First visitors arrive at MapleGum Canada

It was really exciting watching the ferry come in Saturday before last on which Colin and Jess were arriving for a week on the island. They were the first official visitors to MapleGum Canada - still basically empty! We had a great evening of catchup and, next day with their help, discovered a new section of beach which is fairly close to our house and which offers a different range of water activities and mainland views. Just beautiful.

I know, it's the smallest beach ever!

Colin & Jess braving the water.

Monday saw Brian and Colin head south to Duncan to golf with Colin's friend who was coming up from Victoria. While they were gone, we ladies were forced to come up with an activity to wile away the day without the menfolk. As we sit on our deck, we look out over Departure Bay to Newcastle Island. I thought it might be interesting to check out the island and maybe have a short hike.

OPTIONAL READING ABOUT NEWCASTLE ISLAND: Archaeological evidence, such as the large number of shell middens, and culturally modified trees, indicate that the Snuneymuxw people have used Newcastle Island for many thousands of years. Newcastle was extensively used for fishing; hunting deer; gathering clams, oysters, crabs, and other shell fish. Plant foods were also gathered here including berries, ferns, and medicinal plants.The Snuneymuxw have many stories about the Island. One tells how Haals, the transformer, moved about the land and turned animals and people into stone. Today one can see examples of this in the rock formations along the shoreline. The Snuneymuxw also consider this island a sacred place as it was traditionally used for spiritual training. Young athletes were brought there to train for foot racing and canoe pulling. Middens offer rich evidence of at least two Snuneymuxw villages, which existed for several thousands of years prior to Europeans introduction to coal in the area in 1949. Subsequent decades saw the island's fortunes rise and fall as it went through various incarnations while supporting a fish-salting operation, a sandstone quarry and a shipyard.

In 1931 the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company purchased the island and operated it as a pleasure resort, building a dance pavilion which included a teahouse, picnic areas, change houses, a soccer field and a wading pool. An old ship was tied to the dock at Mark Bay and served as a floating hotel. The island became very popular for company picnics and Sunday outings, with ships from Vancouver bringing as many as 1,500 people at a time. Today it is enjoyed by many for its history, culture & outdoor activities. 

The 10 minute ferry ride leaves from a downtown park so we were over on the island by 12.30pm and ready for our little adventure. The ferry captain said it takes approx. 2 hours to hike the 7.5 kilometres around the island. We thought that sounded doable so set off along one of the trails which headed up through the centre of the island and came out on the northwest corner from which I knew we would have views of our house, which we did - that was pretty exciting.

Little ferry to Newcastle Island.

Our house is over there near the bottom right of that group.

As we hiked through the beautiful forest of huge trees, we chatted away getting to know each other a little better. The elephants in the room were the cougars which a sign said could sometimes be seen on the island! Yikes! I didn't want to admit my fear to someone as young and fearless as Jess so I said nothing, but casually picked up a stick and hit the bushes as the walked. Not sure if that was the right strategy - was that telling them that "here we are, come and get us" or "here we are, so go away"? Anyway, we didn't see any thank heavens.

The walk had some tough sections but it was never dull as the scenery kept changing. For quite a bit of the hike we had magnificent views of the gulf islands and mainland and, in other places, we had to walk in a bit to see the views. At about the halfway point, we realized that not only were we not on pace to make the loop in the two hours, but that we were just a bit footsore, thirsty and hungry and had no food with us and just a bit of water. Not so smart. 

Some miscellaneous views from the hike:

The trek down the eastern side of the island proved much easier and was mostly along the beautiful beaches so lots to distract from one's discomforts...and because there were lots more people in this area, I felt we had good odds of not being chosen by a cougar as items of interest!

Lots of beaches here have huge driftwood logs - escapees from the logging industry. 

We finally made it back to the wharf about 2-3/4 hrs after we started, very hot and weary. I told Jess that next time it would be very remiss of us not to bring some wine and snacks to enjoy as a reward at the end of the hike as there were some spectacular spots to sit and rest. We consoled ourselves with a well-deserved ice-cream instead.

Totem pole not far from wharf.

The guys were quite amazed when they got back from golf that we had such an adventurous and incredible day...without them. Thanks Jess for being good company.

Tuesday morning was departure day for Colin, Jess and Jay as they were heading across the island for a few nights to Tofino on the west coast for some more adventures. We met up with them at Cathedral Grove, a huge preserved section of old growth giant Douglas fir trees about an hour from Nanaimo, and on the road to Tofino. After an awe-inspiring walk through the trees, we parted ways.

Cathedral Grove is a rare and endangered remnant of an ancient Douglas fir ecosystem. The biggest trees in the Grove are about 800 years old and measure 75 m (250 ft) in height and 9 m (29 ft) in circumference. They are survivors of a forest fire that ravaged the area some 350 years ago and the even more devastating invasion by Europeans who colonized Vancouver Island from 1849. More info: http://www.cathedralgrove.eu/text/01-Cathedral-Grove-1.htm. 


Brian and I drove back towards Nanaimo, first stopping at this beautiful lake, Cameron Lake, for a quick look...and note to self to bring picnic next time! In fact, bring picnic whenever you leave the house.

Your picnic table awaits!

Next stop was the small village of Coombs which has managed to make itself a tourist destination with its famous "Goats on the Roof" Country market and restaurant. We had lunch there but couldn't manage a photo of the goats so I'll include one prepared earlier (last year in fact). The area also has lots of other touristy shops in a rustic setting, along with other newer retail developments. One interesting spot there was the VW Museum, one of only three in the world. We checked it out because it is owned by Colin's friend's father. Neat spot.

We've now had a few days alone again - the gang will be back today for a night or so before heading back to Alberta.

Yesterday, we were amused to see a baby deer (fawn) bound like an antelope across our front yard, closely followed by its mother so something must have spooked them...the mother didn't care where she stepped which explains some damage to the garden which we've noticed.

Our existing vegetable garden continues to give us a small supply of fresh vegetables - we've harvested one huge pumpkin with two more still to pick, some zucchini, red peppers, squash and cucumber. I think there might be a few beans also and corn almost ready. I'm really excited to launch into doing more next year - we have a great sunny spot for the garden which I didn't have in Bateau Bay so no excuses now.

Just perfect for Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie...or saving to carve for Halloween.

Just waiting on delivery of a new bed purchased yesterday - first item for new look master bedroom - we sold all our bedroom furniture so are trying to figure out what the new look will actually be. Should be easy but I'm never good with lots of choices. Wish me luck.

Well, we had our goodbye's with Colin and Jess - they had an amazing week's holiday here on the island - the weather cooperated by being absolutely perfect. They went on a whale watching tour out of Tofino over to an area with hot springs to swim in - on the way back they saw a bear on the shore turning over rocks and eating the crabs found underneath. I want to see that (from the safety of the boat of course)!

Next visitors over Thanksgiving Weekend will be Heidi and Antoine and we are really looking forward to that.