Experience of Guest Carol Soo
Today we woke up to the urgent calls of, “Orcas! Get up, get ready, let’s go NOW!! ORCAS!!!” We all stopped everything we were doing, got out of bed, grabbed our gear and we were off on the RHIB by 6:15 am. Despite our brains telling us not to jump into the water with apex predators, we jumped in eagerly.
There were 6 orcas – 2 moms each with a baby, and 2 juveniles. The orcas were interactive and curious for several dives and we were with them for many hours. It was breathtaking and we were alone in the sea with the orcas. One of the moms even showed us her kill before eating it. During the afternoon, several of us went to the top of the boat while others continued jumping with the orcas.
We noticed 2 HUGE pods of hundreds of dolphins jumping and playing in the distance, near the horizon. The orcas noticed them too! Suddenly the orcas all came together and started speeding toward the dolphins, hiding behind our boat. The orcas sprang into action and the dolphins swam for their lives, forming a survival circle with an orca in the center. The orcas caught one of the dolphins and the rest of the dolphins swam for their lives back towards the horizon.
The orcas were able to share the meal and the babies learned a valuable lesson on hunting. Afterward, a mola mola visited us (bucket list fish!). We ended the day with a nice dinner tucked into a calm cove for the night.
Guest Mike Macedon Has a Repeat Experience – Predator and Prey
I did not think that yesterday’s experience could be blown away, but clearly, I was wrong. Woke up at 6 am for breakfast when the captain called out for everyone to get into the wetsuits immediately. Orcas were spotted! They came right to the boat. We all boarded the rhib and we spent hours jumping in and swimming with them! The adrenaline level when I first hit the water with them was at a level I have never come close to experiencing before.
The orcas were beautiful and when they look you in the eye the feeling is incredible. They got so close you could see one still had a little something in its mouth it was feeding on. After 3 hours of this, some of us took a break for lunch while others continued.
A short while later from the crow nest, we witnessed perhaps a thousand dolphins heading our way leaping out of the water and having the time of their lives. At the same time, the Orcas were heading towards the dolphins using our boat for cover. Suddenly the dolphins got tightly bunched up. They started to swim in a circle rapidly. In the middle of them, an Orca came up and took one of the dolphins while the others took off in all directions. All that was missing was David Attenborough’s narration. It was the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed!
As quickly as it happened everything went back to normal and the jumping in with the Orcas continued for several more hours. In addition to all of that, we also saw a Mola Mola too. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow has in store. This has been the most incredible trip already and we are only the third day in.
