A Stroll around the countryside.......

Rebecca Spit, Quadra Island

A trip to Quadra Island is a must from here, and being only a ten minute ferry ride we took our bikes and set off to explore this laid-back piece of paradise.

Quadra is home to many artists, health retreats, and a few good bike shops. Famous for being infamous it does have a good network of trails, albeit more for walking, but a local told us of many other trails they have been quietly building over the years.

We cycled from Quathiaski Cove to Rebecca Spit near Heriot Bay, via the community trails, on the far side of the Island and headed north to Morte Lake where we followed some more trails around the lake. Rocky and rooty some sections were a bit challenging but still rideable.

Campbell River From the Ferry to Quadra

   
Didn’t see any bears though, nor did we see any elk, just lots of tourists with campers as big as the average European house. As with any good bike ride the essentials start with a good coffee and finish the same, so we stopped in at Cafe Aroma to fuel up, good coffee.

timetogetnaked.com - Sam Whittingham has his bike shop here. He builds custom bikes and calls the Island home. Check out his website!!

Keen to give our new car a real run, we headed for the north of the island and Port McNeill. The two hour drive through snow capped mountains and numerous lakes was nothing short of breathtaking. Sometimes we were the only vehicle on the road for miles. Once at Port McNeill we hopped a ferry to Alert Bay on Cormorant Island.

Welcome to Alert Bay

It is an ancient and mythical place where a visit to the cultural centre will take you back in time. The First Nations community and traditions are still visible here, along with an impressive display of ‘Potlatch’ items and mask, once confiscated by the government. Used in singing and dancing ceremonies, these are a proud people who like many around the world found themselves and their heritage suppressed by the invading colonists


There are many similarities between the native people here and the Maori in New Zealand and this can be clearly seen in their language, stories, songs and the love and respect they give to the land that has provided for them for thousands of years. The cultural centre even had a Maori totem donate some years ago, the carved Tiki.

Fishing boat at Alert Bay

The day we visited the island there was a canoe race that encompassed it's entire coast line. Apparently there was a whale spotted, one of the kayakers even spoke of how the whale passed under him as he paddled along, how awesome would that have been.

This place sometimes feels like the last frontier, still a pioneering settlement amongst the wilds of nature. Of course it is offset by the constant reminder that man, forever present, calls hunting a sport and brags about his latest killing of the awesome black bear, wild elk and reclusive cougar like it is his right. It truly is the only thing that saddens me about this place. Otherwise, there is no place like it, a gem of North America...

Totems on Cormorant Island

If you are lucky enough to venture this far north, make sure you go to Telegraph Cove, near Beaver Cove. It’s another magical place where you can learn about the creatures that inhabit the areas vast ocean strait’s, and a stroll along the wooden walkway to watch Bald eagles soar back and forth over the water. So far my closet encounter has been a brief glimpse of a porpoise from the ferry ride. This is not including the many deer, one which walked right past us when we were buying the car. I think he was checking out the many houses that are for sale here.

Bald Eagle, master of his domain. Telegraph Cove.

I don't think I have ever seen as many crows in one place, and they are loud, all the time. Not the nicest bird noise that's for sure. Still the king of the sky has to be the Bald Eagle, majestic in flight and a precision hunter. Jim has told us stories of when they are out fishing how they would throw fish into the water and watch the eagles swoop down to snatch them out of the water. Pretty awesome..