It has always been my family's dream holiday to go whale watching and a few weeks ago my parents and I travelled to the west coast of Canada to see the sights and wildlife native to the area. We arrived at Sooke Whale Watching on the first misty and grey morning we had since we arrived in British Colombia.
We were guided to an office, given survival suits and walked down a wooden jetty towards a 14-man orange rib which seemed quite small beside a 30- ton humpback whale and while I would have felt safer in a bigger boat it wouldn't have offered the same experience.
We sped off into the misty grey Pacific and checked in with the other whale watching companies in the area to see if there were any sightings. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a loud burst of water spouted from a humpback's blow hole.
It was only about 100 metres away from us in our exposed rubber rib but my nervousness immediately dissolved in the excitement of seeing one of nature's most impressive creatures. The humpback seemed to follow the rib, playing and slapping its pectoral fins against the water as if it was waving us over. It was incredible.
The guide told us that it was the first time this year the whales had made such a display and I felt so honoured to be able to witness it first hand. He went on to mention how used to human presence they are and how it is very rare they ever come so close to the boat. It was the most surreal experience and it is no wonder whale watching is the biggest tourist attraction in the area.
Tourists travel from all over the world to visit this beautiful part of Canada and it saddens me to think that five people have lost their lives. My thoughts and condolences are with the families of those who died in this horrific tragedy.
