Road trip to Tobermory - Week 19

During week 19 of the pandemic I took a little road trip up to Tobermory for three days.

On the way up to Tobermory I stopped at Falls Reserve Conservation Area which is just outside Benmiller.  Set along the scenic Maitland River, Falls Reserve Conservation Area is a 230 acre natural outdoor playground.  Over thousands of years, the river has carved its way through rock, leaving behind a rugged river valley.  Wide and shallow, the river cascades over a series of low waterfalls as it flows around the park.

Then on to Tobermory, on the tip of the Bruce Peninsula.

Can you see the bee that was captured in mid flight as well?

Sunset from the point

MS Chi-Cheemaun is a passenger and vehicle ferry which runs between Tobermory and Manitoulin Island.  Chi-cheemaun means ‘big canoe’ in Ojibwe.

Flowerpot Island is an island in Georgian Bay, just off the coast from Tobermory, and is part of Fathom Five National Marine Park.  The island has a total area of about 2 square kilometres and the name of the island comes from two rock pillars on its eastern shore, which look like flower pots.  The flowerpots are a type of sea stack, formed over many years as wind, rain, waves and ice hammered away at the cliff that once stood alongside the water’s edge.  The softer rock eroded more quickly, leaving the harder rock in the shape of flowerpots with trees growing on top.

There are also some wonderful hiking trails on Flower Pot Island.

Little Tub Harbour - one of two harbours at Tobermory

Big Tub Harbour is Canada’s largest, natural, freshwater harbour.  Within Big Tub Harbour are some of Canada’s best preserved shipwrecks, many dating back to the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the tour boats that usually take you to see the shipwrecks were not operating.

Originally constructed in 1885 the Big Tub Lighthouse played an important role guiding ships into the harbour from the sometimes treacherous waters of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.  Tobermory’s light, now automated, still guides boats through powerful currents, frequent fogs and numerous shoals to the safety of Big Tub Harbour.

A stop on the way back to Bayfield, this time at Sauble Falls Provincial Park.  The falls here are the lower drainage basin of the Sauble River and there is also a really nice hiking trail that meanders through the forest and along the river.