Sun and wind from the North were the connotation of today’s tours. We sailed out from Akureyri and found two humpback whales feeding independently from each other before Hjalteyri. Marie our current best friend and one of the two whales we had seen earlier this week had made its way South. We got to see really close looks of the flukes and enjoyed their presence for over an hour before heading back to the harbour. Another Sunday very well spent!
Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth
Wind from the North made sailing a kind of chilly experience, still we truly enjoyed the wilderness of the fjord today. After 45 minutes of sailing we found yesterdays humpback again and loved watching it. Especially when it came directly towards us while we were stopped! We stayed with it for a while and on our way back we could spot a minke whale which was travelling very fast. A pleasant whale watching experience on this May day.
Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth
A beautiful day out on the fjord today, our morning was super exciting as we had a BREACHING whale. It really didn´t take us long before we found our first whale today. The happy humpback whale displaying all sorts of wonderful behaviour including breaching (jumping out of the water), head slapping and pec slapping. We watched this whale in awe as it swam about. After viewing this whale for some time we headed off and found ourselves a minke whale. This whale was also very viewer friendly as it popped up many times allowing us a fantastic view of the whale. On our afternoon tour we again found the beautiful humpback who was once again wonderful to watch. Another wonderful day out on the fjord.
Pictures and text by Tess Hudson
Windy and chilly times in the fjord on our two RIB tours. We got quite soaked out there, but had great fun jumping over the waves. Everyone definitely could tell that the ocean is rather salty here. There conditions did of course not stop the humpback whales from making an appearance. We ended up spending time with three different individuals. One whale came even right next to the boat to check us out. It was so close that we could have touched it if we wanted. Seeing these giants up close, is worth all the splashes in the world!
Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth
May 1st (the day of the Icelandic horse) started off foggy, a bit wet and with some wind blowing in the fjord. Of course this did not stop us from going out and looking for cetaceans. We sailed out all the way to the west coast of Hrisey and loved spending time with a minke whale. It came up multiple times most likely feeding. In general this individual was behaving a bit different than all the minke whales we have observed so far. This shows again that cetaceans do have different characteristics, personalities even if one likes to see it that way. On our way back we spotted a humpback whale. The same individual which had been here for a few days now. A lovely day in the fjord!
Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth
Spectacular day out on the fjord today! The weather was just exceptional, it was sunny, the fjord was flat and there was barely no wind making sailing a delight. Our tours today managed to spot a range of cetaceans, including: harbour porpoise, minke whale and 3 humpback whales. On our morning tours we were delighted with a playful minke and later found a beautiful humpback that wowed us with some fantastic fluking. In the afternoon two humpbacks were travelling together, surfacing many times. Just exceptional to watch! Cute harbour porpoises were also seen throughout they day. Can’t wait to be back out there on our wonderful fjord.
Pictures and text by Tess Hudson
The wind has returned into the fjord from Southeast, but luckily it stayed dry throughout the day. We sailed out to the same area as yesterday and found the same humpback whale, now known as Marie. We just really like this individual, it comes close to the boats, shows its fluke almost every time and does not go for very long dives. Fluke pictures were guaranteed! The passengers on our RIB tour could additionally enjoy a harbour seal just outside of Akureyri. Another fun day in the fjord.
Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth
Full summer in the Fjord! Sunday greeted us with full sun and completely flat sea giving us perfect conditions to look for cetaceans. The morning tour we started slower than usual as recent sightings we’ve been having quite deep in the Fjord and we didn’t want to miss on anything. We had 3 species tour! First we spotted few Harbor porpoises, then a Minke Whale and finally a Humpback Whale. We stayed a bit longer with the last one and enjoyed him on the surface several times. On the way back we spotted 2 more different individuals of Minke Whales which was great and unexpected! In the afternoon we went on the Express tour so it was easier to follow very sneaky animals this time. We found same individuals as in the morning but they were changing directions a lot and not easy to follow but we found again same Humpback whale and two Minkes. Can’t wait to go out there tomorrow!
Pictures and Text by Ania Wojcik
Gorgeous conditions awaited our passengers in the fjord today. Calm seas, sunshine and beautiful cetaceans. Hence, we sailed out eager and with sun in our faces. And we did not have to wait long until we saw our first blow. A big humpback whale surfaced right in front of us and delighted us by coming very close, showing the fluke and feeding all around us. Next to that, we saw two minke whales and harbour porpoises. Great conditions, great whales and fun people, what more is there to wish for.
Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth
Another beautiful day out on the fjord! The sea was flat, hardly any wind and the sun was shining. Only 20 minutes after leaving the harbour we were watching whales. A minke whale popped up and continued to delight us for sometime. It was coming up every 4 minutes, occasionally bring its wonderful snout out of the water. While the minke was diving we were kept entertained by the cute harbour porpoises, who were popping up here there and everywhere. Northern fulmars also swooped around the boat allowing us a great look as their beautiful forms. A great day to be sailing.
Pictures and text by Tess Hudson
Summer time has officially started in Iceland and the weather could not have been better. Warm temperatures, a sunny sky and almost no wind made sailing very pleasant on our afternoon tour. We were super excited as we had heard that orcas were in the fjord once more. However, they were moving North fast, so we were not sure if we would find them. Fortuna was kind to us and we ended up catching up with the orcas around Hrisey. It was a pod of 6 individuals that moved slowly around, when we were with them. Absolutely majestic creatures these killer whales are. Their body is just made for life under sea. We were simply in awe! What an amazing way of starting the Icelandic summer!
Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth
What an absolutely beautiful day to be out on the fjord. The fjord was mirror flat, there was practically no wind and it was unseasonably warm. It really didn’t take us any time at all to find our first cetaceans. Just 20 minutes after leaving the harbour we were viewing a wonderful minke whale which surfaced many times. We got to see a lot of this individual as it surfaced all the way around the boat. On todays tour we were also blessed with multiple sightings of the cute harbour porpoises who were popping up here, there and everywhere through the tour. Usually taking pictures of these tiny cetaceans is quite a challenge but today it was almost easy! A wonderful day for an adventure.
Pictures and text by Tess Hudson
Winter is still sticking around in the fjord these days. When we went out in the morning it snowed thick flakes and the mountains had turned white again. Luckily there was almost no wind so that the water was calm as it could be. Many, many harbour porpoises and northern gannets accompanied us throughout the day. We really enjoyed watching them hunting for fish in the area. On top of that we also followed and observed a minke whale for quite some time. It was most likely the same individual we has seen a few days earlier. Great day with lots of wildlife!
Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth
Easter Monday gave us a real feel of spring today. We went out from Akureyri surrounded by plenty of birdlife in the Fjord. We’ve seen guillemots, eider ducks, long tailed ducks, fulmars, seagulls and Gannets! - that are not seen very often here. We went all the way to Hrisey Island staying on the east side of the Fjord and passing lots of harbor porpoises again. The spotlight belongs today to Sei whale and Minky whale that we found on the way back while searching through the west side of Eyafjordur. We could see on 'fish finder' that the area is filled with food for them and it was amazing to see them so active. We had few incredible encounters with the Sei whale when he came very close to the boat. Great tour! We came back late to the harbor but it was totally worth it.
Pictures and Text by: Ania Wojcik
Easter Sunday started off in wonderful calm conditions under a cloudy sky, the wind would freshen up throughout then day, but nothing overalls would not be able to handle. The first highlight we saw, were the first Atlantic Puffins in the fjord. We do not have too many of them nesting in Eyjafjörður and enjoy every encounter with these cuties tremendously. Afterwards a minke and one humpback whale made their appearances. In the afternoon due to engine trouble we borrowed our friends boat and had a really nice time with the humpback we had seen earlier. We are really grateful that we can rely on our friends in the fjord and we wish everyone HAPPY EASTER!
Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth
Stunning tour today full of rainbows, harbor porpoises and very photogenic white beaked dolphins! We had incredible weather, we started the tour again from Dalvik and it was a great call. The morning tour had to be cancelled due to unfavorable sea conditions but in the afternoon we had full sun, still some waves but it didn’t stop us from finding big group of dolphins and lots of harbor porpoises on the way. We didn’t even have to follow them as they were simply surrounding us. We had few nice encounters before we had to head back but as it often happens with surprises on the way back the tour was not over yet - a harbor seal popped up right next to us. She showed up again two more times, unfortunately being very quick and keeping the distance but definitely checking us out. We didn't manage to capture that on pictures this time but I hope she'll stay around the Fjord so maybe we could find her again tomorrow.
Pictures & Text: Ania Wojcik
Another beautiful day to be out in the Fjord. Both tours today we started and finished in Dalvik. The morning tour we begun from scanning east side Hrisey Island area and went all the way to the light house. We found a group of Harbor porpoises on the way but they were quite shy around us and disappeared quickly. It took us a longer while to find a blow on the west side of Hrisey but we found a Humpback Whale. He was active and feeding, not easy to follow and going for dives without showing the fluke so we were not able to identify him this time but we stayed with him rest of the tour. In the afternoon unfortunately the weather got worse and we were not able to find any cetaceans. We gave complimentary tickets to everybody. The waves should calm down by the evening so hopefully we see more tomorrow!
Pictures and Text: Ania Wojcik
What a lovely day to be sailing of the fjord, we had a bit of wind but sailing was easy. It seems the birds were out to delight us today. The Northern gannets were practicing the wonderful art of plunge diving, where they fly high up into the air fold back their wings and shoot into the waters surface to catch fish. When plunging into the water they can reach speeds of up to 100km per hour. Other birds seen on the tour include: long tailed duck, eider duck, common guillemot, black guillemot, black headed gull, kittiwake and northern fulmar. A few harbour porpoises popped up to join us for a while but no larger cetaceans were seen, so complimentary tickets were given out. However, the birds, and, of course the beautiful landscape made a beautiful voyage.
Picture by Babsi Neubarth and text by Tess Hudson
Stormy weather from Southeast expected us this morning when we went out from Dalvik. Thankfully it did not rain, but the swells splashed us from time to time. We searched long and hard but unfortunately had to give out complimentary tickets to all our passengers as no fins were spotted. In order to increase our chances in the afternoon we went out from Akureyri and searched a different part of the fjord. After about two hours we were fortunate enough to encounter a baleen whale. This individual came quite close and we got some nice looks. The crew is still not sure though whether it was a larger minke or a small sei whale. We will have to take a closer look at all the pictures and will got out tomorrow once more to look for the majestic creatures of the sea.
Text and pictures by Babsi Neubarth
We sure had some adventures out on the fjord today, sailing from Árskógssandur we were able to travel all the way round Hrisey island and were able to view some spectacular landscape, which is still snow covered. On the tour many bird species were out and about including: northern fulmar, northern gannet, long tailed duck, eider duck, black headed gull, common and black guillemot. It was a bit windy and wavy out there today which made sailing an enjoyable adventure. Unfortunately, there were not any cetaceans to be seen today, so complimentary tickets were issued to passengers. Hopefully they will be back to delight us tomorrow.
Pictures and text by Tess Hudson
