We were supposed to kayak the Copeland Islands but the kayaking company had overbooked their staff and asked us if we wouldn’t mind kayaking Okeover Inlet instead. Since we’d gone ashore one of the Copeland Islands on our previous Desolation Sound boat trip we figured a change of scenery wouldn’t be so bad and it turned out to our advantage in the end because the waters of the inlet were a lot calmer than the open ocean that day!

We drove down to Powell River Kayaking’s HQ at the head of the inlet and got some lessons in getting in and out of the kayaks and basic strokes and safety procedures before carrying the boats down to the shore and being let loose on the water on our double kayak - known locally as a “divorce boat”.

It was a lovely day - not too hot, not too cold - and we spent about three hours paddling leisurely along the coast, admiring the occasional luxury homes which our guide assured us were extremely affordable, and looking out for wildlife along the way. We saw lots more starfish and a couple of bald eagles right up close.

We had a bit of drama when I desperately needed the loo and our guide had to find somewhere suitable along the rocky and craggy shore for me to get out of the kayak. I managed to get out without falling in but I did manage to rip my leg up a bit while trying to clamber up the rough and barnacled rocks in order to find somewhere hidden enough for a sprinkle - I gave up in the end and threw dignity to the wind.

We paddled across the inlet to a beach where we ran the kayaks ashore and set up our picnic site on a bluff overlooking the inlet - a gorgeous spot for lunch.

After about an hour we headed back in a little less leisurely fashion since we only had about an hour and a half to get back before the daily winds started up and the tide was a bit against us. My husband didn’t help matters much when he kept steering us into the patches of kelp just to wind me up because he knew I hated paddling through them (that kelp is surprisingly solid!).

We got back to shore without incident and without a divorce, and itching to book another kayaking trip when we got to Vancouver Island.

The day after the boat trip we had planned a day cycling around Savary Island.

The Island is surrounded by beautiful white sand beaches and has the warmest ocean temperature in BC:

“The tides moving from the north and south of Georgia Strait meet just north of Savary. The southern tide is warm and the waters move less. This results in generally warmer seas. This water flows over Savary’s sunbaked sandy shelf producing the warmest water north of Mexico. The water on the north side of Savary is protected from the open Strait and usually is a little warmer. Direct sun on the south side compensates.”

The water is indeed warmer than most ocean waters in BC, but once you get past the almost bathwater-temperature of the shallow water at the edge, it has two distinct currents - one warm and one really cold - so I was “ahhh!-ing” and “eek!-ing” simultaneously as, for example, my left leg was warm and my torso was freezing!

Brrr! I couldn’t stay submerged for more than a few minutes at a time, but SO was made of sturdier stuff.

We explored most of the beaches on the island before we came across our favourite one on the north east tip of the island, where we hung out for most of the afternoon.

The Island has no vehicle-ferry access, no electricity and no public washrooms, so, apart from in the height of summer when visitors flock to it for a bit of sun and sand, it is very unpopulated, very rural and very laid back. In a word it is lovely, and we were extremely tempted to just buy one of the plots of land for sale - oceanfront lots were pretty cheap! Common sense prevailed, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it.

We’re not too fit at the moment and I’m not the best cyclist, so we were very hot and very tired by the time we neared the wharf, and were delighted to discover the only pub on the island. Beers were drunk and smiles exchanged before we phoned Ian to come and pick us up in his boat. We hadn’t had quite enough of the island and so we decided that instead of going for a hike along the Sunshine Coast Trail the next day, we would go back and do exactly the same thing, only with less cycling, more relaxing on the beach and more beer!

We spent the next day on board Ian’s boat, exploring the waters around Lund. First we were taken to the Copeland Islands, or Ragged Island Group, where we were given a bit of an education on starfish, oysters and clams. I have decided that clams are pretty cool - they bury themselves in the sand, suck the surface water down, take what nutrients that they need then spit the water out a few feet into the air. There were tonnes of ochre starfish too, which are pretty.

On the way there we stopped for a local eagle and watched it catch some fish and take it up to the nest to feed its young.

We then headed over to Mitlenatch Island, home to the largest sea bird colony in the Strait of Georgia. It is actually very close to Campbell River on the east coast of Vancouver Island. Among the many birds there (gulls, cormorants, guillemots) we found a seal colony and an eagle chomping on a dead seal pup - nice!

We disembarked around the headland and went for a walk. The island seemed very dry, but it had a good feeling to it - there were lots of wild berries and flowers. We went to an observation blind to observe about a thousand noisy seagulls with their fluffy chicks and spoke to one of the volunteers who camp out there for 2 weeks at a time to protect the island and its ecosystem.

After Mitlenatch we had lunch on the long cruise over to Desolation Sound. On the way, everybody but me caught a glimpse of some Pacific White-Sided dolphins - we killed the engine and floated for a while hoping that we would see them properly, but it appeared they were long gone. Heading into Desolation Sound was pretty awesome, with its towering mountains - just the sort of scenery that I wanted to see.

