16 - Rainbow Falls Provincial Park

We left Neys at around 11.30 in no rush as Rossport is only around 100km from there. It was a beautiful bright day but quite nippy nonetheless. We drove through more spectacular scenery until we reached Terrace Bay where we refilled our propane so we could enjoy more warm nights.
About 15km after Terrace Bay, we passed through the tiny town of Schreiber and stopped shortly thereafter at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park. We were so glad to know that we could enter the parks even when they were closed. The gate was not far from the main highway but there was a nice discreet loop in the road where we parked the RV and then set off into the park on foot.
We discussed that this time of year was probably the best time to visit provincial parks since they were so quiet. However, this year is unusually warm and the winter had a lot less snow than normal so we had been quite lucky.
Again, we walked past deserted maintenance areas, information booths and a small camp area, and after a couple of kilometres we reached a picnic area overlooking a blue lake. We spotted a Northern Flicker which is a beautiful type of woodpecker but again they are fairly common in Ontario. Untroubled by our presence, he jumped around pecking at the ground while Fred tried to get some shots.
We could hear the roaring of water so followed the sound until we reached the falls. Not quite as dramatic as Niagara, it was still a lovely waterfall and it was devoid of people so we enjoyed it. We walked down the steps of the wooden walkway to get a better view of the violent waters and were surprised by the sheer loudness. We took a few photos and explored the area for a while before returning to the van for some lunch.

15 - Neys Campsite and Provincial Park

We left Wild Rose after saying goodbye to the friendly owners and drove for about 360 kms before we reached our next campsite across the road from Neys Provincial Park.
The journey involved continuing on the same highway on which we had driven since just before Espanola. The Highway 17 is part of the Trans-Canada Highway and in this part of Ontario loops around the east and north sides of Lake Superior before continuing west to Manitoba.
We passed through Lake Superior Provincial Park and the condition of the road was noticeably better there than the other parts. This must be due to the money raised from park permits. The road climbed steeply and fell just as steeply taking its toll on the beast and causing it to drink copious amounts of fuel. However, it was great to drive through such a vast forest. In fact, since leaving Batchawana we had been driving through an endless forest knowing that there is only one major highway north of the 17 and beyond that there is nothing but a few scattered flying communities.
As we emerged from the Provincial Park we turned off to Wawa, as small community with a population of just over 3000, where we had to get drinks from Tim Horton’s and withdraw some cash.
After another 90kms we passed through White River, home of Winnie the Pooh. A bear cub whose mother was killed by a hunter was brought to this town in 1914 and kept by a local who then sold her to a young British-born soldier who was passing through the town. The young officer named her Winnipeg, after his hometown, but this was then shortened to Winnie. He took her back to England but when he was deployed to France gave her to London Zoo. She was very friendly, interacting with all the visitors including A.A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin Milne. The rest is history!
You can read more about Winnie here: http://www.whiteriver.ca/
Marathon was only another 96km from White River, about 20km before our destination. We stopped there and did some shopping. We also searched in vain for somewhere that sold propane before heading to our campsite.
At Neys Lunch and Campground we were, yet again, the only visitors but it transpired that the same German couple had been there until the day before we arrived! The campsite was very small and was set just off the highway. We ate our tea, took Tala for a short walk and then went to bed.
The next day the owner of the campsite told us we could walk in the Provincial Park even though it was closed. This was good to know because hitherto we had avoided all the parks deterred by their Closed signs. Supposedly, they are closed only to cars and people who want to camp but it’s okay enter by foot. Neys Provincial Park gate was conveniently situated about 1km across from the campsite so in the low temperatures of about 3 or 4 degrees we set off on a small hike.

Just as we passed the gate to the park we spotted a Ruffed Grouse which seemed unusually unperturbed by our presence and allowed Fred to film a short clip of it. We followed the road as it penetrated the thick woodland and passed deserted maintenance sheds and information booths. After about 3km we reached a grass opening which hosted a couple of picnic tables and gave a view of the lake. There was a family sat at one of the tables and they immediately approached us for a chat. They were extremely friendly and we found out their names were Lorne, Kelly and their little girl, Grace. They were so nice that they even offered for us to park our RV outside there house in Rossport if we were passing.

