Humpback whale swimming in Reykjavik harbour

"It was just incredible. A once-in-a lifetime kind of thing, amazing," says Arinbjörn Hauksson marketing manager of whale watching company Special Tours Wildlife Adventures who captured a video of a humpback whale swimming in Skarfabakki harbour in Reykjavik. 

Boats from the company were sailing between Viðey and Skarfabakki harbour to watch a humpback whale but Arinbjörn drove to Skarfabakki in the hope of seeing the mammal. "We sailed to Skarfabakki and saw that the whale was just swimming at the lighthouse in Skarfabakki and managed to capture this video," he says speaking to mbl.is. "It's incredible seeing such a large mammal just by the harbour. He was right beside us."

Hauksson says that there's plenty of herring in the bay and close to the shore but that it's unusual to see whales this close to the coastline at this time of year. 

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