Sandcut Beach Under Threat

Sandcut beach on the south-west of Vancouver Island has become one of my favourite beaches since discovering it last year after moving to Victoria. This is one of the most beautiful locations I have ever visited. I have made a number of trips to this beach in the past little while and hope to be able to continue to do this. Unfortunately the current owners of this property, Western Forest Products is looking to sell off 5,700 hectares along the Juan de Fuca straight near Jordan River which includes many of the popular surfing beaches as well as Sandcut beach. Right now local governments and private parties such as UBC and the land conservancy (TLC) are in negotiations to prevent the privatization and development of at least the waterfront portions of this land if not all of it. I can only hope that some kind of agreement is reached so not only Sandcut beach can be saved but this whole area which is simply stunning.

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March Wallpaper

After a beautiful February it is time to move onto March. This photo is from my recent visit to Port Alberni’s hole in the wall.

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Port Alberni’s Hole in the Wall

This weekend while I was in Nanaimo I also made a day trip up to Port Alberni. I am always trying to find new places to go and often find it difficult to find good resources to find new locations, which is one of the reason I started www.WildBC.ca. The night before I left I did a quick search and found a semi dated site that did seem to have a pretty good catalog of hikes around Port Alberni. I set off without setting my hopes to high because I knew the area I had chosen to hike had been logged at some point and the guide I did have was from 2005. The directions did not really stand up but I ran into some locals who where able to point me in the right direction. I was quite amazed to find the “hole in the wall” and not only that but a patch of decent sized trees was left around it.

This locations was unlike anything I have seen before let a lone something so close to home and the walk in was very pleasant. I would highly recommend checking it out if you are passing though or making a trip out to Port Alberni and have an hour or so to spare.

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Canadian Geese

This past weekend I was visiting Naniamo and spent a few hours enjoying the spring like weather down at Neck Point park. While I was there the tide was very low and a pair of Canadian Geese caught my eye on one of the little islands just off shore. Since the tide was low enough I was able to make it over fine, but on the way back I did get wet. The things you will do for a few photos!

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Song Sparrow

I have been feeling under the weather the past few days but managed to get out for a bit this Saturday and made my way to Swan Lake. Looks like spring is on the way, there where a few signs fresh green sprouts. I got there a bit late but I did manage to capture a Song Sparrow (Melospiza Melodia) doing a little dance.

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