They explained the location of their house and we said we’d perhaps meet again in the next few days. We said goodbye and walked down the immensely beautiful beach(the photos do not do it any justice) with Tala, who ran around in the sand with glee. We followed Lorne’s directions to leave the beach and walked through the uninhabited campsite. We found the Dune Trail which led to a beaver’s dam and looped back round to the main road. The trail was narrow and beautiful with lots of lichen and different tree species. The lichen included Old Man's Beard (Usnea) which hangs from trees and is good tinder for lighting fires. It was also used by the Native Americans for treating infections as it contains a strong antibiotic. The Voyaguers also used it to prevent trench foot. It is not often seen in Europe as it doesn't do well in polluted environments.

We were informed about flora on the way by the odd Plaque and after 1.5km the sandy trail ended. By the time we returned to the van, we’d walked around 9km. We were surprised but delighted to find that the family we’d met had left a note with their email address on the door of our van. This gave us the extra option of camping with them instead of staying at a campsite so we decided to think about it.

Back inside, we had the usual evening of a few beers, nice food, playing
cards and listening to music. Who needs a TV? The following day the campsite owner had a different suggestion, namely, a walk to a lookout point which gives stunning views of the lake and nearby islands. He told Fred the walk up the hill would take about 30 to 35 minutes. So off we went with relatively warmer temperatures (still under 10 degrees!) and blue skies.
We didn’t enter through the park gate this time, instead taking a left onto a dirt track where we found a closed gate almost immediately on the right. A sign said Private Road but Fred assured me that the campsite owner had said to disregard this and go right in! The track was obviously used by a vehicle, perhaps for maintenance work on the transmitter tower at the top of the hill, and was quite steep in parts. As usual, we had worn too many layers and began to glow a little since the trees sheltered us from wind. The track wove backwards and forwards up the hill, sometimes steeply, sometimes less so and sometimes even descending a little. After 50 minutes of walking we began to think we had taken the wrong track but kept on walking onwards and upwards in the heat. After one hour we contemplated turning around but our stubborn personalities and insatiable curiosity kept on pushing us up and up. After one hour and 10 minutes we were almost certain that the road only led to the tower and tried to steal a few shots through the trees at the view beyond. We decided we would walk until we got to the tower but after another five minutes, just as the tower came into full view, there was a small track to the right. It seemed to climb even higher so we followed it and were absolutely thrilled to find a small gazebo. From the gazebo was the most fantastic panoramic view of Lake Superior. Wow!

It was all worth it in the end. We stayed up there for a good hour or so, re-fuelling and taking in the beauty of it all.

Just stunning!
Then…we walked the 5.5km back down again which, thankfully, didn't take as long as the previous ascent.Back at the van, we ate even more and Fred promptly fell asleep.

I pottered around on the internet and sent an email to Lorne and Kelly accepting their kind offer. We ate tea, cleaned up and, since the temperature was due to reach a few below zero, we dumped our tanks and went to bed.

In the morning, we had a tasty full cooked breakfast at the shop/restaurant and the owner’s mum was kind enough to phone ahead to Terrace Bay to check that they had propane as we were running low due to the cold weather. They did, so we said our goodbyes and headed towards Rossport hoping to stop at Terrace Bay en route.

