seen a couple of times by folks from Vancouver Whale Watch. Unfortunately this one had dived, and was showing no signs of coming up anytime soon. They can stay down for 20 minutes and travel quite a distance in that time, so our chances of seeing it were slim. We moved on with the pilot very happy! I felt quite happy having been near one, even if I didn’t get to see it myself. We’d been out 2 hours or more by then.

The tension was really building. We carried on further South, going at full speed. Another of the Vancouver Whale Watch boats was visible also going full steam parallel to us. We came into an area of open water further from land where the going was much rougher. I could see other boats ahead, and our naturalist guide confirmed that they were other whale watch boats from various companies. Finally we slowed, taking up a position in a loose, wide, circle of boats around the area where the whales were. We’d reached the Southern end of the Orcas’ range, off Victoria.

Then it got very confusing! The various companies adhere to a code of practice, which ensures that the wildlife is not disturbed and that everyone gets their turn for a close view. In this case each took turns to move in ahead of the whales, then turn off engines and wait for them to approach and go past. What happened from my point of view is we moved to some unidentifiable point in the water with only low hills showing where land was (and no way of knowing which bit of land was which island), then the engines would go off and we’d spin slowly, with me having no idea which way we were pointing! And the Orcas seemed to come from all directions! There seemed to be loads of them! One or two would pass us by, then someone would shout out that a couple more were appearing from what seemed to be a different direction.

The whales seemed to be totally unbothered by the boats. They kept going wherever they were going, and if the boat was in the way they just swam underneath. This happened several times, so leaning over the rail in the open back of the boat I was within feet of them. We also saw whales, from a distance, display various behaviours: sticking tails out of the water, spyhopping (sticking their heads out) and even breaching (that’s jumping right out of the water). Orcas are big, but not mind-bogglingly so. I’ve also seen one as a kid in an aquarium, so it wasn’t my first time seeing the species in the flesh. Of course, there is always something slightly fake about seeing ‘tricks’ at an aquarium. Out there you knew that whatever they did they did because they felt like it. What really was different seeing them in the wild was their energy. They are incredibly fast and agile. It was really difficult to get a good picture of them. They swim in a wave motions, rising in and out of the water. Get the click of your camera wrong and you get just the head or the tail. Getting one of those spectacular pictures you see of them breaching must take incredibly good luck! I also found that the zoom on my camera (3 times optical) was really insufficient. I’ve got some pictures, but they are not brilliant.

Because we’d gone so far we didn’t get to stay very long. We got a couple of turns at going in close then headed back. I think we were with the whales for about 20 minutes in all. I seem to remember hearing their noises, which I guess was from the hydrophones on board, or maybe it was just my imagination! I was too focussed on the whales to take much notice of what was going on onboard! Same goes for our naturist guide! Though I do remember her trying to identify some of the fast-moving shapes going by (they are all known by name or number, but some are more distinctive than others).

The journey back took over two and half hours I think. The first section we were going over some largish waves, and it got a bit uncomfortable, as the boat would slam down with considerable force after each one. The bloke sitting in the bow got bounced right out of his seat at one point, another passenger got seasick, and my back was beginning to complain with the jarring it was getting. I think I’d have been in quite a bit of pain if it had gone on much longer. Those with back and neck conditions take note: they didn’t advice me against going for nothing. Not that I regret it though!

Once we were back in the shelter of Vancouver Island though the sea was calm again. The boat was still going full steam ahead and now a very smooth ride. I looked around, and realised everyone had fallen asleep. I’m not kidding. Boat full of people keeled over, leaning on each other… The naturalist was still awake and she told me it always happens! Me and the one other passenger who was still awake spent some of the voyage on the open back of the boat. Not talking, just watching things go by. I saw lots of porpoise, but we didn’t stop to ‘invite’ them to bow wave. I also borrowed a couple of books they had on board. They had a guide to local species and a couple of coffee-table books on the local Orcas. I learnt quite a bit from them.

There’s two types of Orcas, which some people think are diverging into separate species. Transients have a larger range, live in smaller groups, and feed on sea mammals. Residents (like we saw) feed only on fish. Both types of Orca live in family groups, called pods, staying with parents, brothers and sisters for life. When they breed they can’t breed within their pod, but will mate with an Orca from another pod. (No pairing on a permanent basis… family is all for Orcas). Residents and Transients never interbreed.

The trips are advertised as 3-5 hours, but we were actually out on the water for over 6 hours. Once back I could have gone straight off, but I wandered back to the office, where the people who’d been on the lightship were getting out of the waterproofs. It seems the seams hadn’t been very waterproof and they were pretty wet in places! I also learnt that we had been lucky in what we’d seen. The whales are not always so active, and it’s unusual to see so many together at once. One of the guides reckoned that the entire Southern Resident population (over 60 Orcas I think) had been there, and that there had been mating going on. I do remember one particular pair had seemed to be swimming very close together, and apparently some sideways rolling had been observed…

Further Info

Vancouver Whale Watch also do sea lion tours (2 hours) and a ‘Nature and Historical’ tour (45 minutes).

You can book online through the website. Advance booking is advised (and obligatory if you are taking the online option).

Tours may be cancelled due to bad weather (the people I knew who were on the lightship had been supposed to be going the day before, but their trip got cancelled due to high winds. They were re-scheduled and didn’t lose money though…)

Would I take kids? I think that depends on the kid. If they are very into Orcas and/or like boat trips, and you can trust them to be well behaved on the boat for hours, then yes. Otherwise they are likely to be bored. Take them on a shorter tour (maybe from Victoria) or go and see the Beluga whales at Vancouver Aquarium. The lightships have no reduction for children and will only take over 8’s. Children are roughly half price on the larger covered boats.

The season for tours is April to October. During June and July Vancouver Whale Watch do two trips a day (so they might not be able to go for 6 hours as we did). I went in September.

Steveston is very pretty with clapperboard houses and shops, and if you go from there I’d recommend you allow time to look around. There are a couple of museums (that I didn’t visit), various gift shops and cafes, and a quay where you can buy seafood fresh off the boat.

Vancouver Whale Watch website:

http://vancouverwhalewatch.com/

For good practise guidelines and a list of Whale Watching tour providers in Northwest USA / Southern BC who are committed to them, see Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest website:

http://www.nwwhalewatchers.org/

This review is one of a series of reviews I’ve done on my trip to the Vancouver area last year. Click on my user name (moonrising) at the top of this review to access my review list and find more!