Canoeing - French River Provincial Park

Well we have survived another trip to the French River. I say survived, as this last trip was similar to the last several we have made to this area. We probably started going here about 10 years ago. You can literally canoe for days along rock lined channels and islands and not have to portage. You do have to share with motor boats that the cottagers and fisherman drive around, but it usually isn't a bother. It is also quite easy to find areas that are canoe friendly and boat restricted.

Some typical scenery along the French River.


Unfortunately the last few trips just have not been enjoyable for either of us. No broken limbs, no lost equipment, but definitely bad experiences. Remember, we have been doing this for almost 25 years and know how to canoe camp and have enjoyed many trips that were not perfect (few are).

Some examples of problems on our last few trips to the French River are:

- Freezing temperatures and snow on the long weekend in May.
- Getting lost and canoeing for a few hours in the wrong direction (my fault and the one time I truly was lost instead of not knowing my exact position (there is a difference)).
- On the same trip I got lost on, our canoe almost blowing away (we should have tied it down better, but it was still mid-afternoon).
- Turning around due to unexpected water conditions and no way to portage around it.

What was it this time? First night out, Friday night after a long weekend, four hour drive from southern Ontario, we had trouble finding a site. We paddled out of our planned route to find a site that was only feet above the current, rather high, water level. To top it off, once we located the box latrine, it was so close to the water (against all good principles) that it was flooded out. We camped on the beach, about 5 feet from the waters edge.

Our first nights campsite did have some redeeming values the next morning. Unfortunately, it clouded over soon after this.

Loons on our second day.

Next day we were not able to locate many of the sites listed on the map and many that we did locate were simply not suitable for camping on. This led to a 2 hour, several kilometre extension of our second day of canoeing, until we finally gave up and camped on a rocky site.

Our second night's site.


So there we are snug in our tent for the night, when we hear this noise. A far off cry. Sounds like a bear. Look out the tent and what do we see, but two creatures swimming across the water, headed for the other end of our small island. The ears and nose give them away as bears.

Well, up we get and head for the canoe, grabbing anything loose that we think is important (clothes to keep warm, flashlights to see with, etc). We canoe around the other side of the island and towards the end the bears were swimming to and what do we see, but a larger version of a bear. Momma bear and her two cubs were walking away from our camp, as they searched for edibles. Okay, now what? Dusk has fallen, there is a mother with two cubs on your island and the rest of your gear is still back at the site.

As we return to our end of the island, we notice the lights of a cottage about half a kilometre away. Hey, any port in a storm. So we return to our tent, quickly pack up the remaining gear and throw it in the canoe. The food pack I placed up in the trees remains where it is. Fortunately the cottagers where most accommodating, even offering us their spare bunkhouse, which we gratefully accepted (anything for a bed to sleep in).

There was no sign of the bears when we returned early the next morning. The food pack appeared undiscovered and our tarp was still standing. We decided to have breakfast before starting off on a cool, overcast day. Good thing too, because within half an hour a large thunderstorm came up, with some severe downpours. Remember that tarp that was still up upon our return. Well we sat under it for about three hours waiting the for a half hour of quiet before deciding to head out on the water.

So we take off, on some beautifully calm water, with the fog reducing visibility to about a kilometre some times. This is where you need the ability to use a compass and map, which I can. It also helps to have a GPS along as a back-up.

Mist at mid-day.


A couple of hours later we approach the end of our one easy portage and decide to stop for lunch on land. As I start to unpack lunch, what do I see across the 20 meters of water but another bear. Rather small, and alone, probably a yearling from what I have read. So, once again, everything goes in the canoe and we set off on the water. This time we were able to take pictures.

Bear at end of portage.


Very few portages are like this one. with wide boardwalks.

We decided to extend our day and canoe all the way out (20 some kilometers) and drive home that night (watching the lightning storms for most of it).

So in 25 years of canoeing, I have never seen a bear. Several moose, lots of loons, a couple of bald eagles, but never a bear. Then in the span of about 16 hours I see four bears in two different spots. Statistically, this means that we will never see another bear in our lifetimes.

And that was our latest trip to the French River. When I told my wife to throw out the brand new map we had purchased a few days earlier, she said no way. We have to go back in several years, as we have both decided that this is how we build up or payback all the good karma, mojo, luck or whatever you want to call it that we have been experiencing on many of our trips the last few years. We have even commented on it during our trips, that we were going to have to pay for the smooth water, beautiful campsites and light tailwinds that we were experiencing. We figure maybe 2013 or 2014 for the next trip.

A day at the Track

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

I went out on an ATV tour today, just to get out of the house. It was great, even with no previous experience. The name of the place is Trail Tours. They provide everything, and I mean everything (except your underwear). All the gear, helmet, ATVs, guide and trails. I had Mike as my personal tour guide/instructor for the day. He was excellent, balancing my inexperience well with the conditions.

As this was a last minute thing, I wasn't able to find anyone to go with me this morning, but I will try to round up my former lunch buddies next month.

Here's me on the ATV at the end of the day.



Easter Island is under still construction, but the next one will be worth the wait.

