Gabriola Families go camping in Lake Cowichan

On Monday 12 families from Gabriola loaded up their coolers, tents, boats and kids and headed down to the group campsite at the Gordon Bay Provincial Park in Lake Cowichan. With 21 kids with us, we had a lot of activity on the beach and at the campsite. This was our third annual group camping trip. On the first night we usually do a pot-luck dinner, a great feast after the work of setting up camp. The group campsite is perfect, it has a large clearing, a covered area, electricity, hot and cold running water, outhouses and even a wood stove. We managed to get in lots of beach time, a few campfires, visiting with our friends, a bit of kayaking and some windsurfing. I left to come back to work on Gabriola Wednesday morning, and the commute was great. I had packed up and hit the road by 7:15, caught the 8:15 ferry from Nanaimo to Gabriola and was in my door by 9am. Submitted by: Tina Lynch

Boating adventure from Gabriola Island

We were lucky to have our friends lend us their Zodiac this summer. On Sunday night, we decided to cook dinner over a campfire. My husband, kids and myself loaded up the small Zodiac and headed to Black Berry Point on Valdez Island, it was about a 15 minute boat trip from Degnen Bay on Gabriola. Surrounded by clouds, the shells on this beach glistened in the sun. There was a beautiful fire pit already made, so we brought out the European Hot Dogs and Bannock Batter and had our best summer night yet. Inspired, we've decided to head there again tonight with some new Islanders - hope they like small boats and outdoor cooking.