California Sea Lion up close!

Ellie and West Coast Aquatic Safaris guests got a treat today on the way down to WASCO for a whale watch. There was a California sea lion right off the dock again today! The sea lion was diving down and coming up to the surface for air. The sea lion was happily rolling around in the water and even managed to find a crab! Our guests were able to get a good close look at the visitor before heading out for their whale watch with Jeff. Want to see the sea lion? Click here and see the video on YouTube! Ellie was very happy to see another sea lion so close up!

West Coast Aquatic Safaris had some great trips today. Our 12:30 bear watch was able to see 3 different black bears! Our whale watches got to see gray whales and humpbacks today! It has been about a week since we last saw a humpback but Jeff found them breaching just off of Long Beach this afternoon. The weather has been amazing here these past few days and we are hoping it holds out! Great time to head out whale and bear watching if you have some time!

New videos on YouTube!

Ever wondered what it's like to take a trip with West Coast Aquatic Safaris on WASCO? Take a look on YouTube and get a glimpse from the view point of one of our previous guests Michael Lee. While out on WASCO Michael captured some great video of the bald eagle's nest with one of the eagles standing right by the nest. Click here to view this video.

The second video shows the sea lions out on the rocks. You can get an idea of just how loud these animals are! Click here if you want to see this video. Thanks to Michael for sending us some of his footage so you can get an idea of what some of the views from WASCO are like! Want some more? Type in West Coast Aquatic Safaris to view all of our vidoes on YouTube!

Today is another beautiful day in Tofino and our 9:30 and 12:30 whale watching trips sold out! Gray whales were spotted up at Yates Point today and Jeff also drove our guests out to Cleland where they were able to get a good view of a sea lion basking in the sun. There was yet another sea lion off the dock by WASCO today again. It came in really close to the docks swimming around!

Dog love

Here at West Coast Aquatic Safaris we are always telling you about all the great animals you will see while out on WASCO here in Tofino. What we forget to mention is the great animals right here in the office at Fourth and Main eager to say hello! Henry and Juliet are important members of the West Coast Aquatic Safaris team and we think they deserve some blog time!

Henry is Keith's little boy and he has grown quite a bit since last summer! He loves running and is always happy to say hello to all the guests coming in. You can either see Henry running the length of Chesterman Beach or hanging out in the office resting up for his next big walk.

Juliet is Ellie's little puppy and she is always happy to say hello. You can typically find her out on the front porch on sunny days waiting to greet anyone who passes by. And if you have the right treats she would be happy to dance for you! She also loves walking our guests down to WASCO and is happy to lead the way down to Fourth Street dock!

Here at West Coast Aquatic Safaris we are a dog friendly environment and invite you to stop in and say hi. The dogs (and our staff!) will be happy to see you!

Orcas are still around...and lots of bears!

There were orcas spotted out near Clover today. West Coast Aquatic Safaris staff are excited that they have been around for a few days. Having been awhile since we last saw orcas it is great that they are staying around for a little while.

West Coast Aquatic Safaris guests had a great bear watch this morning. They were able to see four different black bears on the trip and get nice and close. They got to see them finding crabs. One of them ate the crab right there on the rocks. Another bear decided to take the crab and eat it further back in the bush. They also got to see a black bear rubbing up against a log trying to get an itch! On our bear watching trips you can usually get about 10-15 feet away from the bear. WASCO has a great front deck area for getting up close to take photos. Guests were very excited when they got back. We will be sure to post the winner of the photo of the week contest from this week's trips!

Orcas Spotted!

It was a busy day for wildlife today with lots of activity! West Coast Aquatic Safaris guests got to see a lot of variety on the hot springs trip today. For the first time in over a month orcas were spotted in Cow Bay! Our guests were fortunate enough to see them on the way home from a relaxing soak in the hot springs. There is still speculation as to whether these were transient or resident orcas. We are hoping to know more by tomorrow. Gray whales were also seen in the same bay and two of them did some breaching.

Also along the way to the hot springs our guests were able to see sea lions, bald eagles and even some black bears. There was a lot of wildlife out today and Keith who was driving WASCO made sure to stop for our guests along the way so they could get a good look! Ellie and the guests on their way down to WASCO for the 6:30 bear watch got to see a sea lion up close in the harbor. The sea lion was catching dinner and swimming right by the dock. It was a great day out on the water and on WASCO!

Surfing and whales

Tofino is buzzing with great surfers this weekend. With the Rip Curl surf competition at Cox Bay this weekend lots of people have come out to see some great surfers! With first prize for men being $5000.00 and for ladies $2000.00 it has drawn quite a crowd to see the action.

