Owen Bay to the Octopus Islands
21 July 2010
We returned to this spot as it is just so beautiful! I would often sit in Port McNeill & imagine myself in the Octopus Islands, paddling around in the kayak enjoying the complete solitude. It was particularly busy this time, but we are slowly adapting to sharing anchorages with other people! Something you rarely have to do on the north island. We have been spoilt and we know it, so this is part of our adjustment phase to being south!
We read about and hiked a trail there to get some exercise with Missy & discovered a beautiful islet at the end of the trail. It was so serene & beautiful that I have attached a pic to share. Once the winds died down, we were able to get out & in the kayaks. We kayaked the marine park & came across a couple of racoons, a martin running to and fro, as well as a deer eating from a tree that was not afraid of people at all! We sat simply admiring the deer as I have never come across this before when paddling along the shoreline. It proved to be a long, enjoyable paddle which we pondered over while enjoying a glass of wine in the cockpit! We had put down our crab trap in the morning in hopes of a few crabs for dinner, but the trap had all females with the exception of a small male, so we were on our own. We decided to go ahead and make sushi anyways, with some smoked salmon we had on board and enjoyed a wonderful feast!
We stayed here for another few days & then timing the slack at Surge Narrows we headed on to Quadra Island.