15/9
Woke at 7am to cloudy skies and mugs if hot tea on the beach. The sandwich making team got busy whilst the breakfast chef prepared the hot granola, which we ate perched on a log overlooking the bay as our neighbours set off on their kayaking trip wearing survival suits.
Breakfast was followed by yoga and stretching session balanced on various driftwood logs in the sand.
Feeling refreshed and well stretched we broke camp and paddled away from Turret island, this time with B acting as pilot in the single kayak and C and K in the mother-ship.
The tide was just high enough for us to squeeze through the narrow channel between Turret and Tricket and we then paddled along the north coast of the island towards Dodd, passing Turtle Island to enter the Tiny Islands Group for a snack stop ( mango and cashews) on the shell-strewn beach. Just as we arrived, the clouds parted above us, the sun started to shine and blue sky reappeared and stayed all day!
We set off to find Chris an island all of his own and photographed him aloft and triumphant.
We paddled on into the bay between Jack and Jarvis Islands - an apparent dead end although we knew from the chart that there was a well-concealed navigable channel between the two. Just as we approached, a large salmon leapt in front of Chris' kayak - seeming to tease the fishermen as we paddled through the 'no fishing' zone.
The narrow found was beautiful with trees down to the waterline on both sides and bright sunshine making everything sparkle and glow. This area felt more like paddling through rivers and lakes rather that the open sea we experienced yesterday.
As we approached Gibraltar Island we could see a fleet of kayaks pulled up on the beach. As we grew closer they all launched one by one so that by the time we arrived, the place was deserted. We sat in the sun and ate lunch (corned beef wraps, salmon wraps and apples) and then sunbathed before moving on, past 'harbour entrance' to view the 'face' depicted in the rocks nearby.
We now re-entered the fishing zone do B and C cast their trolling lines astern as we paddled on along the east side of Gibraltar Island to reach Swale Rock, adorned with cormorants and gulls. As we circumnavigated the rock, we watched another fisherman in a motor boat setting up to troll nearby.
The sun continued to shine across the water as we paddled our way west, the wind and swell behind us, on the final leg of our tour, back round Canoe Island towards the former whaling station at Sechart Lodge.
We continued to hope for a sight of whales and Bill thought he saw some spouts and tail flukes disturbing the water in the distance, but nothing else...
We docked back at the pontoon and unloaded our kayaks, glad to lie on our backs on the deck and after the long hard paddle.
We then entered the 'Local Hero' world of Sechart Lodge!
The Lodge itself had the same creaky feel as a Fawlty Towers style guest house with quirky stairs and ringing corridors. Our triple room was exactly that - a room with beds for three people - and a toilet and shower room downstairs next to the dining room. Dinner was served at 6pm prompt, allowing us precisely one hour to check in, shower and enjoy the incongruously luxurious hot tub perched on the rocky headland at the end of the garden, bathed in late afternoon sunshine and looking out over the islands where we have been kayaking over the past few days. A blissful place to unwind and disk after all that paddling! We changed and emerged in our finest clean clothes for a cup of tea on one of the garden sofas overlooking the sea, before the bell is rung for dinner.
Here, there was such a conflict of ideas. After the stylish decadence of hot tub, garden furniture and stunning scenery, we gathered indoors in the wood panelled dining room to eat school dinner styled meals, described on whiteboards and served from a stainless steel hot tray and tables covered with plastic cloths!
Dinner was garden salad followed by stuffed cabbage rolls with garlic mash and turnips, carrots and peas. The chef, who resembled a grizzly bear joined the other members of staff at the 'staff only' table', where Gord the taciturn water-taxi driver appeared to be coming to life! He was joined by Garfunkel the man who had supplied us with our kayaks, and shortly appeared in the kitchen drying up the dishes!
As soon as dinner was done, Gord leapt into action, constructing a bean bag throwing game in the garden and arranging an exact number of chairs in the garden in a way that made us feel nervous... In the centre of the circle he assembled and lit a huge fire. Then he put down some wood to make what looked like s small stages. Meanwhile we people watched the other guests - four cackling American women in their forties who would not make eye contact or smile at all. There was the sneezing man and his wife who did not remove their sun hats for the entire duration of their stay. There was Brad the Canadian from Tasmania who worked as a DJ and knew all about salmon. There was the staring Mrs Basilisk and her obviously 'very-wealthy-but-dressing-down-for-the masses' husband in his checked shirt and jeans. There was the 'keen-kayak-man' with too short hair who thought nobody noticed how many cookies he was taking and putting in his pockets...
As the fire blazed, Gord continued to organise stuff and with some feelings of dread we noticed him placing s pile of percussion instruments on the daybreak next to two guitar stands ...... Oh no, not singing in a circle with lots of strangers, surely?....
Well yes, exactly that, and with Gordon one guitar and Garfunkel on the other, they launched into a series of classics including, hits from
The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Simon and Garfunkel - lots of sing along songs and before we knew it we were singing harmonies, playing bongos, maracas and rhythm sticks and having a pretty great time!
Afterwards we sat by the fire and chatted - to discover that this was in fact the last night of their season and tomorrow morning everyone was leaving except Gord and Jenn, who will live here alone until next May. What an unusual life.
At 9.45 everyone started to drift indoors before Gord threw the switch on the generator at 10pm sharp, and the lodge plunged into silent darkness until 5.15 tomorrow morning!