LATEST NEWS - January 2009
ORCA TYSFJORD - 2008/2009 season

Saturday 10th of January

It was quite wet, windy and wavy today. But fortunately it was rather warm, so even though we got soaking wet, we were not freezing at all:) We went out with two zodiacs and many excited people. First we had a look out in Vestfjord, where the waves were….interesting, and after a while we turned into the more sheltered Tysfjord and searched the area there. We checked all our usual places, but without success. We did find some sea eagles though and we had some fishes for them.

We gathered and looked for shelter in the harbour of Korsnes, next to the lutefisk factory, to eat a piece of chocolate and drink some warm toddy. After this we went into the waves in Vestfjord again, and with very suitable music for this day (think: “Singin’ in the Rain”, again) we headed back to Sjøvoll. The many snorkelers ended the trip with a bath in the harbour. I wonder which was the wettest part, being in the water or being on the zodiac?

So, this was it! The last trip of the season.... We couldn´t find the orcas today, but we´ve had a very nice and beautiful goodbye yesterday! Today we faced the waves once again and had another nice day on the sea! After all those times it´s still so great to be out there!! Just to go out in the morning, not knowing what you are going to find…. Some days the weather is nice and calm, other days it´s wavy and challenging. But you can always be sure that it´s gonna turn out to be a great day, with or without the orcas. Whatever the conditions are, I always enjoy just to be there:) How privileged we are to have the opportunity to work here, in this fantastic area, in this amazing nature!! And to share this with many interested people!!

Lynne

Friday 9th of January

When we woke up and opened the curtains this morning, it was quite spectacular outside. Through a big hole in the clouds we could see some amazing Mother of Pearl Clouds! A little later the sky turned completely grey and some wet stuff came down, but by the time that we were on the sea the sky opened again and the Mother of Pearl Clouds appeared again, together with the almost full moon! Magic!

There were quite some waves out there, so the first part of the trip was a bit bumpy and good fun! We checked the mainland side of Vestfjord and when we were almost at Tranøy, we got a phone call: whales at Rotvær! Turn the boat and full speed ahead! Now we had the wind in our back, so we had a completely different experience of the waves, this time we could surf on them - great! The funny thing was that the orcas were doing the same thing as us – they were also surfing on the waves:) We watched the whales, drank hot toddy and ate chocolate. A few times a big male jumped out very close behind the boat!

After quite some time we didn´t see them anymore, so we turned on the music and set course to the harbour. During the ride back, the sea was much calmer. And surprise surprise….we found another group of orcas! We counted about 10 animals in each group. And these ones also had a very tiny one with them. While listening to Singin’ in the Rain we watched this orcas as well for a while:)

What a fantastic day again!!

Lynne

Thursday 8th of January

Wet, snowy and wavy – not the best conditions to spot whales. We tried anyhow and we had a great time on the sea, but no orcas…. The sea eagles on the other hand were present, as usual, and we did our eagle-fish trick with them. The trick goes like this: you take a frozen herring, you wait until you see an eagle, you throw the fish in the water and you wait….and wait…. And if everything follows the plan, the eagle will come down and pick up the fish from the surface, close to the boat! End of the trick….applause:)

We´ll try to find the orcas again tomorrow and hope for the best….

Lynne

Wednesday 7th of January

The day started promising with two elks on the way to the harbour. After our sightings of the last four days we had good faith that we would find the orcas today as well. We searched in the same area as where they were the past days We did what we could, but no whales today…. A pity, but on the other hand it was a very nice trip on the sea. A little cold maybe, but beautiful light, calm sea and many other animals. One eagle kept on following the zodiac for a very long time until they gave him a fish! And also from the big boat we saw quite some eagles and many other birds.

This was the very last whale safari with Leonora, our big boat. Not only the last one of the season, but really the LAST one. For this reason the zodiac people came alongside and drove around us, honking and waving:)

Around 2 o’clock we said goodbye to Leonora and in Leiknes we had another surprise. A little otter was sitting on the road and when we approached with the bus he ran away. We could see him for quite a long time as he was jumping through the snow, up to the rock carvings. Maybe he wanted to have a look over there, or maybe he wanted to scratch his own drawing of an otter up there?

Lynne

Tuesday 6th of January

The orcas are still here!

The weather was not exactly what the forecast announced – lots of snow instead of full sunshine. But the most important thing was that we found them!

Going out to Vestfjord we saw a fishing boat and our driver Paal called them to ask if they had seen orcas this morning. The answer was negative, but he would inform us if he saw something. And only a few seconds later he called back with the message that he saw some whales. Fantastic news! Just outside Lødingen we found a group, or it could also be two groups. They were easy to follow and since they were swimming on both sides of the boat everyone had a very good view on them….between the snowflakes. Even when they were close to the zodiac it was almost impossible to take pictures due to the snowstorm. But very nice to see them in this weather as well. We followed them for a while, heading out of Vestfjord. When we were a little cold and returning to the harbour, we found another group on the way in to Tysfjord!

