Camping in the wild in Algonquin, Canada.

Getting there.

It was a 4 hour drive from Hamilton to Algonguin. It was a further 4 hour kayak to reach the island we were camping on, with 2 portages to navigate. the scenery was stunning and we started off full of energy, which soon turned into 'are we there yet?' to which the response was 'just round the next bend'

Campsite

Facilities.

The walk to the loo

The loo

Food supplies

Washing up

Views.

Entertainment.

There is no phone signal, internet or electricity, in fact there is no running water, you have to boil the lake water for a drink.

Wildlife.

Sadly I didn't see a moose and thankfully I didn't see a bear, although there was evidence of both with foot prints and bear poo.
The loon bird was wonderful, it had a really eerie cry that started before sunrise, so not a lot of sleep was had. It was very graceful in the water but is rather clumsy on land.

Dragonflies and butterflies were numerous

I spent ages watching this inch worm climb up, down and around this stick.

Mosquito repellant was not enough, it was a case of cover up everywhere.

Being Bear prepared. Bear Poo found 100 metres from the tent, providing photographic proof for the question 'Does a bear shit in the woods?'

Food hoisted in the air, between two trees.

Bear repellant, your best line of defence to survive a bear attack.

Sadly not everyone removed their rubbish from the lakes, increasing the risk of attacks on humans.

Plants

The flora in Algonguin was stunning, it was hard to miss a thing, it was also hard to see everything, on the ground, in the trees, under rocks.

'Leaves of three, leave them be'

Poison Ivy

If the bear is brown, lie down, if it's black, fight back and if it's white, goodnight.

This is a phrase used many times on social media when I said I was going camping in the wildness of Algonquin in Canada last summer.

On arrival at the canoe launch we were warned of a heighten risk of bears around the campsites and portages. 

We were given information leaflets on the storage of food and to remove all garbage and food from the campsite on departure. 

We gathered up a discarded black bag full of beer cans and other rubbish that some selfish visitors to the area had discarded in the area where a bear sighting had been reported.

I'm very grateful not to have seen a bear on our visit, however we believe we had a close encounter with one at the camp site when we found bear poo within 100 meters of the tent, officially answering the question 'does a bear shit in the woods?'

We didn't go anywhere without a can of bear spray, even the short distance between the camp fire and the tent.

So what do you do if you encounter a bear? There are 4 types of bear encounters you could experience.

A fleeing bear.

Enjoy the sight of it running away.

An habituated bear.

DO NOT RUN. 

If the bear is fishing or foraging for berries, calmly leave the area.

If the bear is approaching you, stand still, face it, yell, throw sticks and rocks, use a whistle, make yourself as big as possible, wave your arms and use the bear spray.

If that fails, depending on how you reached your campsite either get into you car or a building on into your canoe and paddle away.

A defensive bear may see you as a threat to it's food source and it will huff and blow air through it's nostrils and swat the ground and make mock charges. Talk to the bear and back away and leave the area.

A predatory bear will silently stalk you, leave the area by canoe or car but DO NOT TURN AND RUN. DO NOT CLIMB A TREE.

If you cannot leave, do EVERYTHING you can to fight back. DO NOT PLAY DEAD. Fighting back with noise, sticks and rocks is the only way to halt the attack.

I'm glad I didn't see a bear, I'm not sure I'd react all that calmly faced with a situation like that.

One thing to remember is to camp in in groups, there have been no reports of bear attacks on groups of 6 or more people, most attacks occur when there are only 1 or 2 people.

Does a bear shit in the woods?

This one certainly did, about 100 metres from our tent while camping in the wild in Algonquin, Ontario, Canada, last summer.

Week 28 - Project 365

I'm home, I'm back in Dubai after 3 weeks of visiting Canada. I started the week with a 3 hour 30 minute canoe in Algonquin. I spent Monday till Wednesday In Toronto in a hotel near the airport and toured the city on foot, a bit of shopping and lots of coffee. 14 hours of Thursday was spent in the air and Friday I was out in the desert with hubby and Bob. Saturday was a bit of a mess, I've lost 8 hours of my day and had little sleep in economy. I had to unpack and put everything away as hubby needed the suitcase to pack in as he's off to the UK on Monday.

‪Day186‬ ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎MeToday‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎ImEating‬‪ #‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project365‬ 

I've been eating dehydrated food cooking with lake water and dried fruits and nuts. I'm craving sugar and coffee so we've stopped for a @timhorton on route home ‪#‎camping‬‪#‎algonquin‬ ‪#‎canoe‬ ‪#‎lake‬ ‪#‎outback‬ ‪#‎wildlife‬ ‪#‎nature‬ ‪#‎canada‬ ‪#‎tourist‬‪ #‎holiday‬ ‪#‎wilderness‬ ‪#‎countryside‬ ‪#‎ontario‬

Day 187 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎MyName‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎SomethingNew‬‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project365‬ 

I've got loads of pieces of paper with my name on related to my travels. Traveling on my own isn't something new, visiting different countries isn't something new, trying new experiences isn't something new but being in Toronto in Canada is something new.

Day 188 #onedailypositive #minimalistic #fmsphotoaday #sun #project.