14 - Wild Rose Part 2

The next day was much the same except we walked a little further down the trail in the even warmer sun. We decided to stay for another couple of days because we really liked it there. The German couple bade us farewell but they had mostly kept to themselves while at the campsite. We met a retired couple who were moving their recently-bought trailer, which remained permanently at the campsite, to a better spot. They live in Sault Ste. Marie so it will often be utilised during the summer. Again, they were extremely friendly and interested in our trip. When we told them we weren’t really sure of our route and they suggested that we do the Lake Superior Circle Tour which is a favourite of RVers. We hadn’t thought about it but it seems like a good idea. It would mean that we would get to visit three states in the U.S. while enjoying the wonderful scenery provided by the lake. Unfortunately, it would take us above our 4000km quota and we would have to pay double per kilometre for each one driven over our allowance. Once the mileage is chosen you are not allowed to change it which is obviously a way of the company making extra cash, especially since Canada is so vast.
We would have to research the route a little more before making a decision.
After our walk, Tala was acting a bit strangely, not wanting to sit down and whining a little. She also hadn’t held her tail up for the duration of the walk which is unlike her – when content, a Canaan Dog holds its tail curled over it back. Fred tried to examine her but she yelped every time he touched it. We started to get worried but after thinking hard we eventually attributed it to Fred grooming her the day before. He had paid particular attention to her tail which was still moulting but had used a new brush we had bought in Parry Sound. The bristles are quite sharp and must have scraped her skin. She was feeling extremely sorry for herself. We took for a short walk to the beach to try and lift her spirits. She seemed slightly better but her tail remained down. On the way back to our RV, we walked past the campsite owner’s house and there was a noise behind the door. Tala, on the lead, went to investigate and Vinny, the resident Shetland Sheepdog, appeared from behind it. They had met the day before and Tala liked him; she is a real tart with the men. Unfortunately, the owner’s female Labrador which is usually tied up came flying out of the door like a bullet past Vinny and went straight for Tala’s neck. She took Tala to the ground but Tala managed to wriggle free and turned away getting a nice nip on her backside. Tala swung round and the gentleman who had run out of the door after the dog managed to grab her before Tala could retaliate – she wanted to though and shouted loudly at the other dog! Poor girl was not having a good day.
We went back to the RV and put her in there so she could have a bit of peace. Meanwhile an old beat-up van full of new age hippy types had arrived and set up their tents. The driver had a beautiful primitive-looking dog (dark red, squarely built, a kind of heavier set version of Tala). He told us he had found him in the woods as a pup left tied to a tree
so had rescued him. It was obvious they had a really tight bond.
He had been to a family reunion in Quebec City and was returning to where he lived in Vancouver; a distance of 5500km! He couldn’t afford the petrol on his own so advertised on the internet and ended up with a group of five more people. They looked very free-spirited and one of the females immediately visited the shore of Superior to do some yoga.
We didn’t have as much wood as the night before but the few logs we had were quite big. Fred started the fire before nightfall at about 7.00pm and I wondered why he had because I didn’t think it would last into the darkness. It turns out that the massive logs took forever to burn and we were up to almost midnight just waiting for them to die out! The campsite owner joined us for a while and told us some stories of her canoeing days where she undertook long and arduous journeys to go moose hunting, carrying packs weighing in excess of 50kg full of heavy camping equipment and tinned foods! Each expedition, she said, they learnt a bit more about what to take and what not to take. She also told us a lot about visitors to the site all with their own unique stories. A young guy, in his early twenties, had
arrived late the night before on a bicycle and slept overnight in his tent. We had noticed the tent and briefly saw the lad but he was gone again early in the morning. She told us he had cycled from Nova Scotia, in the north east of Canada, and was on his way to British Columbia, in the west of Canada. What a feat!
We also talked about how our perspective relating to distance had altered dramatically since arriving in Canada. If a town was 50 or 60kms away, we felt that it was quite close. The closest town to Wild Rose takes about one hour to reach and the campsite owner told us that she is very organised and when visiting the town, she knows exactly what she needs for the next few weeks in case she doesn’t go there again for a while.
Finally and thankfully we got into our beds shortly after midnight and quickly fell asleep.
Our last day at Wild Rose, we followed the same routine and ate our last lunch at the Voyageurs’ Cookhouse. I had a fantastic beef broth and chicken roll and Fred had the usual burger, albeit a slight variation, and a mountain of chips.
The hippies that had arrived the night before left to continue their long journey to the west and we were once again the only visitors at the park.
We drove to the general store, literally 30 metres from our hook-up, so we could connect to their wireless network in the warmth of the van. Fred left me surfing and catching up with emails while he used the store’s phone and called the Algonquin Reservations to book our campsites for a 13 day trip around the park, our first night to be the 16th May. A little closer to canoeing an Ontario Park, we began to get excited.
In the evening we took a nice walk along the shore for the last time and went to bed without having a fire because we had run out of wood.

