Maybe other baby-boomers can relate to this. There comes a time in your life when you know you’re probably not going to sky dive or climb Mount Everest but you still can enjoy the outdoors; o.k. maybe skydiving is still on your bucket list. For me I can’t say these were ever on my list to start with but I get to enjoy the outdoors in my own way.

I found that the Cowichan Bay area has so much to offer in this respect. There is whale watching excursions, crabbing  fishing, camping, hiking, picnicking, beaches, bird-watching, kayaking and playgrounds for children to name a few activities. There are bicycle trails, swimming holes, and tennis courts.

Welcome to Cowichan Bay

Sign up for whale watching

kayaking

Another thing that makes this place attractive for me is that it is only a half hour by car from Victoria and there is bus transportation.

Transportation on land

It is part of the Cowichan Valley district when the route is completed it will link all the communities with trails that will be uninterrupted for 122 km. I enjoyed a beautiful day, bird-watching and checking out the beaches, even though it was a little windy walking .

I passed many quaint cottages, Inns and B&B’s with neat names like Peggy’s cove ( maybe the owner of that one is transplanted from Nova Scotia).

Cottage named Peggy’s cove

B&B

old abandoned cottage

They are trying to control the development with new condos blending in with the current type of homes.

New condos

I walked over to Hegate Park. There were lots of benches to sit and rest have a snack and watch the activities on the water.

View of Cowichan Bay

Busy on the water

Then I visited the nature centre at the Cowichan estuary. There was a group of young people enjoying everything including the interpretative installations. They were stopping in from Alberta on a sailing trip around the Gulf Islands having great fun. We all enjoyed the wildlife viewing platform.

Estuary and nature centre

Flowers are coming up through the ground in the woods

Info signs placed all along estuary walk

There is a group of individuals that are protecting the heritage of the Qu’wut’sun people the ecosystem and adding to the uniqueness of this cittaslow community.

http://www.cowichanestuary.ca/

Related articles

• Cowichan Bay a cittaslow community – part 1 (babyboomersmusings.com)