Thursday 25 July 2013

Coastal Hidden Gems: Rebecca Spit, Quadra Island

Rebecca Spit, on Quadra Island, is one of those magical places that you find on the east coast of Vancouver Island and throughout the magnificent Discovery Islands. The spit itself is a provincial park, although there is a campground just at the beginning of the spit on private land.

 The park is a long narrow spit with narrow shoreline on either side, paths, a large field in the centre, picnic tables and bbq spots and outhouse washrooms. The road in is a narrow dirt road with parking areas, ending about half way down the spit with a large parking area at the field.
 This is a popular spot for school field trips, dog walking, swimming and sight seeing. The eastern side of the spit looks out towards Cortes Island and is full of driftwood that is excellent for fort-building.

The west side looks over Drew Harbour, which is right next to Heriot Bay. There are often boats moored out in the Harbour, and the west side has nice pebble beach areas, perfect for swimming. This is the side where the picnic tables are located.


 
 


The spit is wonderful in all seasons, and is a fabulous place to spend a day, or an afternoon, or even an hour.

It's a Coastal Lifestyle ... Pass It On!

Thursday 18 July 2013

Beach Exploring

There are some very low tides coming this week-end, and that means a great opportunity to explore the coastline of the island. There are so many reefs, points, tide pools and beaches to explore, and on every one you are sure to find something interesting.






Exploring the shoreline is fun for all ages, and every time you go there is something new to see.
 
It's a Coastal Lifestyle ... Pass It On!

Thursday 11 July 2013

Vancouver Island Wildlife: Sea Otters

Sea otters have been involved with the history of Vancouver Island for a long time. They were hunted to near extinction for their fur in times past, and it was thought that they wouldn't recover. However, with strict laws against hunting them or disturbing them, the sea otters have made a strong comeback on the north-west coast of Vancouver Island.



These photos are from Ed's recent trip to Quatsino, where they came across this group of otters while out in the boat.

It's a Coastal Lifestyle ... Pass It On!

Thursday 4 July 2013

Hidden Gems: Marble River

One of Ed's favourite places to hang out on the island is in the areas around Quatsino, on the north-west coast. A treasure of the area is the Marble River Provincial Park. The river is home to runs of salmon as well as a variety of trout, and makes for a great area to visit. Ed got some very nice photos when he was up there in February, when we can always count on some gorgeous sunny days.

 
 
It's off the beaten path, as so many of the wonderful places on the island are, but definitely worth exploring!
 
It's a Coastal Lifestyle ... Pass It On!