14 - Wonderful Wild Rose RV Park

It felt liberating to get on the road again but the journey to our next destination was a long one. We headed towards Wild Rose RV Park which is on Batchewana Bay about 40kms north of Sault Ste. Marie, a town on the US/Canadian border. We left at about 10.30am and drove in beautifully sunny conditions until we reached Tim Horton’s in Espanola where we took a break and
got mocha for Fred and hot chocolate for me. This Canadian fast-food chain was pioneered by the famous ice hockey player and is known for its coffee and cakes. It is more widespread in Canada than McDonalds and holds 62% of the coffee market compared with the second biggest seller, Starbucks, which holds only 7% (thanks Wikipedia!). Anyway, it’s slowly becoming our favourite place to grab a snack – I’m trying not to have any more Canadian Maple doughnuts which have maple flavoured icing on top and vanilla flavoured cream inside.
After our short stop the weather changed as it became a bit overcast and the road began to undulate.
As we neared Batchewana, we stopped to re-fuel the beast not knowing that it would be the last place to fill up for about 150kms.
Arriving at the bay we caught our first glimpse of the mighty Lake Superior. Superior is the biggest lake in the world according to its surface area (if we discount the Caspian Sea over which there is controversy whether it is actually a lake). According to volume it comes third after Lake Baikal in Russia and Lake Tanganyika in Africa. Basically, it's pretty big and holds 10% of all the fresh water in the world and half of the water of all the Great Lakes.
After driving 420kms we finally pulled into Wild Rose at 7.00 pm and paid our money to stay for two nights. We were surprised to find that the only other RV in the park belonged to the same Germans that we had met in Britt. We hooked up the RV then immediately went for a walk on one of the trails that led from the back of the campsite. It was great to arrive somewhere that had decent walking opportunities which is what we had been looking for.
We made food and fell asleep soon after.
The next morning we woke to bright sunshine so went for a walk along the sandy shore of the lake which was just bliss.
We returned to the van and Fred tried to work out our canoe route for Algonquin while I studied the Design Argument for the existence of God. After a couple of hours we went to the Voyageurs’ Cookhouse for lunch. What a fantastic place! The walls are covered with photos, pictures of the Voyaguers, snow shoes, paddles and other paraphernalia relating to the Voyageurs and canoeing. We were in our element. The menu was also based on some of the food that the Voyaguers ate and I opted for bannock and beans. We often make bannock, a bread made on the fire, when we are camping but it never turns out as fluffy and tasty as the stuff in the cookhouse. The bill came in a miniature birch bark canoe which gave a great touch.
After lunch, we took the trail at the back of the campsite and walked a good 4km before we turned around. The track is narrow for about 3km before it reaches a fork onto an old logging road. The odd Ruffed Grouse startled us as it flew from its ground hideout. We also heard frequent drumming and subsequently found out this was also the Ruffed Grouse. The Birds of Algonquin Park booklet describes it perfectly as ‘…a hollow repeated thimping, starting off slowly and accelerating into a whirring roll.’ We also spotted many moose tracks but the owners remained elusive. We had begun the walk all wrapped up because the wind was quite nippy but we returned carrying our jackets because the woods had provided a shelter from the wind and the sun
was beating down relentlessly.
We briefly checked our email at the small grocery store and the owner persuaded us to have a fire and try s’mores. For these we had to buy marshmallows, a milk chocolate bar and some sweet crackers (almost like Rich Tea biscuits). She was a good sales woman! We also bought a wheelbarrow full of wood from the campsite owner and after tea started our fire in one of the provided containers. Once the fire was ready, it was time to attempt to make s’mores. To make these, firstly a square or two of chocolate is placed on the cracker and then a marshmallow is roasted over the fire. The hot marshmallow is placed onto the chocolate and then another cracker is placed on top to sandwich the filling together to melt the chocolate. Well…that’s the theory! Our chocolate didn’t melt as well as it should have but it still tasted good and after each failed attempt we tried again until our bellies would take no more.
It was a beautiful cold starry night and we sat drinking Canadian beer, being warmed by the big flames and hoping the northern lights would appear. Unfortunately they didn’t but we’d had a great day anyway.

