Fairy Tale Trip

Once upon a time in a land far, far, far, far, far away... there was a group of Transient Orcas. The crew of San Juan Safaris knew they must voyage long to see them, however their guests were willing to take the risk and travel all the way to Albert Head, west of Victoria Harbor. J-Pod had traveled too far north, but the Transients were in reach.

Ater a perilous, and by perilous I mean super calm, journey across the Haro Strait, past Discovery Island, and beyond Victoria Harbor, we made it to our prince charming (a large Transient male) upon our trusty steed the Sea Lion. Our guests got some amazing views of the group of T87, T88, T124, T124D, T124E, T90 and T90B , which included multiple females, a juvenile, a sprouter (juvenile male), and an adult male. The orcas appeared to have caught a Harbor Seal because there was an oil slick in the water just behind them and the sea gulls were going nuts, diving in and out of the water. The orcas gave us some fabulous views as they surfaced just off Albert Point, providing the perfect backdrop for photos.

Although the fairy tale trip with the Transients had to come to an end, that didn't mean the beautiful trip was over. We trekked back to Lime Kiln Lighthouse and gave our guests a real estate tour of the west side of San Juan Island. We also were able to take them back into Roche Harbor through Mosquito Pass, which gave us lovely views of homes, still water, and some Harbor Seals.

The lighting was perfect, the water calm, and the clouds low; which completely set the stage for a trip so amazing it sounds make believe!

Above: The group of Transients photographed by Dave Ellifrit of the Center for Whale Research. The Center Reports that the juvenile male seen was T73B, who hasn't been seen in years. What a treat!!!

... and they all lived happily ever after.

Megan, Naturalist