For those who wanted something other than the surf competition they came to West Coast Aquatic Safaris for whale watching! We had great whale watching trips today with lots of gray whales up in Cow Bay. Two of the grays decided to take a closer look at WASCO and came up close to the boat. There was also plenty of tail fluking as well.

On the way back our guests got to see a sea lion with it's dinner. The sea lion had found a fish and was tossing it up in the air for everyone to see. Jeff who was driving WASCO stopped the boat so everyone could get a good view. On a sunny day like today our guests enjoyed the rooftop seating and walk around deck.

Sunny day

Everyone in Tofino has been enjoying the sunshine for the past couple of days! Staff at West Coast Aquatic Safaris have been enjoying walking our guests down to WASCO and getting some sun! The great weather is getting us excited for the summer! Jeff drove WASCO today and had a great day out on the water. Both the 9:30 and 12:30 whale watch trips got some great views of gray whales. The first trip Jeff headed down to Long Beach and for the second trip he went up to Ahous Bay. The gray whales were rolling around for everyone to see!

Our 3:30 bear watch trip was successful. Our guests were able to view three different black bears. They also enjoyed viewing lots of sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks. They were loving the Tofino sunshine as well!

The weather is looking like it will stay this way for the next couple of days. So take advantage!!!

Gray whales feeding

Jeff one of our drivers on WASCO was happy to find three gray whales today on the outside of Vargas Island. West Coast Aquatic Safaris guests got some great views of the gray whales feeding. There was lots of tail fluking and rolling around in the water. The gray whales were happy to stay where they were too so everyone on WASCO got to view them for quite awhile!

We have a new photo of the week from Ine Demeulemeester. She sent us her shots of a mother and calf gray whale together. The winning shot was put on our homepage with the gray whale pushing out it's tail out of the water. The other photo of the gray whale calf and mother's tails together is here on our blog. It was a tough choice! Come out and get some great shots of your own. The summer is approaching fast and West Coast Aquatic Safaris is happy to say we are booking up fast. Come out and see all the great wildlife Tofino has to offer!

Hot Springs!

It was the perfect day for a trip to the hot springs on WASCO. The weather today was overcast and a bit chilly but it made the hot springs that much more enjoyable! West Coast Aquatic Safaris guests were able to enjoy a cool breeze while staying toasty warm in the hot springs. Some of our guests went even higher up in the springs and found the really hot spots to relax!

Keith was driving WASCO today and certainly didn't mind spending a few hours up at the hot springs with the guests. He always enjoys the opportunity to relax in between trips! Here are a few tips if you decide to come out to Tofino and take the trip up to the hot springs with West Coast Aquatic Safaris:

-Pack a lunch and water! This is a full day trip so be sure you have snacks (no glass please).
-Bring a change of clothes so that you have warm, dry clothes for the trip home.
-A pair of water shoes for the springs can come in handy as it can be slippery

We hope you can join us for a hot springs tour out on WASCO. It's a great ride on WASCO and a wonderful experience once you are there!

Lots of action

It has been a great long weekend so far here at West Coast Aquatic Safaris. West Coast Aquatic Safaris guests have been enjoying all of the great wildlife Tofino has to offer while out on WASCO. Our Saturday trip was treated to two black bears up close. They got to see them searching under rocks for crab and get a good close look at them! The front bow of WASCO allowed our guests to get some great photos!

Our whale watches have been great as well. This morning our guests were treated to two gray whales breaching. On Friday Eva went out on her first whale watch and got to see a gray whale blow right next to WASCO. She was thrilled about the trip and so were all of the guests. Our Saturday morning trip spotted some humpbacks and the sea otters were out in the waters for everyone to see. Lots to see out on WASCO here in Tofino!

Long weekend!

West Coast Aquatic Safaris is excited about the first long weekend of the season! Tofino is already buzzing as people start arriving. We had three whale watching trips go out today with some great sightings. The morning trip was treated to some humpback sightings off of Long Beach. The 12:30 trip was able to see gray whales and sea otters. Our 3:30 trip has just departed and they have seen some gray whales but Jeff is hoping to find some more humpbacks by Long Beach again!

With the weather forecast showing some rain for the long weekend WASCO is a great option for whale and bear watches! Our heated indoor cabin keeps guests warm and dry. And when you are ready to take some photos of the wildlife you can easily step out onto one of our viewing decks with the Helly Hansen jackets we provide which are waterproof!