13 - The Cold Weather Sets In

Despite all its faults, Moose FM had been right about the weather and the temperature plummeted. We had been pretty cold that night but all snuggled together to keep warm and in the morning found that the condensation on the windows had frozen. It didn’t reach higher than 4 degrees all day.
Consequently, more studying, watching Simpsons, playing cards and snoozing was in order. Another Cruise Canada RV had arrived late the night before, the occupants of which were a German couple planning to do a 7-week trip driving to the west. We chatted to the bloke later that evening and I couldn’t resist telling him all about the bear!
Then we dumped our tanks again as the Moose told us it was going to get to below zero with snow flurries all night. We also took our own new down sleeping bags out of the storage area because the ones Cruise Canada had supplied hadn’t kept us as warm as we would have liked the previous night. The next day was miserable with the temperature remaining around zero and snow and sleet falling constantly. A second day of being mostly stuck in the van with Moose FM had detrimental effects on Fred’s mental health as he took to frequent ‘Dad dancing’ and finding out how bright the van would be with all the lights on!
We did get out despite the weather and found another area to walk which I renamed Bear Plains (not for any particular reason apart from the fact it was more open than Moose Alley and I always felt as though I was being pursued by a bear). This area took us to the banks of the beautiful Magnetawan River where we took a few snaps then returned to the warmth of the propane-fuelled heater in the van. On the way, we spotted Woody again doing his thing.
Just before dark we also saw the beaver and then Fred went outside to undertake some male bonding with our new German neighbour and the son of the campsite owners, Jason. This gave me time to catch up with writing the blog which I began to really enjoy. I wrote three parts then after dark Fred returned. The weather had cleared up revealing amazingly clear starry skies unadulterated by any form of artificial light. It also meant that it would be below freezing overnight so we visited the Dump Station next to Woody’s house again and continued to do so every night until we left Britt.
For the last two days we visited Parry Sound a second time and did a bit more exploring around the campsite. During one walk up Moose Alley we spotted some moose tracks which were surprisingly massive. They were going in the same direction as us but halfway up the track they disappeared and Tala began acting twitchy. Her tail went down and she kept looking behind us nervously. We reached the end then turned around and noticed more
tracks which were, this time, going in the opposite direction and they hadn’t been there before!
We enjoyed being at Britt but felt that we could have moved on a couple of days before we had planned to. The time there did, however, give us time to recuperate from the all the work and stress of moving house and travelling to Canada.

