Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Exploring the sand dunes

There are many beautiful walks on the island.  A favourite walk that guests keep returning to is the hike up the enormous sand dunes on West Telegraph Bay.

Easter saw three families (10 children) take up residence in the Homestead.  The entire group headed up the sand dune one sunny morning.

A short trip up the beach in the "troupie" got everyone to the starting point.


Eager children took off up the sand.


The terrain is varied and fascinating.  The sand dune changes from month to month, year to year, depending on the winds and other factors.  In this section are lots of trees that have been covered up by the moving sands (and an eager person's football in the foreground.)


This is the fun part of the walk, where the slope is at a great angle for rolling, jumping or tobogganing down.  Some plastic sheeting or flat cardboard would have been handy to fashion a ride out of at this point.


All along the way there are some beautiful finds; from bleached, silvery drift wood to interesting rocks and sand formations.


Then, when you get to the top the stunning views make it all worthwhile.  This is looking south down West Telegraph Bay.  


This is the view north to the protected cove at the top of West Telegraph Bay.