Again several groups in the area today! We are so happy with that! Happy tourists, happy captains, happy crew:)

Lynne

Monday 5th of January

And again!!

With the big boat we went straight to the area where we saw the orcas yesterday and very soon we spotted them again close to Rotvær. Great! The third day in a row now! At first we only saw a big male coming up several times, before the rest of the group showed up as well. This time it was a group of at least 10 animals and again there was a very young baby with them. The zodiac arrived as well and both of us had a great time watching the whales. Sometimes they disappeared for a while, but we always managed to find them again.

After our orca watching the zodiac went home and Leonora went to Lødingen to refill the fuel. On the way home it was snowing and everyone got covered with a thin white layer. Beautiful to see:) It was very dark, but some of us managed to see the orcas very briefly again! Around 15:00 we arrived in the harbour of Korsnes and on the road to the hotel we met an elk again!

Let´s hope that the orcas will stay around until the end of the season….and even longer….

Lynne

Sunday 4th of January

After yesterday´s success it felt like today was gonna be a perfect day for one of those unforgettable adventures. And indeed, what happened today was just incredible, so many orcas around!

It all started when we on the big boat found a big group nearby Rotvær. After a while we got company of the zodiac and together we followed them for a very very long time into Tjeldsund. And it was so beautiful, and it was so nice! The whole scenery was just breathtaking - oily flat sea, very white snowy mountains, fresh air, fantastic light,…. And somewhere in this stunning picture there were orcas and sea eagles and two boats - a big one and a smaller one - with on board a bunch of happy whale watchers:)

The weather was very capricious today. I don´t know how many times it changed from snow to clear sky and back, but for sure it was many times. On the way back home we met another group close to Barøy and another one at Bekkenesholmen. When Leonora arrived at the second group at first they were swimming very slowly and relaxed and then they rested a little while at the surface before continuing their activities.

It was not only a super day on the sea, also the nature safari on land was extraordinary! When they arrived by car at Tysnes there was a small group of orcas feeding only a few meters from the shore! How great can it be?!

As a bonus we met an elk on the way home. Everyone – the sea and the land people - returned to the hotel with a big smile on his face:)

What an amazing day! This is how it´s supposed to be…. It was simply perfect! This was one of those spectacular winter days in northern Norway!! And we enjoyed every single second of it:)

Lynne

Saturday 3rd of January

Many orcas in the fjord!! The first ones of 2009!!

Just before going to the boats we received a phone call that there were whales between Korsnes and Bekkenesholmen. So with good hope and high expectations, but also a bit anxious about losing them we went on the zodiacs. Full steam ahead!

We split up in order to increase our chances to find them and after a short while we saw the first black fins appearing! Yes! After all those windy days without whales….

It was a rather big group and they had some very young ones with them. We followed them out of Tysfjord and a few times they came towards the boat and we had some closer encounters. In the beginning they were split up so that every zodiac could watch its own part of the group. Afterwards we watched them together. The weather was very nice, with flat sea and fluffy pink clouds. It was really great to see them swimming in the orange and pink light. Fantastic!

And these were not the only orcas in the area! There was also a group around Barøy and another one in Kanstadfjord. Three groups in total, plenty of orcas!

More days like this I would say:)

Lynne

Friday 2nd of January

Today was eagle day! On the way to Korsnes we saw one catching a fish and having a hard time to fly up again. He was flapping and flapping with his wings, trying to take off and it took him quite a while before he was actually airborne again! An impressive sighting with a happy end:) At least for the eagle. The next eagles appeared on the rocks in the harbour. And also from the zodiac there were a lot of hungry eagles to see - they came from everywhere! Maybe they got hungry after the storm?

We also saw a little puffin sitting in the water and trying to escape from the boat. He tried to fly up in that funny puffin way. But he didn´t manage and just took some distance to the boat.

The weather was great! Some snow, but this didn´t decrease the visibility too much. And finally, after many days with a lot of wind, it was very calm on the water and we were able to go out in Vestfjord again. We could see very far thanks to the flat sea and good light conditions.

On the way back to the harbour our attention got caught by a group of birds on the water. We know that this can mean whales, and if they would have been around, we would have seen them with this perfect weather. But we didn´t…. Had they been there at the moment that we were not there, were they around maybe, or was this just something else??

Lynne

Thursday 1st of January

Last night we had some nice fireworks to start the new year:)

This morning we left under a clear sky and immediately we saw 4 sea eagles sitting on the rocks in the harbour of Korsnes! Very close to our boat! A few minutes later the nice light disappeared and that was the start of another snowy day in Tysfjord…. Super nice with the snow….but also super difficult to spot any whales….

Just before mooring the zodiacs we saw a male elk in the little harbour of Sjøvoll.

Eagles, gulls, cormorants, an elk....plenty of animals….but where are the orcas??

Lynne