No lenses, no filters, just a sunrise and point and shoot.#camping #algonquin #canoe #lake #outback #wildlife#nature #canada #tourist #holiday #wilderness#countryside #ontario

Day 189 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎InMyFridge‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎MyTown‬‪ #‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project365‬ 

I've been in a hotel for the past 2 nights in My Town of Toronto. I've been at the airport for the past 5 hours this is one of the many fridges I've purchased something from ‪#‎Toronto‬ ‪#‎Ontario‬‪#‎Canada‬ ‪#‎solo‬ ‪#‎travel‬ ‪#‎expat‬ ‪#‎explore‬ ‪#‎tourist‬


Day 190 #onedailypositive #street #fmsphotoaday#sunglasses #snaphappybritmums #project365 

Taken today facing @casaloma with the streets of Toronto behind me. #toronto #Ontario #Canada #solo #travel#expat #explore #tourist

Day 191 #onedailypositive #MyStory #fmsphotoaday #JulySelfie #snaphappybritmums #project365 

My Story is wife of one and mother to 5. 1000's of miles from home, away from my 4 adult children and a 16 yo in boarding school. I need to stop focusing on what I used to be and find a new identity for who I am now and what I can be. It's difficult to keep changing, especially when I know I'll have to change again with the next relocation.



Day 192 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎late‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎sport‬‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project365‬ 

I got confused with the time difference thinking it was 4 hours ahead of the UK in Dubai and missed the 1st set of the tennis

Week 27 - Project 365

Week 27 started off wet here in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada. In fact the whole week has involved water in one form or another. Monday was a visit to the Niagara Falls and a buffet lunch in the skylon tower with fantastic views of the falls.

Tuesday was a trip to the waterfront in Hamilton, I walked 14 kms which included a climb down of 200 steps and back up again at the end of the day. Wednesday was Canada Day, my feet were hurting and as we were off camping the following day, it was a day of rest and feet soaking. Thursday saw us drive north to Algonquin and a 2 hour kayak on the water to reach Little Doe campsite, returning on the Sunday (hence this blog post being a day late)

What I've loved the most about the fmsphotoaday and snaphappybritmums photo prompts are that they get me out the house every day, even if it's just in the garden or the local shops as it takes quite a bit of thought to combine the two prompts. For the next 50 days and I guess until September 1st, snaphappybritmums are running 50 days of summer over on instagram instead of this prompt. I've decided to do the #50Days #summer prompts in order and have asked twitter and Facebook for an additional 12 prompts to take me up to September.

Day 179 #onedailypositive #orange #fmsphotoaday #special #snaphappybritmums #project365  

I've travelled 11,092kms from home in #Dubai to #Hamilton #Ontario #Canada home of Tim Hortons. To be honest I'm not a big fan of their coffee, too creamy and despite how many times I say 'no chocolate on the top' it comes with chocolate, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not a big problem.

Tim Hortons involvement with charity and the local communities is very strong. On June 3rd 2015 they raised $12.4 million with 100% of coffee sales donated to the Tim Horton Children's Foundation, which provides camp and learning experiences for 17,000 disadvantaged children in Canada. Which I think is something special.

Day 180 #onedailypositive #animal #fmsphotoaday #AList #snaphappybritmums #project365

My Animal A list.

These photos were taken at Kruger National Park in 2014. The Leopard photo was taken in June and the others in September, although I did see the Big 5 on the trip in September I wasn't able to get a good photo, this one was taken on my iPhone as it just sauntered past the car. #solo #travel #expat #explore #holiday #tourist #TheBig5 #SANParks

Day 181 ‪#‎onedailypositive‬ ‪#‎design‬ ‪#‎fmsphotoaday‬ ‪#‎button‬‪#‎snaphappybritmums‬ ‪#‎project365‬ 

One of the many art displays in the town To commentate the ‪#‎TO2015‬ ‪#‎PamAmGames‬ ‪#‎solo‬ ‪#‎Travel‬ ‪#‎Explore‬‪#‎Expat‬ ‪#‎Tourist‬ ‪#‎HamOnt‬ ‪#‎hamilton‬ ‪#‎ontario‬ ‪#‎canada‬

Day 182 #onedailypositive #InTheHouse #fmsphotoaday #WhatIWore #snaphappybritmums #50days #summer #project365

I'm not in my house but this is what I wore yesterday after a 14km walk to the Waterfront in Hamilton to the edge of Lake Ontario which included 200 steps down and then back up a steep hill. I bought these in the City on my way to the Waterfront as the shoes I was wearing caused huge blisters on my feet, they ones were so much better. Who needs an excuse to buy new shoes anyway?

Day 183 #onedailypositive #SignedSealedDelivered#fmsphotoaday #Path #snaphappybritmums #project #halfway 

After a 4 hour drive and a 4 hour canoe we made it to the campsite. This is the path that leads to the toilet and by toilet I mean a long drop with a wooden box and seat on top #camping #algonquin#canoe #lake #outback #wildlife #nature #canada#tourist #holiday #wilderness #countryside #ontario

Day 184 #onedailypositive #Outing #fmsphotoaday #RedWhiteBlue #snaphappybritmums #project365

Home for the weekend #camping #algonquin #canoe #lake #outback #wildlife #nature #canada #tourist#holiday #wilderness #countryside #ontario

Day 185 #onedailypositive #RedWhiteBlue#fmsphotoaday #stars #snaphappybritmums #project365 

Still working on not using auto settings on my Nikon camera. I didn't have a tripod and it was too cloudy while camping. This photo was taken last week at #NiagaraFalls on the border with #America#camping #algonquin #canoe #lake #outback #wildlife#nature #canada #tourist #holiday #wilderness#countryside #niagara #americanfalls #ontario