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SOUTHERN GULF ISLANDS KAYAKING EXCURSION (MID-SEPTEMBER) by Arthur Mah
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Day 1
We departed from Willows Beach in Oak Bay and proceeded to paddle
north alongside the Saanich Peninsula past Cattle Point and into Cadboro Bay. Other
launching points are located at Sidney, either south of the town at the beach near
the Anacortes ferry terminal, or north of the town at Roberts Point.
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D'Arcy Island marine park
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| Our goal was
to keep paddling until we reached Cowichan Head and then make the three-mile crossing
over to our first campsite on D’arcy Island. An hour into the trip, and to
our amazement, we spotted our first ever whale, a ½ mile off the Saanich Peninsula.
We could barely contain our excitement and immediately stopped our boats in the water
to better view this magnificent creature. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before it began
to rain, so we bade farewell to our giant friend and began paddling across Haro Strait
to D’Arcy Island. D’Arcy, now a marine park, was once home to a colony of immigrant
lepers over 100 years ago. Much of the history of this island
remained a shroud of mystery to us, although it was very clear how these people must
have felt being imprisoned for life on this tiny island. The trail that rings D’Arcy
is well maintained and afforded us views of Sidney Island to the north, Saanich to the
west, and the San Juan Islands on the east side. Amenities at D’Arcy include 10 walk-in
campsites and pit toilets. If you are planning on staying overnight, it is advisable to
bring your own supply of fresh water as there is none provided
on site. Since it was late in the season, we were fortunate enough to have the entire
island to ourselves. The only minor setback was the distance one had to walk from the
campsite to the launching point. It just makes the task of loading/unloading the kayaks
that much more tedious. However, with a little bit of exploring around the island’s
perimeter, as we discovered on the return leg of our trip, there are several more convenient spots to set up camp. |
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Sunset at Sidney Island,
looking towards Saanich
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Day 2
We left D’Arcy early the next morning and headed north towards Sidney Island, a two mile crossing of Hughs Passage to Wymond Point. There we spotted a number of large seals basking on the rocks. Several, we noted, were large enough to be sea lions due to their enormous girth. As we slowly rounded the point, we noticed a beautiful stretch of sandy beach that beckoned to us. |
| Unfortunately, much of Sidney is privately owned – as was evidenced by the many "no trespassing" signs we encountered, so we plodded onwards to the designated campsites. Sidney Island is also a marine park and is open to the public during the summer months, and, unlike D’Arcy, can be accessed by passenger ferry from the town of Sidney. The
campsites are located on the west side of the island, just south of the public wharf, nestled in a quiet lagoon. There are approximately 30 sites at this park and all are within walking distance to water and pit toilets. As we landed our boats, we couldn’t help but notice a family of river otters making their way up the beach, across the sand and into the nearby bushes. The island is home to several species of aquatic birds such as herons and cormorants, and it also plays host to a large
herd of resident deer. Again, we were fortunate enough to be the only human visitors to the campsites that night. The climax to our day found us sipping hot tea and watching the sunset across Sidney Channel. |
| Day 3
We awoke early the next morning and looked forward to the next leg of our trip to Portland Island. Our course would find us paddling north through the Little Group towards the leeward side of Coal Island. When departing Sidney Island, one needs to keep an eye out for the ferries that round the tip of Sidney Spit. |
Portland Island
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| Despite paddling into both a strong headwind and tidal current, we finally managed to make our way into a narrow passage between Coal and Goudge Islands. Struggling against the fast moving tidal current, we finally reached the north end of Coal Island. Another short crossing over to Piers and Knapp Islands and we found ourselves left with a short paddle to Portland. The crossing of Shute Passage to Portland Island can be somewhat treacherous due to the
heavy amount of boat traffic encountered here. A large number of ferries, barges, and small craft frequently dart in and out of the busy terminal at Swartz Bay, so close monitoring of the marine traffic is necessary to avoid a collision. Portland Island is also know as Princess Margaret Marine Park and has a number of fine accessible beaches. Although the island is still undeveloped, we found most of the campsites occupied upon our arrival at the main beachhead. Undaunted, we paddled
around the south side the park until we discovered a spot we thought was perfect. We disembarked and immediately began to set up camp. It wasn’t long before we discovered that our perfect spot was home to it seemed, at the time, one of the busiest ferry corridors in B.C. waters! Despite this minor setback, the clear water, fine midden beach, and a delicious curried stew we prepared afterwards made it easy for us to forget the day’s events. Even though this island supports a supply of
fresh water, it is a 15-30 minute walk to the sources, depending on where your campsite is located. There are, of course, pit toilets located at all of the campsites in the park. more... |
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