Anna and Dave's adventure: part 1

So, it's been a while! And we've done a lot of stuff...

When Dave arrived, we hired a little Yaris and drove out to a cottage in Garden Bay on the Sunshine Coast. The weather was beautiful and we oggled the views from the ferry and the road on the way. It was evening by the time we got there and after a quick swim in the sea and dinner, it was the end of the day. 

The cottage was in a gorgeous location, the veranda overlooking the steep hillside and rocky coast below. There were bald eagles and hummingbirds and lush green forests. 

On Sunday we went for a colossal Canadian breakfast before going on a steep hike through the forest to an incredible viewpoint - the bays and islands below dotted with cabins and pleasure boats. 

When we got back to the cottage it was time to pack up ready for an early start on our kayak trip!

We got up just as the sky was getting light and caught the first ferry to continue our journey along the sunshine coast to Desolation Sound. The views of the mountains from the ferry at dawn were stunning; each mountain a different shade of green depending on the light, and shafts of sunrise light pouring out between the peaks. And the further we went, the fewer houses there were around.

At the other side, we drove until the road ran out at Lund, had lunch at a recommended bakery then went to the kayak hire shop. By the time we'd got our hire kit and loaded the boat, it was the afternoon and it was very hot. We paddled for an hour along the shore of a peninsula, looking at the intertidal life on the rocks and cliffs exposed by the tide. Seaweed, barnacles and mussels clinging to the rocks and purple starfish nestled into the crevices. We made a pit stop on some shady rocks to refuel then got back on the water. There were a few cabins along the shores, only accessible by air or water, and a few speed boats were zooming past.

After just over two hours, we came within sight of the campsite. This section was narrower and shallower and the tide was absolutely gushing through! We paddled like crazy to inch our way to the sheltered bay where we could get out and unload.

There were a few other groups of kayakers at the campsite and we got a tent pad in the merciful shade at the far end of the site with great views of the bay. Unloading on a rocky shore at low tide in the hot sun after a tough paddle is not the best and it was a slog getting the boat up above the high tide mark. Double kayaks are heavy! But we had the evening to chill out and make tasty dinner before an early night. I woke up in the night and the stars were incredible in the absence of any other lights anywhere. Even the moon was nowhere to be seen. I'm sure it was up in the day though... 

The next day we set out along the bay in the shade of the shore and enjoyed the forest views. There doesn't seem to be any soil, just trees growing straight out of rock or patches of moss. The trees are mostly pines and firs but with the occasional arbutus, a strange looking tree with three layers of bark - the outer layer brown, the middle layer red and the inner layer bright green. The layers peel off to reveal each other; you can hear them flaking off sometimes when the forest is quiet.

After lunch we had to cross 2.5km of open water to get to the Curme Islands. It was hot and hard work into the wind and I'm afraid I stopped paddling a few times and let Dave do more than his share of the work! But we arrived with the afternoon free to explore and after a swim in the sea and second lunch, put on our climbing shoes for a tour of our little island. 

The tide was out so there was plenty of rock to play on. We crunched our way over barnacles and seaweed near the water, enjoyed the bare rock near the high tide mark and put our fingers in crispy lichen-filled hand holds on the rocks above. It was so sunny and hot, we were absolutely baking in the afternoon heat! But the climbing was fun and we saw seals in the water. One seal was sunning on a rock with her pup, giving it a gentle scratch on the head. They were so sweet and we went over the top of the island for a bit so as not to disturb them. Then one precarious but exhilarating cliff face later, we were back at camp hot and dehydrated, ready for another swim to cool off.

The next day we paddled a different route back towards our first campsite, sticking to a shady shore and making good progress across the open water with the wind at our backs. It was a nice relaxed morning but I had a bit of a moan about having to sit in a wet boat in a restrictive life jacket and paddle with sore arms. My arms haven't done any work for months! 

We got back to the campsite, unloaded and went for a swim. Dave brought his goggles so we looked at starfish and sea urchins by the shore. There was even a spiny orange sea cucumber! We were the only ones at the campsite that night and it felt so different. It was peaceful but we were sure to take all possible bear precautions to avoid unwanted encounters! We had dinner, sorted all our kit, set the alarm for 5.30am and crashed out.