|
Where whales rule: Rugged, remote Mingan Islands
David Yates
The Montreal Gazette
July 3, 2004
PERMISSION FOR USE PENDING
It's a damp morning as the kayaks slide off the sandy beach into the frigid water. The placid surface helps us find a quick paddling rhythm, and the only sound is the splash of the drips as the blades rise from the water.
About 12 kilometres in the misty distance lies the blurred shape of Grande Ile. It is our destination for the first night in the Mingan Islands, a scattering of isolated outcrops just off the north coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We are north of Anticosti Island, which we see from time to time over the next week as a looming hulk to the south.
There is much natural bounty here, but the land and sea are unforgiving and it takes a hardy human to make a subsistence living of cod, crabs and caribou. Thousands have, and thousands still do, but no one has described this rack of rock and stunted trees better than favourite son Gilles Vigneault of Natashquan. "Mon pays, c'est l'hiver," he wrote, and even in the height of summer you feel you are never too far away from the icy blasts of winter.
Gliding just above the surface, I am apprehensive of making a mistake in the usually stable craft despite the calm day. The odds are short of surviving a dunking.
But my fears are quickly forgotten as a piercing cry breaks the silence barrier. It's the call of a whale, and we will hear many more in the next week as we navigate our small craft through the islands and surrounding waters that teem with wildlife, including puffins. There are nine species of whale in the waters of the islands, and we see many of the smaller ones, including porpoises.
It took us two days to get here from Montreal in a van with five sea kayaks stacked on top and packed with enough gear and food to get five of us through our week of island-hopping.
After an overnight stay in Tadoussac, we hit the road (Highway 138 in this case) and drove past Baie Comeau, Godbout and Sept Iles, crossing salmon river after salmon river. We arrived late in the afternoon at Longue Pointe de Mingan where we registered at the office of the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve. The reserve consists of 1,000 islands and stretches 150 kilometres along the coast from Longue Pointe de Mingan to Natashquan and Pointe Parent, where the highway ends.
We made camp in nearby Mingan before setting off the next morning.
We will not see puffins, unfortunately, because they have better things to do. It is nesting time on the Ile aux Perroquets and intruders are not allowed.
It's a long journey to the Mingans, but this is where you can mingle with the cetaceans on their terms. Whales rule here.
There are few motorboats -- and none making pests of themselves -- or hordes of gawkers leaning over the railings of tour boats. In this part of the world, the whales investigate the humans who dare trespass in their environment and not the other way around.
The paddling on our initial day takes us to Grande Ile, where we set up camp at one of two sites on the island. Overnight a stiff wind blows out the cloud cover and humidity, and we set off in the sun the next day. The paddling is great in the morning and we meet one of the great characters of the islands, Gilles Chagnon, a transplanted Montrealer who is head of Expedition Agaguk, which runs overnight tours to the islands from Havre St. Pierre.
We stop to chat and tell him that we are headed for Ile Niapiskau, which has remarkable monoliths -- huge statues of rock carved by the wind and tides. He gives us a map of the tidal currents. He's leading a group of kayakers on a three-night outing and, because they are new to the activity, he keeps them close to shore.
We decide to be more daring and head for open water, straight for Niapiskau with a stiff breeze at our back. Straight is a relative term because the tide hits us at an angle and we twist and turn as we slide over the whitecaps. We correct constantly with the rudder.
After two hours of slaloming, we wash ashore at Niapiskau where the strong wind pins us down for two days. It gives us a chance to hike around the island and take in the garden of huge monoliths on the south side. They are one of the major attractions of the islands and draw a few dozen tourists who are ferried over by local boat companies each day.
Our next stop, after a few hours of paddling, is Ile du Havre, where we spend two nights camped on the beach. It's not exactly legal, but the weather prevents us from getting to our assigned sites on another island. As the rain pelts down, we build a huge fire with driftwood.
The crowning moment of a host of exhilarating times comes on the sixth day as we paddle back to our campsite on Ile du Havre after exploring Petite Ile au Marteau, which has an abandoned lighthouse. A whale, just under the surface, moves alongside Dave Murphy, of Halifax.
"It went under my kayak," says Murphy, his face stricken with panic.
As he tries to paddle away, Bob Johnston, of Ottawa, shouts at him not to move. "This could make a good picture." We all scramble for our cameras and wait for the whale to come back to the surface. It never does, and the blood slowly returns to Murphy's face as the apprehension fades.
This is a wilderness vacation and with it come all the fringe benefits: wild weather, wicked waves and heart-stopping moments with whales.
- - -
If You Go
History: Hardy people from the Gaspe and the Magdalen Islands settled here more than 150 years ago, and they fly the Acadian flag. It flutters everywhere. Before them, the Innu arrived and still live off this rugged land.
What to wear: To be comfortable even in summer, you need warm clothing, sturdy shoes and wet weather gear.
Facilities: The area is equipped with restaurants, hotels, motels and B&Bs.
Getting there: You can drive directly to the Mingans by Highway 138 from Quebec City (870 kilometres) or you can take the ferry service (Nordik Express, 1-800-463-0680) from Rimouski, and it hops to Sept Iles, Port Menier on Anticosti Island, Havre St. Pierre and the Lower North Shore. There is also ferry service from Matane to Baie Comeau or Godbout. For air service, contact Air Satellite Inc. in Baie Comeau (1-418-589-8923).
Information: National Parks of Canada offers information at www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/qc/mingan. Camping sites, complete with plenty of firewood and tent platforms, should be reserved.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2004
|
