A TALE OF PUFFINS AND WHALES
Christel Loman has joined one of our “GG2 Big Whale Safari and Puffins” RIB speedboat tours this season. In her blog “Vijftig tinten groen” about Iceland, she dedicated a whole article to her experience with us and to the wildlife that she encountered on the tour:
"We booked tickets through the internet for a trip with Gentle Giants Whale Watching. [...] They do trips with a large boat, but also with a somewhat smaller and super fast RIB boat, a rubber boat that is very agile and that you can sail with very fast. The program included a visit to Lundey [Puffin Island], known for its huge puffin colony, and then the whales.
I can only say that the employees of Gentle Giants treated us very nicely. We all wore a wind- and waterproof suit, life jackets, gloves and goggles, because it can be quite windy at sea. We received a (biodegradable) plastic bag to protect our camera, and we set off.
Our guide knew a lot about the island, about the birds, and about Iceland. Puffins are called the clowns of the sea, because of their beautifully colored beak, and their special appearance. […] The birds are not found all year round in Iceland, 80% of their lives they spent at sea, they do everything there! The only reason to come ashore is because they have to lay eggs and let the little ones grow up. On Puffin Island, off the coast of Húsavík, you will find a large population of birds, but only for a few months a year. We sailed to the island and stopped here for a while to enjoy the thousands of birds. There were so many that I didn't know where to look and take photos! […]
Earlier in the day, humpback whales were seen, and so we went looking. Everyone on the boat searched intently for a "blow", proof that there are whales, because their breathing causes a huge cloud of steam that you can see from a great distance. Even before we had seen something, our skipper gave a huge pulse of gas: he had seen a "blow"!
The feeling that you get when you skim over the water on your way to such a huge whale is indescribable, it is exciting, but so incredibly cool! And then you are there: a humpback whale that gives a few big hits with its enormous tail! […]
Humpback whales are large, very large. They are called the acrobats of the sea, because they regularly jump out of the sea and then let themselves fall down with a huge splash. Unfortunately, we did not see that, but we enjoyed the show that the animals were providing. Humpback whales feed around Iceland - and they feed a lot. Due to almost 24 hours daylight during the summer months, there is a lot of plankton in the sea during this period. Plankton attracts fish whilst fish attracts humpbacks and other whales.
And whales attract people... I thought it was great to be able to admire these animals so close. […] Gentle Giants keeps a neat distance and does not linger on one animal for too long. They tell a lot about the animals, and therefore you become aware of nature again and how carelessly we [humans] deal with it. Often whales are spotted really close to a vessel as they seem to be curious about boats, investigate things, and then go their way again."
The original article in Dutch can be found on following link:
https://yoo.rs/encaustichris/blog/vijftig-tinten-groen-vijftig-tinten-groen-walvissafari-1568727062.html
PHOTO CREDIT: Christel Loman
