Lake Superior

After walking through the camp this bull moose, wandered off along the Magpie River

Northern Ontario, we were warned, would be like driving through a corridor of trees. In practice it has been far from boring. The abundance of lakes, creeks, rocky outcrops and the forested scenery has made for an interesting drive. Every lake we drive past we are on the lookout for bear and moose (without luck so far apart from a fleeting glimpse along the highway in Manitoba) so it is far from uninteresting scenery.

After our stay at Kakabeka Falls, we had one night booked at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, so named because from Thunder Bay the landmass across the bay looks like a sleeping giant.

Sleeping Giant Provincial Park and Lake Marie Louise

Yards from Marie Louise Lake shore it was a beautiful location albeit devoid of any cell phone coverage. A noticeable feature of much of our drive in NW Ontario. We didn't have a lot of time to explore, but spent the first afternoon driving down to Silver Islet and admiring the collection of holiday cottages along the seashore and popping into the historic General Store (dating back to 1871) beside the small marina which is also a cafe/gift shop, snooker hall and ice-cream parlour. Quite isolated, many properties drew water from Lake Superior for their water source. What a fabulous place for a summer holiday. So quiet.

Middlebrun Bay beach - empty

The following morning, with a 2.00pm checkout, we decided to hike down to Middlebrun Bay, a 5k out and back trail. We saw nobody on the way out and arrived at a long deserted beach apart from a couple walking away from us at the far end - over a kilometer away. As we were the only car in the parking lot, we assumed they had been wild camping. On our return we only saw one family and another walker.

Where is everybody taking their summer holiday? The family were out for their morning run from their 5th generation family cottage at the top of Silver Islet. They live in Thunder Bay.

Leaving Sleeping Giant, we had a short 100km journey to Stillwater Campground where we had booked a couple of nights to explore the northern Lake Superior area.

After driving in to the site, we drove straight back out. Alongside the highway, it felt run down, had poor layout and was yards from traffic noise. There were no staff on arrival, and there was only one other trailer on the site, which said a lot. We drove onto our next stop, 360k south.

Wawa campground found space for us on our booked site (we'd rung ahead before leaving Stillwater) and we have stayed for five nights, using it as a base to explore the central Lake Superior Provincial Park areas which are huge.

The Magpie River flowed alongside the camp, part of a network of interconnected rivers and lakes,

Magpie River - dammed to provide hydro power

including Lakes Wawa and Superior. The town of Wawa, was OK, had the shops we needed and more motels and hotels than I have seen before in one place, though it wasn't busy.

It provided a great base to explore the forests, creeks and beaches, which like many of the places we had seen before, were empty.

Our concern before the trip, with more Canadians staying at home this summer, was that campsites would be heaving, and the beauty spots overflowing. In practice it has been the opposite of Bournemouth Beach and probably every other European beach.

Early on the second day of our stay I was walking Jack down to the river and was told to 'ssshhh' by a fella standing by the water. A bull moose had just entered the river having walked through the camp and was trotting away in the water on the far side. I just managed to get a short video (above) of his haunches disappearing in the distance. What an awesome sight, so typical of Northern Ontario.

Later that day we were off exploring and went up to Rock Island Lodge at Michipocoten FN (First Nations land) - it was tucked away on a rocky outcrop (see pic below) but was a canoeist haven. We were told we could get a coffee there by one of our fellow campers so in went Fred to ask for coffees. Turned out the coffee and lounge were only for guests but they happily gave us free coffee which we had outside whilst chatting to a French speaking local who was explaining the mining history (mines being bought up then closed) and the annual Salmon Derby where 100's of boats arrive to catch tons of salmon on August 10.

The two local rivers, the Magpie and the Michipicoten merge just below the small hydro dam on the Magpie, which then flows into into Michipicoten Bay, on Lake Superior. Our camp was adjacent to the the river and reservoir that feeds the hydro plant.

Day three and we checked out Old Woman Bay. Driving back from the Ontario Parks Office with our summer park permit, a recognisable Allegro motorhome towing a white Jeep was parked on the highway. A couple (Stella & Jack) from BC, who we met at Elkwater Campground in Alberta and who like us are going across to the east, were checking out the beach. This is the third time we have 'bumped' into them.

He is a fellow Nikon photographer and Stella a keen crocheter so after we got chatting at Elkwater, and a few beers/glasses of wine later - we have been keeping in touch and have had unplanned rendezvous on route. Methinks, it won't be the last time. They're now ahead of us in Pancake Bay on Lake Superior.

Rather than lots of text, here are some images of the last few days, to let the pictures tell the story.