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I knew this was going to be a holiday that would be a bit out of the ordinary. After a journey through icy mountains, past frozen lakes, snowy Christmas trees and moose warning road signs, to what felt like the remotest place I’d been from civilisation, I realised why Discover The World, who had brought us to Norway, are one of the very few holiday companies which run tours to Tysfjord, one of the best places in the world to see killer whales. There were 25 of us in the group from all walks of life ranging from Alice who was seven (who had won her trip by doing a sponsored walk for whales) to John, who must have been 70. Some people were real whale and birdwatching boffins, some had come on romantic breaks and some people like me had come to experience a totally different kind of holiday. Out on the fjord, motoring along on a former trawler turned whale-safari boat the next morning, the wind was bitter, but we were all excitedly scanning the horizon for the vapoury blows of the orcas, with our cameras ready. Even before we saw any whales it was like being in a surreal, magical kingdom. The sun was slowly rising around half past nine, colouring the snow capped mountain peaks surrounding the narrow fjord pink. Prewarned to wear oilskins, I thought the sea would be rough, but the water, which was an unearthly pale blue shade, was almost still. We had been briefed on how around 450 orcas follow the Atlantic shoal of herring into the fjords of north Norway from October to February, but it was really exciting seeing the first plumes of spray from their blows. As we got closer, their black fins breaking the surface as they porpoised along, rising and falling in the water with a synchronised rhythm. There were about six whales in the first pod, although it was hard to keep track of them because you could never tell where they were going to come up next. The females had small curved fins, but the males had the kind of tall triangle-shaped fins that conjure up visions of Jaws. Even though the males were huge and seemed to be swimming around alone, our whale scientist Chantal Forsaa told us that the pods are matriarchal and that the family group stay together for life, just joining other pods to mate and hunt. It was the hunting bit which was concerning me when considering our Discover The World guide, Tony Pym’s, cunning plan about how we would get really good photos of the whales. After chatting to a local Zodiac owner in the hotel bar the previous night, he had managed to secure us some time on the water in this tiny inflatable. And when we found a large group of orcas hunting a huge shoal of herring, which were so terrified that they were actually jumping out of the water to try to avoid being eaten, he decided this was the right moment for us to get really close to the killer whales. Orcas are called killer whales because some of them are whale killers (Spekkhogger blubber biters in Norwegian). Transient pods have adapted different methods of hunting; some hunt great whales like wolf packs biting off their tails and then eating them while they drown, some snatch seal pups off the beach in Patagonia, Tony said he had seen them knocking penguins off icebergs, but we had been assured that the resident Norwegian population had a 98 per cent herring diet. They have adapted a unique way of hunting their herring, by terrifying it into tight balls by swimming around it and then stunning the tightly packed fish by bashing it with their tails. So we skiffed into the middle of it. It was amazing; as soon as we were right down on the water, watching the shiny black backs of whales arcing up on all sides, it was as if I had eaten a no fear pill. From clinging on for dear life as we bounced along in the rubber boat, I was hanging out craning around trying to see in all directions. The big males were like huge black submarines going past, and then a female, keeping her little one on her far flank from us, came up. Behind we could see a whale slapping the water with its tail. In front two whales stuck their heads out of the water spy hopping so we could see their white throats and face markings. Some of the younger whales launched themselves backwards out of the water and one lay on its back waggling its paddle-like pectoral flippers in the air to let two males which had joined the pod know that she wasn’t interested in their amorous advances, apparently. It was easy to see why these huge mammals are at the top of the food chain with no predators except man, as they swam along oblivious to us, letting out great puffs of air and spray at the surface and communicating with shrill calls which we could just hear above the screams of the gulls which had come to join in the feast. We saw 28 orcas on the first day, half that on the second, as well as an unexpected pod of around 50 Long Finned Pilot Whales and a huge colony of white tailed eagles which were wheeling above their nesting cliff overlooking the fjord. At night we experienced subzero temperatures,, but we took turns to run out of the warm hotel to monitor the state of the sky. If seeing pods of wild Orcas was surreal, watching aurora borealis, the Northern Lights, swirling across the sky like a glowing alien being, shimmering from yellow and green to pink and fading out, and then coming out from behind the dark mountains like lasers from a rave, was almost unbelievable. On our last morning we clambered up the tundra covered hills, where small streams had frozen while seemingly still in motion, to see some drawings of the orcas, reindeer, moose and hares, marked onto the rock over 4,000 year ago by the native Sammi people. As I lingered behind I heard someone call out and I looked down over the pale blue water backed by rosy, tinged mountains. There, far below, I could see the small black inflatable of Tiu Simila, the Finnish doctor who is studying Norway’s orcas; and popping up behind her boat like miniature characters in a peep show were the whales, their great fins breaking the water as tiny black triangles, followed by their vapoury plumes which were lit up by the sun. FactFile The accommodation at the Tysfjord Turistsenter which includes self contained chalets and hotel rooms is comfortable, clean and most importantly warm. Because activities on Discover The World holidays are done in groups, these tend to be social holidays and it is common for both men and women to travel on their own. Food and drink, especially alcohol, is expensive in Norway, with a half pint of beer costing around £2, a Coke the same, and snack meals around £8. It is advisable to bring Norwegian Kroner with you as places like Tysfjord are remote from banks. Discover The World are an English travel company who specialise in whale, wildlife and wilderness holidays. Some of their other holidays include: six days watching sperm, beaked and pilot whales in the Azores in June, July or August (at £495); four days in Iceland watching orcas, humpback, blue and fin whales and snow skidooing in April or June (£560); five days watching polar bears in Canada in October (£1,095); ten days kayaking with grey whales in January or February in Baja, Mexico (£1,456) and wildlife safaris to Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka. Their sister company Arctic Experience specialises in Arctic holidays. For a brochure phone 01737 218800. Many of the tours are very popular so it is advisable to book well ahead. By JANE BARDON - The Irish News 1998 |
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