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 News from Around the Americas | February 2005 
It's (Northern) Whale Watching Season Again
 Langley Times
 March is fast approaching and so are about 25,000 gray whales en route from Mexico along North America's west coast.
Ucluelet, Tofino and Pacific Rim National Park are celebrating the migration of these whales March 19-27, with the 19th Annual, nine-day Pacific Rim Whale Festival.
Besides watching whales, over 70 events are planned, including Ucluelet's famous "Chowder Chow Down," a seafood chowder competition among local restaurants dotting the west coast between Ucluelet and Tofino. For a few toonies, taste and judge the best for yourself.
Cheer for your favorite float in the "Parade of Whales" along Tofino's historic Main Street. Or, watch local "Artists in Action" in Ucluelet, Tofino and in Pacific Rim National Park. Opening ceremonies on the beach next to the Park's Wickaninnish Interpretive Center include a totem pole-raising ceremony by the Ucluelet First Nations people, sandcastle building and a Tug-o-Whale between Ucluelet and Tofino.
On the edge of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in the heart of the largest coastal temperate rainforest in the world, sit Pacific Rim National Park and the villages of Ucluelet and Tofino (populations 1,800 and 1,600). Perched on the Pacific Ocean and surrounded by millennia-old rain forest, the area is well poised to witness the gray whale migration.
Once declared extinct, these 35-ton wandering giants return en mass after winter breeding in Mexican lagoons. At its peak in March, some 25,000 gray whales pass waters during spring migration, often within five kilometers of the rugged west coast shore. The whales are headed for their summer feeding ground in the Arctic's Bering and Chukchi seas, where they will feed voraciously to gain back the third of their body weight lost during migration.
"You can literally watch whales 30 to 40 feet right off the rocky coast here," says Steve Sperger of the Pacific Rim Whale Festival. Although gray whales are flooding the waters during spring migration, orca and humpback whales can be seen as well.
As winter storms begin to subside, a hike along Ucluelet's 8.5 km Wild Pacific Trail offers an exceptional vantage point, especially at Amphitrite Point Lighthouse.
Adventure-seekers can watch up close on zodiac or floatplane tours or rent a surfboard to take advantage of waves averaging 3-5 feet, reaching 6-8 feet on good days.
For details on the Pacific Rim Whale Festival, visit www.pacificrimwhalefestival.org or call (250)726-7798. To receive an information package outlining 2005 Festival events, plus local attractions and services, please call Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce at (250) 726-4600 or the Tofino Long Beach Chamber of Commerce (250) 725-3414.
Ucluelet is a four-hour drive and Tofino a five-hour drive from Victoria, BC. Each is about a 45-minute flight from both Vancouver and Seattle. |
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