Walbran Park

When I posted yesterday's photo of the Blacktail deer I mentioned that I was in Walbran Park for the view. And it is a very nice view, even on an overcast day like Friday. Here we are looking at MacNeil Bay on the eastern side of Vancouver Island.

Walbran Park

Here's a view of MacNeil Bay that has never graced the pages of this blog before. We are here looking east from a tiny green space called Walbran Park. It's very close to Gonzales Observatory but seems to be a separate summit of the same rocky hill formation. However, while Gonzales provides beautiful views looking over the city and strait westwards, Walbran offers spectacular views looking towards the east. See Mount Baker on the far left.

Beaches 4 - McNeill Bay

This tiny bay and islet provide a perfect resting place for this group of kayakers out for a paddle. This place marks one end of McNeill Bay. The three ocean beaches I featured last week are all on the eastern side of the southern tip of Vancouver Island. McNeill Bay is just around the corner and faces south rather than east. This bay and rest of Victoria's beaches are on the south and west sides of the island and are generally pebble beaches rather than sand. They are not so kind to bare feet and are hence less popular with beach people. The eastern beaches also seem to be more sheltered from the prevailing winds.

Attention!

It's nice to see a sense of humor from the City of Oak Bay Recreation Department. This sign is posted on the entrance to the beach at MacNeil Bay. This beach is usually nearly deserted - it's really only a narrow strip of rocks and sand below the esplanade. Earlier this year MacNeil Bay hosted a visiting Gray Whale thoughtfully recorded by N. Wemyss and posted to YouTube by NorthOlbo.