Author: laki

  • Humpbacks galore and pilot whales

    Humpbacks galore and pilot whales

    WHALE WATCHING WESTFJORDS
    05/07/2017: We had three tours with humpbacks today out of Hólmavík in the Westfjords and the morning tour also saw a group of spread-out pilot whales.
    On the first two tours of the day we did find a number of humpbacks but they were staying down quite a long time and not lifting their tails very much. We stayed out a little longer on both tours to ensure that our passengers got to see at least a couple of nice whale tails. The morning tour got to see a little pilot whale tail as well as, eventually, a humpback fluke. 


    The 16:30 tour happened to be the lucky ones today as we saw two larger humpback whales feeding not far below the surface. They were coming up a lot, sometimes filtering water out their mouths, and then going straight back down again for more. We also got to see three other humpbacks out in the fjord on this tour as well, but the feeding ones were the highlight. 

    We are starting to get to know some of our regular humpbacks here, but on the 2pm tour we got to see three new whales we have not seen before in the fjord here. Judith (Tour guide) 


    #lakitours #holmavik #westfjords #westiceland #westfjordsiceland#iceland #icelandnature #whales #whalewatching #humpbacks#humpbackwhales #humpbackwhale #pilotwhales #blackfish

     

  • Minke whales and sperm whales

    Minke whales and sperm whales

    WHALE WATCHING SNÆFELLSNES

    05/07/2017: We had one afternoon tour and set out towards the East first, where we spotted a Minke whale that came up a few times next to the boat. After some travel time back towards west, we then spotted a sperm whale blow several kilometers away, but this whale went on a deep dive before we could get close enough. Luckily, we spotted three more sperm whales much closer, and they lifted their flukes up into the air for us. We could also see puffins, Arctic terns, and skuas on this trip.
    Marie (Spotter)
    #lakitours #boattour #whalewatching #whales #spermwhale #cachalot#pottwal #minkewhale #zwergwal #nature #wildlife #ocean #landscape#birdlife #puffins #terns #skua #Iceland #Westiceland #July

     

  • Puffins as a daily bonus!

    Puffins as a daily bonus!

    WHALE WATCHING WESTFJORDS
    04/07/2017: On our three tours today we got to see three species on two of them. On both the first and third trips we saw humpback, Minke and pilot whales. On the middle tour we saw both the humpbacks and pilot whales.
    First thing this morning we had stunning conditions where the sea was like a mirror. We could see our first humpback whale before we even threw the lines off to leave the harbour!
    On the middle tour the whales were a little harder for us and we stayed out a bit longer to ensure that everyone on the boat got to see some of the pilot whales and a couple of nice humpback flukes.
    On the third tour we got to see one of the pilot whales belly up, slapping its long pectoral fins on the water, showing us how their got their full name, the long-finned pilot whale. 


    We get to see puffins every day here on the whale watch, and today we saw a lot of puffins out on the water. They are an added bonus! Judith (Tour guide)


    #lakitours #holmavik #westfjords #westiceland #westfjordsiceland#iceland #icelandnature #meetusdonteatus #whalewatching #whales#humpbacks #humpbackwhales #minkewhale #pilotwhales #blackfish#puffins #puffin #nature

     

  • Sperm whales!

    Sperm whales!

    WHALE WATCHING SNÆFELLSNES
    04/07/2017: Once again the sperm whales were the stars of our tours! In the morning we spent a lot of time observing at least five different individuals. Towards the end of the tour we got the closest look at one of the sperm whales that came up from a deep dive just next to the boat. We also observed a Minke whale briefly on this trip. In the afternoon, we started with a long scout towards the West, and came across a small group of harbour porpoises, and as we came back towards the East there was one sperm whale showing the fluke. We then also got really good looks at a Minke whale before returning to the harbour.
    Marie (Spotter)


    #lakitours #boattour #whalewatching #whales #spermwhale #cachalot#pottwal #minkewhale #zwergwal #porpoises #harbourporpoise #nature#wildlife #ocean #landscape #Iceland #Westiceland #July

     

  • Sperm whales and white beaked dolphins

    Sperm whales and white beaked dolphins

    WHALE WATCHING SNÆFELLSNES
    03/07/2017: Both our whale watching tours out of Ólafsvík today were very successful. On our morning tour, we did not even have to go far into the deeper waters of Breidafjörður to spot a sperm whale – we found one right at the beginning of the tour! As we continued our journey, we soon also came across a playful pod of white-beaked dolphins that were leaping out of the water and approaching the bow of the boat. After we had then travelled along the peninsula for a while, we met orcas at the peninsula tip going South, and it was wonderful to watch them travelling parallel to the boat.
    On our way home, we spotted dolphins once again! In the afternoon, we, once again, started out with the sperm whales – this time we got to see three beautiful flukes going up and down in front of our boat. This was followed by an amazing killer whale sighting with three core groups that we could observe actively hunting the herring. If you would like to try and find whales with us, you can come out on a trip tomorrow, either at 10am or 2pm!
    Marie (Spotter)
     