West Coast Aquatic Safaris hopes that you have a great long weekend whatever you are doing!

We are on Twitter!

West Coast Aquatic Safaris is happy to announce another way to stay up to date on what is happening with us! We are now on Twitter with updates at least two times a day! Click here to see our new Twitter page. We will update you on trips we have had that day, what whales and black bears we have seen and any news that is happening in Tofino or around the office. Don't have time to read a full blog entry? Just check Twitter and get a quick update!

We had a beautiful sunny day today. Jeff was driving WASCO today and found some gray whales. It was a full boat today and things are really starting to get busy here in Tofino. Be sure to book your trips in advance as spaces are becoming limited. Plus when you book online you save 10%.

See you soon!

Happy Mother's Day!

Everyone here at West Coast Aquatic Safaris would like to wish all of the mothers out there a very happy mother's day! The mother's of West Coast Aquatic Safaris staff are located in British Columbia (pictured above Keith with his grandmother and mother), Ontario and all the way in Sweden. We know how important these wonderful ladies have been in our lives and so we hope everyone is able to spend some time with mom today!

Mother's day themed sightings on WASCO include seeing the new eaglets that have hatched in the bald eagle nest. You can see their little heads poking out occasionally. We also had some great sightings of a mother humpback and her calve. The winner of photo of the week captured the calve humpback breaching.

So to all of the mothers out there West Coast Aquatic Safaris hopes that you have a very special day!

Whales whales whales!!!

A beautiful sunny day here in Tofino and to top it off some great trips out on WASCO! West Coast Aquatic Safaris guests were treated to some great whale sightings! They were able to see 7 different humpbacks today. These humpbacks were launching, jumping and breaching. Our guests got a great show!! They were even able to see two humpbacks do a breach at the same time! We also spotted a gray whale in the morning trip as well. So there was lots of activity with the whales today!

Keith, one of the drivers of WASCO was able to collect krill just by reaching out off WASCO so the guests could get a closer look. Guests were also able to see herrings eat the krill just off the surface. There were lots of sea lions out today as well. All of the guests returning to our office were thrilled by the trips and the amazing sightings.

WASCO

Since our blog is always talking about the trips that West Coast Aquatic Safaris goes on we thought it was time to tell you a bit about the boat that makes all of these trips happen! WASCO is our boat and she has some great features that makes our whale, bear, bird watches and hot springs tours so comfortable. She has an indoor heated cabin and we recently upgraded the heating system. So now you can enjoy a toasty ride with windows that are fog free! She also has a satellite stereo and we have added speakers for your listening pleasure!

WASCO has three viewing decks so there are lots of options of places to look at black bears, whales and other wildlife. We have a viewing deck up top that seats 6, a walk around deck that is perfect for getting up close to the bears and a back deck. Our indoor cabin seats 12 comfortably when you want to go inside and warm up!

So come out for a whale, bear or bird watch or a hot springs tour and enjoy a comfortable ride on WASCO!

#1 on Trip Advisor!

West Coast Aquatic Safaris is proud to announce that we are rated the number one attraction in Tofino on Trip Advisor! Take a look and see all the reviews customers have posted! We are thrilled that our whale, bear and hot springs tours have been so popular.

We are really excited about the 2009 season. Jeff and Keith our drivers have been getting some great sightings while out on WASCO. Lots of gray whales have been spotted. We had a special treat and got to see a mother humpback and her calve three days in a row! Our bear watches have been great with lots of black bear spottings. Our customers have been able to get 10-15 feet away from the bears and get some great shots!

Our bird watching tours have started up and we have a great bird guide to explain and spot many of the amazing species of birds that come to Tofino.

Add to that all of the other wildlife you can see including bald eagles, stellar and California sea lions, sea otters and much more! Come out and take a ride on WASCO! See what everyone is talking about!

What our guests have to say...

Here are a few of the comments that have been written in West Coast Aquatic Safaris' guest book after a trip out on WASCO:

"My best day in Canada yet!"
Jane, Liverpool, UK

"Great day! Great Guide! Thanks for all the great views!"
Rodney, Amanda, Klarissa, Duncan B.C.

"Had loads of fun on bear and whale tours!! Thanks!"
Wales, UK

"Cool bears, sweet boat, wicked heated cabin!!"
Danielle, Nik, Langley B.C.

"We saw bears, eagles and harbor seals. Great!! And thanks Keith!"
Holland

Come out on a trip and write your own review! Looking forward to seeing you soon!