One of the main things we did in Tromso was the silent whale watching cruise through the fjords with Brim Explorer, where we were able to see a pod of Orcas (Killer Whales) in the wild! Hallie has always had a love for orcas so this was one of the reasons we decided on Tromso for Christmas. It was an absolutely incredible experience to see these intriguing animals in the wild and just cruising through the Fjords was spectacular in itself! It’s a breathtaking, other-worldly landscape.
Below is a video I put together on Instagram, if you’re able to watch it you’ll see a shot of the orca’s fins swimming close to the boats. It probably the best footage I got of the orcas but you can see some in the photos below, as well as the beautiful scenery.
The Brim Explorer’s boat is a high speed, hybrid-electric boat designed to reduce the impact on the wildlife of the Fjords. We boarded the boat at 9am in the morning and it took about 2.5 hours to get out to the part of the Fjords where the Orcas are known to feed on herring. The inside of the boat was warm and comfortable and while it was possible to go out on the decks and enjoy the view, the wind and wind chill factor was pretty extreme due to the speed at which the boat was travelling. I went out quite a few times to take photos but only for a few minutes each time.
We came prepared with lots of snacks, a packed lunch and plenty of games and colouring pens for the girls as there wasn’t much else to do other than enjoy the view. The two lovely crew members gave intermittent talks about the Arctic climate and lifestyle. Many passengers were sleeping or watching movies on their phones but I was just so obsessed with the scenery.
Once we arrived into the area of the fjords off the Island of Skjervoy, the boat slowed down to a much steadier pace, making it was easier to spend time on the deck. Over the next hour and half, the captain and crew would alert the passengers to sightings of the orcas and everyone would head to side of the boat that gave the best view. The pod of orcas was made up of possibly 8 different orcas and we mainly saw their dorsal fins and backs swimming through the water. At one point though, the orcas came very close to the boat and I saw one of the orcas eyes and face! Amazing! But I didn’t have time to get the phone out for a photo. The captain also announced a few times that they could see a humpback whale but I never caught a glimpse of it.
In the photos below, you can see a glimpse of the dorsal fins of the orcas…
Once the daylight started to disappear around 1:30pm, we headed back towards Tromso. The crew members gave a number of talks about whales and orcas with loads of interesting information. They also served a limited amount of soup that you could pre-purchase, but we had packed enough food to keep us going. They did have free coffee refills which was very welcome!
Overall, this was a fantastic day trip with the kids. Even with the extreme cold, it was a conformatable way to see the spectactular sceney of the Norwegian Fjords and having the opportunity to see a pod of Orcas in the wild was truly a once in the a life time experience. It’s uncommon to see them off the coast of Australian, unlike humpback whales.
