Day 7: Another ferry ride - another Island - the finish line
Living Forest Campground to Sayshutshun Provincial Park (Newcastle Island)
This would be our last true day of cycling and a very short ride to another Island at only 12 km's. A completely different experience from yesterdays ride through Nanaimo - so relaxing as Komoot showed us the easy way to get to the harbor where we would be boarding another ferry to Saysutshun Island (Newcastle Island).
On arrival to the ferry dock, we were informed that we would need to remove all of our panniers etc from the bikes which we weren't expecting. It put us in a bit of a dither. I guess we thought the ferry would be large enough to just roll on and off. Silly us. We were to share the ride with a large group of excited children who were going to the Island for the day.
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We were a bit concerned around how secure the bikes were on top of the boat, but it was a short ride and the water was calm. It is only accessible by foot as there are no cars on the Island.
Before European discovery, the Island was inhabited by two native villages who would live part of the year from January to April on Saysutshun Island and then would move to nearby Gabriola Island until August and then onwards to the mouth of the Fraser River for fishing.
Coal was mined from the Island in the 1800's as well as good quality sandstone which was used in the old mint building in San Francisco.
In 1931 the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company bought the Island to create their own little resort. It was later sold to the city of Nanaimo, which got so far in debt that they sold it to the BC Government. It is now a Marine Provincial Park with a small campground.
There are many walking/hiking and biking trails on the Island. We only biked a portion of the trail which took us to a secluded bay where we watched some Racoons in the distance hunting for food. The Island is home to a rare blonde Racoon.
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The following day we departed the Island and rode a very short few kilometers to our friends house to end our tour. We could of easily spent a few more days on the Island exploring and relaxing, but we had family to visit and places to be.
This first multi day tour was a great success and and proved to me that yes, I can do this! At times it was a challenge for myself and Rob and I didn't know if I was capable enough to finish. It is amazing how quickly a persons endurance increases.
One thing for sure is, it has us itching for the next one.
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2 years ago