Miracle Beach -- 250 kilometers (Canada is sensibly metric) north of Victoria – is where ‘North Island’ enticements begin in earnest. The north offers visitors serious outdoor adventure – hiking, fishing, kayaking, eco-touring – whereas the 'South Island' attracts its summer visitors with culinary & agri-tourism and culture – farms, wineries, and music & theater festivals.
Although the north is extraordinarily rugged and wild, Miracle Beach is invitingly gentle and benign. My campground here actually has a shower and potable water (unlike my Cowichan River camp.) But the real miracle here is not the amenities. It’s the setting. Right on the eastern edge of the island, with views to the Smith Mountains across the 40-km wide Straits of Georgia. For anyone looking outward from the beach, those mountains occupy the entire field of view with a vast ‘sawblade’ collection of 900m peaks (from sea-level, remember, so they look very steep and majestic.) The 1500m peak of Mt. Addenbroke is also visible in the further distance. These Straits are the ‘parade route’ of the Alaska Marine Ferry I sailed last summer, and also the medium-sized Alaska cruise ships. (The big Alaska cruise ships go 'round the western shore of the island, because they can’t navigate the skinny & shallow Discovery Passage which begins in Campbell River, just north of here.
Campbell River is the self-proclaimed ‘salmon capital of the world.’ I’m no fisherman, but I was amused to learn than Campbell River is home to one of the most exclusive fishing clubs in the world. The Tyee Club was formed in the 1920s so that “our brave Tyee (BIG Chinook salmon -- 30lbs or more) may have a fair fight.” Club rules are simple: you have to catch a Tyee from a rowboat using an artificial lure with a single hook within a specified area on the Campbell River waterfront. A guide is permitted to row the boat, but the rest is up to you. Haul 'em in or 'catch-and-release'... IF they're 30+ pounds, membership in the Tyee Club is rightly bestowed.
The view from Miracle Beach is so broad that I can’t capture it with my little digital camera. But I’ve tossed a few ‘partials’ into the Photo Gallery nonetheless. Breathtaking. Note the one picture captioned '10pm.' At these northerly latitudes the sun is still visible after 9pm and there is easily enough light at 10pm to read a newspaper (a what?!) with the lingering light.
I'm reminded of my 1972 student summer in Finland; the late evening light conveys a palpable and seemingly contagious sense of unhurried calm.
The weather continues to be unbelievably good. Temperatures in the upper 20s (degrees C).
And – miraculously – the water at Miracle Beach is wonderfully warm, as it arrives and disappears with the tide… only 4ft deep when the tide is in. So I enjoyed some splendid swimming here. A nice relaxing venue prior to my upcoming 4 days in the high mountains of Strathcona Provincial Park.
Tomorrow, also prior to Strathcona, I’ll attend the first day of the 3-day Vancouver Island MusicFest (www.islandmusicfest.com) in the nearby town of Courtenay. See my 5th Post for details.