12 - A Pretty Amazing Day

Overnight it had rained almost consistently and it was quite chilly, down to around 9 degrees by the morning. We decided that we would remain in the RV which meant I could do some studying and write some of this blog.
I was on the Cosmological Argument for the existence of God and wondered whether quantum physics would be a whole lot simpler. After a couple of hours of first movers, second movers, infinite regresses, unmoving movers causing motion and moving movers causing motion, I thought it was about time for a break! Fred had been amusing himself by playing spider solitaire and watching one of the many Simpsons videos we’d saved on our hard drive.
We had lunch, went for a quick bimble then decide to go for a drive. We still hadn’t been to the actual town of Britt (I say town but there’s only really a few houses and a local store there!) and a quick look at the map showed that the Bying Inlet was only a few kilometres away so we would visit them both.
On the way to Britt, I noticed a sign for the Little Britt Inn which I found quite amusing as images of David Walliams and Matt Lucas came to mind. Once in Britt we stopped at the store enticed by a sign for cold beer. We had not had any alcohol since arriving in Canada, mostly because the supermarkets didn’t sell it. To obtain it one must visit The Beer Store or small local store like the one in Britt. We had been advised by the security worker at the airport, a long-haired hippy who had taken us into arrivals to retrieve our delayed luggage, to try the Canadian beer. So we bought a box of twelve and headed in the direction of the Bying Inlet.
Somehow, we missed the turning to the Bying Inlet but
decided it would be better to visit Bayfield Inlet a little further
away which was right on Georgian Bay. Again the surroundings were spectacular and gave us the feeling of being somewhere remote. I was extremely excited to spot a Blue Jay fly across the road but again they are abundant over here. Still, they are very beautiful and strikingly blue. We both have to refer to our bird books more often than not as the bird population is completely different on this continent. Interestingly, however, I read in one of our books that the European Starling was brought to this area ‘…during the 1890’s in a misguided attempt to bring the birds of Shakespeare to the New World’. Subsequently they decimated many indigenous birds, another ecological error which is testament to the stupidity of the species which prides itself on its rationality!
We reached Bayfield Inlet, another tiny community consisting of a small marina, a campsite and a few houses. It had stopped raining but the clouds were still grey and pregnant and the air was particularly still. We parked the RV at the side of the road and got out to have a look around. The campsite had primarily wooden cabins but also a few trailers and, like most campsites at this time of year, it was closed. It was on two levels with a steep rocky incline to the top which we took so we could get a nice view of the inlet. The path took us to what looked like an occupied trailer so we turned around and headed back down the hill. We started to walk to the back of the ground level part of the campsite until I stopped suddenly. Then I said quietly and calmly, “There’s a bear over there.” Fred also stopped and then responded, “So there is a bear over there”.
About 20 metres away just in front of the forest was a Black Bear that had been lying down until it spotted us, at which point it got up to run into the forest. But…it hesitated and turned back around to face us. I said to Fred, “Take a photo” and slowly backed away with Tala until I was out of sight and then ran back to the RV like a proper coward! By the time Fred had taken the photo, I was nowhere to be seen!

THE BEAR!

What a great experience and what a beautiful animal! I was more excited than scared and was reacting in a way I thought I should (except without the screaming!). Upon reflection, it is so nice to know firsthand that large mammals have not been extirpated here like they have in the UK and most of Europe.
We drove back to the campsite almost dumbfounded about our bear encounter and a little worried that we had only been in Canada for one week but had already seen a bear. We have read that it is not unusual for Algonquin Park Rangers to see one to two or sometimes no bears in a whole year. Since the sighting I have become a little less scared and, conversely, Fred has become a much more nervous regarding bears, much to my amusement!
During tea that night, as we drank our Canadian beer and tried to come to terms with ‘the bear incident’, Fred jumped from his seat and ran to the cab window. I immediately followed and we watched as a beaver swam to the other side of the river, collected a branch then returned and disappeared under one of the jetties. I was able to film the whole thing but the photo I extracted from it is not great.
Once we had cleared up after our meal, we took Tala for a short walk and when we returned we couldn’t believe that a Woodchuck was sitting outside one of the small cabins near our RV. Tala and I went back inside while Fred tried to get some shots of ‘Woody’ with his camera.
How much wood would a Woodchuck chuck if a Woodchuck could chuck wood?
Moose FM informed us that it would freeze overnight which meant we would have to empty all our tanks to prevent freeze damage. Once we had ‘dumped’ we went to bed feeling as though we had featured in an episode of Spring Watch!

11 - Camping at Britt

Britt is a tiny little community set on the Still River that flows into Georgian Bay which is a couple of kilometres away. The nearest towns are Parry Sound to the south and Sudbury to the north, 60km and 80km away respectively. Our campsite was about 5km from Britt in a quiet spot on the rocky Magnetawan River. The campsite is open all year round but for the first four days we were the only visitors there. There are many permanent trailers and cottages which are rented later in the season but the campsite is reasonably small. The RV hook-ups for electricity and water were not yet usable so we were given a spot overlooking the river where we hooked up to a nearby cottage. We paid to stay for a whole week which would save a little money and gave Fred a rest from driving. I can drive the RV but after a little test run in the Walmart car park in Huntsville which almost shattered Fred’s nerves I don’t think I will be driving at all. It’s not my driving, it’s Fred’s nerves!

