Sunday, June 20, 2010

Chatham Island Deer Crossing

Paula joined Louise and I for a paddle this morning from Cadboro Bay out to Chatham Island.
2010-06-20 Chatham Island 001
Once we got ourselves squeezed into our kayaks, we headed out under cloudy skies. The weather was generally calm, but winds were forecast to pick up in the afternoon, so we wanted to make an early start and make our crossing quickly just in case the weatherman turned out to be right for once.
2010-06-20 Chatham Island 006

As we made our way down Cadboro Bay, we paddled through an area with a light sheen of oil on the water. It gave us pause to reflect on the terrible disaster going on in the Gulf of Mexico, and how lucky we are it hasn't happened here.
2010-06-20 Chatham Island 010

At Jemmy Jones Island, we paused to asses the Chatham Crossing. Conditions looked good, so we quickly skedaddled on our way....
2010-06-20 Chatham Island 017
...letting this seal take the lead.
2010-06-20 Chatham Island 019
He pretty much followed us the whole way across, and hung around as we did a quick exploration of a small bay on Chatham.
2010-06-20 Chatham Island 023 copy
He popped up for a quick good-bye, and then he was off...
2010-06-20 Chatham Island 027 copy
...and so were we. Mind you, we had to wait for the geese to cross the passage at Flower Island.
2010-06-20 Chatham Island 033

And another paddling day is done!
2010-06-20 Chatham Island 039

Of course, it was after the paddle that we saw the most wildlife. Driving back through the University of Victoria, we saw a pair of deer happily munching away on whatever greenery the rabbits haven't eaten yet.
2010-06-20 Chatham Island 059

2010-06-20 Chatham Island
Trip Length: 9.54 km
YTD: 102.37 km
More pictures are here (including more deer pictures).

3 comments:

  1. Must have just missed you as I was out there too yesterday with a small group.

    ReplyDelete
  2. lovely photos! we just paddled around the bay this morning (Sunday June 27) starting from Ten Mile Point and were soon accompanied by a grey whale! unfortunately it wasn't long before 5 whale watching boats came roaring around to join what was a peaceful and special morning on the water

    ReplyDelete
  3. How's that for bad luck? The first we don't go kayaking off of 10 Mile in a while...and a whale shows up!
    Glad you had a good time, Maria!

    ReplyDelete