We disembarked the boat and took a short walk, via a nice little stream and waterfall, up to Unwin Lake where we scrambled over the logs that act as a beach and went for a swim.

It was a beautiful setting, and the first lake that I had ever swum in in Canada. It was also pretty warm so I was very reticent to leave, especially as the mosquitos seemed to be leaving me alone. It was one of the highlights of my trip.

On the way back to the resort we stopped by Ian’s prawn traps to haul them up and take the bounty. It was the end of prawning season so there weren’t as many as I thought there would be, but since a prawning/fishing license only costs about $150 for the season and they had prawns to last them the year already in their freezer, I think they do very well!

We spent a little bit of time driving around the communities and lakes of Pender Harbour but you can’t really get a good impression of the area unless you own a boat. I’m sure it is gorgeous, you just can’t get to the best bits without having more time and getting on the water. Irvine’s Landing, for example, was nice but totally remote, with nothing around it.

The ferry over from Earl’s Cove to Saltery Bay was another gorgeous trip, and we dreamed of building “our cabin” in many of the valleys and inlets that we passed along the way. You could tell that the northern part of the Sunshine Coast was a lot more empty - well, empty of people. It was nice feeling like you were driving into the wilderness a bit, very similar to how we feel when we drive north from Campbell River and the landscape changes.

We drove straight through Powell River, writing it off as a dump because of its unsightly mill on the waterfront (we realised later that it was an unfair assessment to make without actually stopping and walking around the place). Just north of Powell River we passed a very nice lake - not sure if it was Powell Lake or Cranberry Lake - and then we entered the First Nations settlement and stopped at a salmon hatchery where a guy gave us a tour, and we witnessed the clipping of the little fishies’ tails so they could be identified later on in life when they come back to spawn and die.

We reached Lund - or “The end of the world, but a nice end” according to the tourist information officer on board the ferry (it is at the end of Highway 101 and there are no roads further north along the coast) - and phoned Ian who owned the place we would be staying at. 2 minutes later he docked his boat and we hopped on, then were taken out to sea a bit for a quick orientation to the area before being taken across the harbour to our accommodation - Sevilla Island Resort. We were in the hot tub with a glass of champagne in no time, then enjoying the view from the deck but not enjoying the mosquito bites.

At 7.30 we sat up at the table for dinner and met our fellow guests. Our next door neighbours had come here on their own boat and were regular visitors. The meal was a veritable feast - a gorgeous Gunpowder Prawn soup made with freshly trapped BC Spot prawns, then more prawns and a big steak served with a baked potato and corn on the cob, followed by banana flambe. We felt pretty sick after that lot and promptly made our excuses and went to bed!

We started our day off with a gorgeously presented breakfast. Well, it was more art than food - showing the sun rising over the mountains of the inlet!

We then set off to explore the lower Sunshine Coast. We started off by driving up the coast to the Halfmoon Bay area which was just beautiful. A lot of the waterfront was taken up with private residences so you couldn’t do much but drive past it and guess how nice it was behind the house and garden.

We went for a nice, fairly short hike at Smugglers Cove Marine Park and marvelled at all the arbutus trees there that had shed their rough bark to reveal the smooth, golden bark beneath.

We then drove up to Egmont, a small settlement with a campsite and a couple of accommodations and yet more gorgeous views.

We went for another hike to see the rapids at Skookumchuck Narrows. We spent about an hour watching the rapids as a group of surf kayakers were riding the tide and it was incredible to watch.

By the time we’d hiked back out and driven back to Sechelt it was late, so we ate some pizza on our balcony then tried out our jacuzzi bath!

We started our honeymoon off with a two night visit to Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast. We’d never before take a car onto a BC Ferry so we were unsure as to how early we had to get to the terminal in West Vancouver. We had a reservation but had been told several different things, so we decided to get there as early as possible rather than risk getting stressed and turned away. We needn’t have worried; we got there about 2 hours before our sailing time and were told that we could swap our reservation and go on the ferry that was leaving in 20 minutes - bonus.

The ferry journey was gorgeous as expected on a beautiful, sunny day. Once on the other side I felt like I had been transported to New Zealand and this feeling didn’t go away for the entire week - I can’t quite put my finger on it, but perhaps it’s just the laid back vibe of the place combined with similar scenery in a bit of a drier climate than the rest of coastal BC.

We drove the short distance to Gibsons which was a really cute little place but very touristy (at least Gibsons Landing is, the other, upper, part of Gibsons is probably more quiet and residential). It was nice to sit down by the waterfront on the pier for a bit, looking at the beautiful view, eating a burger and watching some boat races (and almost boat crashes). We didn’t stay for too long as we had places to be going, but I wouldn’t mind going back for a weekend sometime to explore properly as I know there are some nice hikes to be had around there, and it is so close to Vancouver yet with such a different vibe. Read the rest of this entry »