During our first day we found a little track in the woods nearby. We have since renamed it Moose Alley and it is just wide enough to fit a car but feels narrower because it is surrounded by huge rocks and tightly packed together spruce, aspen and silver birch. We walked its whole length which is about 1.5km and ends at the nearest highway. Naturally, I had the feeling we were being stalked by bears and the whole experience was far removed from walking in the woods in Germany. Once we got to the end, I mentioned that I wouldn’t mind climbing one of the rocks off the track. So we did, and then we carried on a little further…and a little further until…we felt pretty lost. We could still hear the highway so there wasn’t too much to worry about. However, in my mind I was

going to startle a bear at any moment and I subsequently found out that, conversely, Fred was worried about the embarrassment of possibly having to call the campsite owners to come and rescue us. At one point, we heard howling in the distance but we can’t be sure whether the howls belonged to wolves, coyotes or dogs at the local Indian reservation. It was not really the time of year for wolves to be howling but I’m not quite sure about coyotes. I suppose we’ll never know. Anyway, we were beginning to panic a little and, as much as we seemed to be heading towards the sound of the highway, the track was still nowhere to be found. Each rock we scaled led to more rocks or impassable waterlogged land and impenetrable trees. The sound of the highway seemed to be coming from all directions and, after about 20 minutes as we began to doubt our senses, Fred suggested we backtrack. This was the last thing I wanted to do as we had no way of knowing which way we had come and I was quite sure we were heading in the right direction. “Just a little further”, I said as we started to squeeze through the dense birch trees. Eventually, we reached the track and breathed a huge sigh of relief! I had survived the bears and Fred had been spared embarrassment! We vowed never to deviate from the beaten track again especially in unfamiliar territory and when we know the woods stretch for 25km towards Georgian Bay.
The rest of the day was spent doing very little, watching the Turkey Vultures soaring in the sky above and the Golden Eyes and Cormorants swimming in the river; a welcome change from driving hundreds of kilometres.
The next day we went to Parry Sound to get some shopping and visit the local vet. Our vet in Germany had assured us that heartworm was only contractible in the southern U.S. but since arriving many people had mentioned that we would need to get some treatment against this nasty parasite. Heartworm larvae is carried by mosquitoes and, as the name suggests, settles in the heart and lungs of dogs where it can make its host very poorly. Since we would be faced with thousands of these bugs while canoeing and Tala has only ever been treated against intestinal worms, heartworm not being common in Europe, we thought it best to be careful.
The drive to Parry Sound was beautiful, 60km of one straight highway lined by spruce, birch and alder filled forests, rocks, lakes and rivers.
Land of the silver birch
Home of the beaver
Where still the mighty moose
Wanders at will
Blue lake and rocky shore
I will return once more…
Anyway, our trusty TomTom led us to the vet, an animal hospital in a traditional wooden building painted light blue. The staff were extremely friendly, just like all the other Canadians to which we had hitherto spoken. They gave us a six-month supply of beef-flavoured heartworm preventative tablets and a free Dog Pack which is like a foldable wash bag containing brush, toy, treats and information on dog health. There was no-one else at the hospital and we spent about an hour just chatting about Canada, the area and the wildlife. They also gave us fantastic advice and suggested we buy some antihistamines to treat against rattlesnake bites. The Massasauga Rattlesnake is found in abundance and dogs are frequently bitten as a result of their curiosity. They can be fatal to small dogs and quite harmful to medium-sized dogs like Tala so we will have to remain extremely vigilant at all times.
We visited the local book store, pharmacy and outdoor store, and left town a little poorer than when we’d arrived. On the journey back to the campsite we saw a female White-tailed Deer at the side of the road, a beautiful big beast! We also stopped at the Moose Lake Trading Post and bought some fresh fudge; maple syrup fudge and chocolate fudge. Mmmmm… Back at the campsite we ate tea, listened to Moose FM (the one radio station available which plays only music from the 60s, 70s and 80s), played cards and then went to bed.