May 18, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Richmond, Whale Watching
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What a day!!! Today was easily one of the most fun days I’ve had in Richmond in a long time! I spent the day hanging out with a cool company named ‘Vancouver Whale Watch.’ As the name suggests, we got to see whales… and oh, so much more! By the time the day was over I had seen killer whales, eagles, sea lions, harbor seals, and a ton of stunning B.C. scenery! What more do you need for a great day in Richmond?
I’ve lived in Steveston my whole life and have always seen whale watching signs posted throughout the harbour, but never actually bothered to go. I’ve gone a couple times elsewhere in the world, and my experience was always just awesome! So when an opportunity came around to film the whale watching out of Steveston, I was all over it.
My friend Yuriy (the photographer) and I headed out for what we had originally thought was a two hour excursion— as it turned out it was a six hour day! Wow! The most awesome thing though? We never felt tired or bored; there was just too much see and enjoy. Our guide Joan (from Vancouver Whale Watch) was a fantastic and wonderful host, as was our friendly captain John.
The whole experience was well planned and executed and best of all, the whales were spectacular! We got the privilege of seeing a pod of eight killer whales, including a baby! They never did that Free Willy jump like in the movie, but it was still an amazing experience to see them.
On this trip something extremely rare and awesome happened. By law, you cannot get within 100 metres of the whales unless you are a researcher. (like the white boat in the video) They want you to keep your distance, which is totally understandable and what we did. However, as we were idling out in the Straights of Juan De Fuca, (off Vancouver Island) the entire pod surfaced almost right next to our boat! This was totally unexpected as they had dove several minutes ago and no body knew where they were. They had been quite far away in the distance, and suddenly were almost right underneath us! The footage and stills speak for themselves! It was the closest I’ve ever been to wild whales in my life. What an amazing stroke of luck!!
If you want a killer day (no pun intended) out in Richmond, head down to Steveston and check out the spectacular whale watching. There are two main companies that service the area: Vancouver Whale Watch and Richmond Seabreeze.
I spent the day with Vancouver Whale Watch and they rocked! It’s worth your time and makes a great day out in Steveston! Check it out!