Orca! Today we celebrated our inaugural tour to the Bremer Canyon and were welcomed with open pectorals by the Orca as we spent our entire day watching numerous hunts and social approaches towards our vessel. Three separate pods were sighted today with Split Tip and her family seeming to have had two successful hunts today which resulted in big oil slicks on the waters surface which even attracted the attention of a juvenile Hammerhead Shark… before he was chased for a brief moment by one of the Orca!
We were part of the pod as they moved with speed towards the location of their next meal before resurfacing a short time later amongst a thick oil slick on the waters surface which had the usual Seabird groupies including a magnificent Wandering Albatross, Shearwater, Australasian Gannet and Storm Petrels. A lone Sunfish was sighted briefly enjoying the sunshine while on the journey toward the Orca grounds we met two sleepy NZ Fur Seals enjoying a quick rest in between hunts. A beautiful sunny day greeted our arrival back into the harbour with some very relaxed Australian Sea Lions enjoying their Saturday while one of the females fed her pup.
The ocean was alive with life and it was a truly unforgettable experience to watch these magnificent Orca in the wild and we enjoyed every moment, especially the curious approaches towards our vessel and a cheeky spy hop by one of the juvenile Orca.
