Unique Orca Expedition in Norway

Anxiety. The feeling before you jump in the water with the Oceans top predator, the only animal that is not killed by another. People back home asked if I was crazy, if I seriously planned an adventure to swim with Killer whales. I confidently responded, “yes, that’s the plan.” Little did I know what we signed up for. The Arctic Circle is not for everyone.

Weeks before the trip, I made sure that I had all the necessary camera equipment for the occasion. Without a doubt, traveling all the way to Norway to swim with orcas required me to pack everything I owned, the gopros, the drones, the tripod, the Nikon, the lenses, but most importantly, the underwater housing for the Nikon. Planning for a trip makes all the difference when it comes to keeping record of it and in this specific case, it was a must to be perfectly prepared. It is a heavy task, literally, to carry the equipment across the world, but totally worth it.

The last Friday of October, my brother and I get down to Tromso, the largest, northernmost city in Norway, a three hours flight from Oslo. This small city is known as an important hub for the northern part of Norway, including the famous Lofoten Islands. It is so small that you can get to know the place in detail in only two days, it wasn’t our case. At around 6 P.M. we boarded a ferry that would take us to a fishing town Northeast of Tromso called Skervjoy. This was only our last pit stop before traveling to our final destintation. We boarded our last ferry. This was actually the moment when the adventure started. Imagine that you are sitting in a train that, because of the waves, moves up and down every five seconds instad of moving forward. It certainly was a tough 45 minute experience.

At last, we arrived to the small “town” of Seglievik, from what I saw, it consists of no more that twenty-five homes that are mostly used during the nightless days of summer. Upon arrival, the staff received us on the dock. We were quite surprised to see that there were no Norwegian’s greeting us, only a French team. The staff coordinated a typical Norwegian dinner, prepared by a native Sami chef. We tasted some local beverage and reindeer meat, both strong and tasty flavors that we had never savored. After dinner, the team went over all the safety procedures for the next days adventure. Many important tips to take into account for the moment of truth. We were then shown to our cabin, a small two bedroom place with a small kitchen and a small living room, pitch-perfect for my brother and me. With all the thrill and jitters that we both were feeling, it was almost impossible to sleep, so we decided to take a walk outside and explore the surroundings just in the perfect moment to stumble upon our first ever Aurora Borealis. What a marvelous welcome it was! This part of the world is known for having the best locations to admire this out of the world phenomenon. No doubt, a Unique moment.

On the morning of our first day, we ate breakfast and got all our equipment ready for the kick of this unforgettable experience at sea. We were trained to put a 10 mm wetsuit on since it is not a usual and easy task. We gathered our gloves, hat, boots and gear and headed out to the harbor. The boats for this kind of expedition were perfect tailor made for the occasion. Fast Zodiacs that sail the sea at high speeds that helped us go across the Fjords way faster than in other boats. Once out of the harbor, the tension rises and our hearts started to pump faster and faster. Everyone is in the lookout for dorsal fins, blows from the blowholes, or any signs that could mark out a whale feasting. To our disappointment, our first two days at sea we were a bit unlucky. We spot a good amount of humpback and fin whales. Although the conditions at sea were a bit rough and we didn’t spot orcas, somehow we knew they were around.

It was until our third day that our luck decided to kick in... after an hour out at sea with perfect sunny conditions, the captain suddenly screamed “ORCAAA”. Her scream was so out of the blue that we thought that she was just messing around with us, but she wasn’t, there they were. The rest is history.... watch the video to relieve our experience.