Joe

Vacation - Tahiti and Easter Island - Day 7

So this is when it really gets interesting. It is Saturday now, our second full day on the island. We arrived Thursday morning, settled in, walked through town, watched the sun set. Friday was a walk in the rain to the museum. Today, is our postponed tour of the island. There are a lot of pictures (to choose from and) to see. I am going to add a map so you can get a sense of where we are on the island. Click on the map to expand. Yellow markups highlights areas discussed.




SOUTH COAST
This is where I fell in love with the coast. The black rock with the blue water cascading into white over it was startling. I would go back just to see more of the coast, as shown in the next two photos.
The south coast of the island has numerous moai and ahu along it. Simply drive along and you will see toppled moai everywhere. A few of the sites have been developed, but not restored.


South coast with Rano Kau in the background.


A lone moai with the face visible.


The toppled moai in the foreground appears to be on a separate ahu that has eroded in to the ocean. Another ahu with toppled moai is in the background.


This image gives a good sense of scale, for this relatively small moai.


As the rain clouds came and went, we were treated to sun drenched slopes of Rano Kau like this.



RANO RARAKU (The Quarry)
This is the area where all the moai were carved. After the work here was completed the statues were moved up to a dozen or so kilometers away, all over the island. How is still a mystery, although there are several theories, none of them proven as far as I know.

Most of the pictures are in no particular order as there is no order to the quarry that I know of. There are two sides to the quarry though, an inside and an outside. Most of these are of the outside, as we could not make it all the way to the inside on this trip. We returned in a few days to revisit the inside.



Us at the quarry.


Our guide advised us that in general what you see above ground is about 1/3 of the total height, so double what you see and that is what is buried beneath the ground.


This is a picture of an incomplete moai. They were carved face up, right in the side of the mountain. The back acted like a keel on a boat and when the appropriate time came, the keel was chipped away and the statue was moved in to a vertical position. In this vertical position, the back was finished and probably some fine detail added. Remember, the eye sockets were not added until the moai was stood on the ahu, which helps identify moai abandoned along the road.






This is a very unique statue. It is (I believe) the only kneeling one on the island. This kneeling posture was a key for Thor Heyerdahl's conclusion that the original inhabitants were from South America, which we now know is incorrect. They are of Polynesian ancestry. It was Heyerdahl's expedition in the 1950s that uncovered and righted this statue.


Inside Rano Raraku. Those dots are moai buried in the ground.


Closeup of inside the quarry.


The gap from inside to outside.








Visible in this shot is the largest moai ever carved, El Gigante. Unfortunately, it never made it to the vertical, let alone on to an ahu. The moai is centered side to side and about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up the photo. It is about 70 feet tall, or 7 stories.












This pictures shows a moai with a carving of a boat on the front. Below the boat and buried is another carving of a turtle.


This is a sneak at our next stop, Tongariki, with 15 standing moai.



TONGARIKI
For me, Tongariki was the most memorable site we visited on Easter Island. I say site, as my most memorable experience is a hike we did three days later.

This is the ahu with the most standing moai, 15 in total. Not only was this site toppled by the inhabitants, but in the 20th century it was inundated by a tidal wave that picked up the multi ton moai and tossed them hundreds of meters (yards) inland. It was restored in the 1990s, supposedly in pay back for allowing one of the moai to travel to Japan. Major support for this restoration came from a Japanese crane company called Todano.

The size is truly impressive. Whereas my wife found the quarry the most fascinating place, it was Tongariki for me. From afar, or up close, it was always captivating. There will be more pictures from here later, when we return for a sunrise visit.



Us in front of Tongariki.




These portions of moai are behind and to the left of the ahu. I think these were moai from an earlier generation and may have been buried within the latest ahu (altar), whick was not uncommon apparently.

If I remember correctly there were three generations of moai, or at least two. The first being more short and wide, and the latter being taller and thinner. Perhaps, only possible after they aquired the skill to work with taller, thinner moai?






These are the topknots leftover after the restoration. I don't know why they were not placed on top of moai. Perhaps they could not determine whick topknot went with which moai.



ANAKENA
This is Anakena Beach on the north coast. The rain was threatening again, hence the gray clouds. Legend has it that the discoverer of Rapa NUI, Hotu Matu'a, landed here. It makes sense, since this about the only place you can access the island from the ocean without coming up to a wall of volcanic rock. Better pictures will follow on another day.



This is the moai that Thor Heyerdahl had the residents stand back up during his expedition in the 1950s. It was his book about this trip, Aku Aku, that inspired my wife, as a school child, to want to go to Easter Island. Although some of his original concepts about Easter Island and the inhabitants origins have now been proven wrong (genetic testing), I find it commendable that he took the chance and started the discussion through this expedition and his book.


This is another ahu at Anakena with several moai on it. This is the back of the ahu, facing the ocean. If you look closely you can see the face of a moai used as a stone in the ahu wall (under the third statue from the right.) It is thought that the ahu where normally oriented so that the moai faced the people in the village, and hence normally had there backs to the ocean.


The same ahu from the other side.


A closeup of one of the moai. This shows the topknot (red hat on top of the moai) very well.



The end, of this day at least.


Added August 22, 2009

I failed to add that we also went to see one of the shows this night. We had planned on going Monday or Tuesday, but ran in to some other guests after dinner and accompanied them to the show.

Matatua is one of four(?) shows on the island, all somewhat similar. Local music and dancing. It was very enjoyable.