Left Burial Island around 13:00 once the mist had lifted and the current calmed and went through Chatham Channel with 2 boats following.  Tons of long kelp on both sides of the  channel.  Clear cuts mostly replanted abound both on the mainland and the islands.  The shores are dotted with numerous small settlements, net lofts on stilts, a post office in the middle of nowhere called Minstrel island post office.  Funny thing it’s no longer on Minstrel island but in fact in a wee hut in the mainland.

Next passage to navigate en route to Lagoon Cove was Blowhole.  Called such as the wind funnels through.  Which it did with a severe chill!.

At the entrance to Blowhole, there is a small outcrop of buildings in Minstrel Island which used to house the post office and of all things, the local dance hall.  Apparently folks used to congregate for community events and dances coming in from the various homesteads.

Safely anchored in 35 feet of water at the drying end of Lagoon Cove.  Behind us is the lagoon which at high water looks like you could sail in for quite a ways – nasty trick though – it dries!

Time for a dinghy ride into the drying lagoon.  Guess who we found just after dropping Macduff for a pee?  Mama grizzly and cub!  A bit too close for comfort.

Each morning the hills are covered in a heavy foggy mist that seems to hang in til around noon.  It makes for cool damp mornings which have actually necessitated turning on the furnace one or two mornings whilst wearing fleece pants and tops.  Although on the one hand it’s pretty, it’s also a bit dismal.  It must get rather socked in  during the winter months and I can only imagine how depressing it might be.   Morning sounds abound with swallows sitting in the pulpit and eagles and ravens skirmishing in the trees.  Warmer afternoons bring out the swallow tail butterflies and hummingbirds.

Decided that we’d just rather hang out in the warm sun and read while also trying to catch a crab for dinner.  Apparently crab don’t like jalapeño cheddar smokies as we remain crabless!

Having seen mom Grizzly and cub and taken such poor shots with the iPhone,  I was keen to head back to her grazing area with my Nikon 500 m lens.  I figured going at the same time she may have a routine and would be there.  I was right.  Mom spent time grazing the grass while jr rolled and played on the logs. The cub seemed very young and playful .  

I’d forgotten how difficult it is to hold a big lens steady in a little dinghy in waves.  Result a number of blurry shots and a few good ones.  We didn’t want to scare her or get too close obviously as bears do swim!  To really get a good shot you’d need a 1.4 or 2x teleconverter.  At one point when perhaps she could sniff Macduff, she turned and swatted the cub down where it remained until she walked in and called it.  Think Macduff needs to remain onboard the big boat next time I go shooting!

Lagoon Cove Surprise Next Morning

Amazing morning of bear watching in Lagoon Cove.  Another sow and cub were on the beach very close to where we were anchored.  I’ve always had a healthy appreciation and fear of grizzlies but when I watched momma start overturning boulders to find crabs etc under them, it became very clear how easy it would be for her to throw a human in the air just for sport!  She’d roll a boulder and start munching and then every once in awhile turn one just for the cub.  Wow you should have seen how quickly she smacked the babe down when he went to chew in her space.  He cried for a good 5 minutes after lying there shaking.  

After grazing the seafood, it was back to chomping on grass before heading to the next beach jackpot.  A little while later mom threw herself in the ocean and lay there til babe ventured into the water too.  My guess from the distance was she was teaching it to swim.  Once finished, he joyfully ran in circles on the beach.  Feel very fortunate to have experienced this!