Rock Art with Judith Williams
by Michael Stewart, 15 September 2016.
Mike, skipper of Misty Isles, his wife Samantha, guest historian Judith Williams, and six naturalists departed Lund Harbour, thrilled to hear that there were Humpbacks just outside the harbour. We were able to watch the 2 humpbacks and have this extra unplanned “event” for the beginning of our 2 day voyage. The weather was perfect and the scenery is so amazing. We motored up Thulin Pass to see the first pictograph of our trip. It was very interesting to see what animal was in the pictograph!
We continued past Sarah Point and into Desolation Sound while hearing many tales from both Judith and Mike. The seas were calm and visibility was perfect so we enjoyed the wonderful scenery; then we went north into Waddington Channel where Mike found the location of the next pictograph near Durham Point on East Redonda Island. We continued up Waddington Channel to Walsh cove on West Redonda Island where Misty Isles anchored. From the zodiac, Judith pointed out and explained the pictographs and was delighted to point out the magical dancing reflections on the same rock faces.
Sarah presented us with a tasty home-cooked lunch on board and then Judith demonstrated rock art by mixing us red paint with a base of pulverized salmon eggs. Each person painted an example of their own rock art.
We continued west through Pryce channel where we saw some seabirds, a Dall’s porpoise, another pictograph and more wonderful scenery. At the end of the afternoon, we landed in Evans Bay on Read Island to stay at Coast Mountain Lodge overnight. We were presented with an amazing home cooked(Samantha) gourmet dinner and enjoyed the company of the owners, Ralph and Lannie, and their son and staff. Many more stories were enjoyed.
After breakfast in the lodge, we set out towards Quadra Island. We anchored and all went ashore in the Zodiac to see a petrogylph that Judith had not yet seen. It is in a beautiful setting just north of Rebecca Spit Marine Park. The rock formations were amazing let alone the petroglyph.
Back on Misty Isles, we continued through Uganda Pass and the entrance to Gorge Harbour on Cortes island to see more pictographs. We were entertained with more tales of early settlers and First Nations culture from our skipper and Judith and then another wonderful lunch prepared by Samantha. We had a sunny, calm trip all the way back to Lund.