  • Stunning pilot whales

    Stunning pilot whales

    WHALE WATCHING WESTFJORDS

    03/07/2017: Once again our three tours out of Hólmavík were very successful. We had humpback whales on all three tours, so we keep our 100% success rate with seeing them here, and we also saw pilot whales on the morning trip.
    The morning started very calm and almost sunny! This made the sightings of the pilot whales and humpbacks stunning to photograph.
    On both the afternoon tours we saw three humpback whales feeding not far below the surface. At times we could see them come up filtering water out of their baleen as they surfaced and we got some incredibly close looks at them as we just drifted, not moving the boat, and they surfaced next to us after a feeding dive, often then going straight back down for more. It’s good to see them looking like they are getting lots to eat in our fjord, Steingrímsfjörður. Do come and join us at 9.30, 14 or 16.30. Judith (Tour guide)


    #holmavik #westfjords #westiceland #westfjordsiceland #iceland#icelandnature #nature #humpback #humpbacks #humpbackwhales#whalewatching #whales #pilotwhales #blackfish #grindwal #lakitours

     

  • Three very different successful tours

    Three very different successful tours

    WHALE WATCHING WESTFJORDS

    02/07/2017: Today we had three very different, but all successful whale watches out of Hólmavík. On the morning tour it started slow, with difficult humpbacks that were staying down a long time. But good things come to those who wait, and right at the end we had an incredible few minutes with the two most curious humpbacks we have yet seen here in Hólmavík (see video posted earlier).
    The second tour also had a slow start and we had to drive all the way behind Grimsey Island before we found our first whale. It was a small humpback that when we first saw it was doing a little lunge feeding. It was surrounded by thousands of birds, mostly Arctic terns and many puffins. We then found another whale on the way home that gave us a great close look and a fluke.


    On the third tour we saw three different humpbacks, all of which gave us great looks at their tails and were not taking long dives. One in particular was a new whale we had not seen here before, and it lifted its tail high out of the water and gave it a little swish on the way down! Judith (Tour guide)


    #holmavik #lakitours #westfjords #westiceland #iceland#westfjordsiceland #whales #whalewatching #nature #icelandnature#humpbacks #humpbackwhale #humpbackwhales

     

  • Choppy seas but an enjoyable ride

    Choppy seas but an enjoyable ride

    WHALE WATCHING SNÆFELLSNES
    02/07/2017: We had one whale watching tour this morning and made our way through Breidafjörður in search of whales. In the deeper waters, we got to see two sperm whale flukes going down. We admired the first one a bit from a distance, but got a closer look at the second individual. The sea was choppy today and our passengers enjoyed riding the waves. Weather conditions are ideal tomorrow, however, and we are running two tours at 10am and 2pm.
    Marie (Spotter)

    #lakitours #boattour #whalewatching #whales #spermwhale #cachalot#pottwal #Iceland #Westiceland #nature #wildlife #ocean #sunshine#landscape #July #summer

     

  • Mirror-like waters of Breiðarfjörður

    Mirror-like waters of Breiðarfjörður

    WHALE WATCHING SNÆFELLSNES
    01/07/2017: In extremely calm sea conditions, two sperm whale flukes went up and down next to our boat today. It was a sight to behold in the mirror-like waters of Breidafjörður. We could see for kilometers ahead of us, and also spotted two sperm whale flukes going down really far away. Every bird sitting on the water looked really big, even the small puffins, and it was awesome to observe the fulmars mirrored in the water while flying low along the boat. We are hoping for more stunning weather in the next few days, and we are running one trip tomorrow at 10am!
    Marie (Spotter)
    #lakitours #boattour #whalewatching #whales #spermwhale #pottwal#cachalot #nature #wildlife #ocean #calm #seas #Iceland #Westiceland#July

  • Spectacular show of humpbacks!

    Spectacular show of humpbacks!

    WHALE WATCHING WESTFJORDS

    01/07/2017: Well, you certainly have to have a bit of luck often when you choose to go whale watching and our morning passengers today in Hólmavík certainly had that. With only three of them we had one jump from a humpback for each of them! We saw three breaches and a spectacular tail throw from one humpback, as well as another humpback and a close Minke whale.
    Both afternoon tours we got to see one humpback whale and a new treat for our new whale watching here, a very playful group of white-beaked dolphins. On both tours the dolphins were quite active, riding the bow wave of the boat and spectacularly leaping out of the water. So the afternoon passengers also got to see leaping animals too! On the last tour we also saw a lunging Minke whale in the distance, and the dolphins playing around a humpback whale. If you enjoy being close to nature and the only boat around whales, come whale watching with Láki Tours at either of our beautiful destinations. What a day! Judith (Tour guide)

    #lákitours #lakitours #holmavik #westfjords #westiceland #iceland#icelandnature #westfjordsiceland #whalewatching #whales#humpbackwhales #humpbackwhale #humpbacks #breach #dolphins#whitebeakeddolphins #nature #minkewhale