We've had a Whale of a time!!

The girls returned full of smiles and stories about their first experience of being hosted; many were disappointed that they could not spend more time with the families.

The first item on the agenda was the eagerly anticipated whale-watching trip on the Zodiac speed boats. Before we set sail everyone had to put on plenty of layers and then a floatation suit, rather like a very padded onesie! 

We certainly needed all the warm clothing as we headed out at speed towards the area where our knowledgeable skipper believed was our best chance of a killer whale sighting. It wasn't long before the first pod appeared swiftly followed by a second pod. All the killer whales in the area are tagged and named and were 'introduced' to us!! Amazing....Miss Jones said we would have a whale of a time....and we did!!

The journey back to the harbour was full of thrills and spills and twists and turns to add to the excitement ( how some girls slept through that is beyond me....I suspect travel sickness tablets played their part!).

After a quick bite to eat if was off to Saanich Sports Centre to play netball against Victoria. Their team consisted of the only 9 ladies in Victoria, Vancouver Island, to play the sport; they were very excited to have some opposition to play against. Their centre, Sarah, went to Bolton School and remembers playing against Merchant Taylors! The game was competitive and played in an excellent spirit, the final score being 23-17 to the more mature Victoria team. Merchants and Victoria then joined forces to form mixed teams and enjoy another match. Our visit is to be used to promote the sport of netball on Vancouver Island.

The post match socialising was thoroughly enjoyed by both teams and our girls were given yummy Nanaimo Bars by the Victoria Ladies Team as a post match treat before being collected by our Victoria host families for the next two nights.

Miss Jones and Mrs Miller were fascinated by the sport of pickleball being played on our arrival at the sports centre by some energetic islanders. It is a combination of tennis, badminton and short tennis....perhaps it could be introduced into our curriculum in the future? ...google it to find out the rules.

Tired bloggers Miller and Jones