Just as an aside, Pelee is pronounced pee-lee. We think it should be peh-lay but that’s just us. It took a while to say it the way the locals (and the rest of Canada) pronounces is.
We went down for breakfast at 9am and chatted some more to the couples. Liz prepared a lovely breakfast with fruit, muffins, juice and cooked food. I hadn’t let her know when I booked that I don’t eat pork. I sheepishly told her and she made me scrambled eggs instead. Won’t forget to do that again.
At breakfast I had a seat facing the window so could see the lake in the background, the long lawn with its green, green grass, and then the bird feeder in the foreground. Sparrows came by and then I saw these tiny birds flit in and then disappear. It wasn’t until a few had been and gone and I got a better look at them that I realised they were hummingbirds. Amazing! They had red breasts and just hovered there like big bumblebees. Seeing them made the whole trip worthwhile. A male oriole with an orange breast stopped by as well. There was also a bush outside that had a number of large yellow and orange butterflies in it.
After breakfast Liz gave us a few pointers on what to see around the island, then we said our goodbyes to her and the other guests as they went off on a cycle ride around the island. We’ll do that next time.
We drove north then east to check out a memorial near the airport. It was made after a plane crash there in 2004 that killed 10 people and two dogs. They were a hunting party from the island (pheasant hunting takes place on the island every year) and were all locals, so it must have hit the small community really hard.
We then drove to the north-western point of the island where there are some ruins of the island’s first winery. The winery burnt down in the 60s (accidentally/deliberately lit by people partying there) but was bought a little while ago by an American who shored up the ruins, built an apparently beautiful wine cellar where he can entertain people, then put a fence around the whole thing to keep people out/stop people from hurting themselves on the ruins. I think it’s the only place on the whole island that’s fenced. We were able to stop outside the fence and take a quick photo (there’s a security camera in the bird house so I’m not sure if anyone was watching).
We then had an argument about which way to go next and then drove off in silence to the south of the island to Fish Point Provincial Park. This is the southernmost point of inhabited Canada. The only place left to go is Middle Island, which is south of Pelee Island, but it’s a nature reserve now and no-one lives there. So we couldn’t actually get any further.
We parked the car then set off into the woods along the tracks. The other guests and Liz had enthusiastically told us many times that spiders and snakes on the island (and in most of Canada) won’t kill you, unlike Australia. We would likely see a fox snake (sounds frightening) but they are non-venomous. Apparently they’re also not too fussed about people so I wasn’t sure what we would do if we came across one in our path and it didn’t slither away. The other snakes keep out of sight mostly.
I went first and Glen enthusiastically and frantically batted away at mosquitoes and flies that came near him (or didn’t). I kept on, secretly terrified I was going to not see a snake or cobweb in my path and would become embroiled with the things of my nightmares. However, I need not have feared and we made it through the forest and emerged onto the beach.
The entry to the path back was marked by a stick stuck in the sand. I hoped the stick wouldn’t disappear before we returned.
The walk to the point was further than I anticipated and the beach isn’t all that comfortable to walk in. I took my shoes off pretty quick and walked along the water’s edge (the dry sand was pretty hot) and it seemed to take ages. The point curled around as well so I think it looked closer than it really was. Plenty of really large seagulls were camping out on the point and took the air as we passed before settling back down again.
At the tip we met a couple from Ohio and stopped and chatted to them about their holidays and our trip, Australia versus America, the usual. Friendly people though. They left and we stood at the tip for a bit before beginning the trek back to the car. Turning back early had never been a serious option.
We caught up with the couple due to the cracking pace we set then walked with them through the forest and back to our car and their bikes. We bid them farewell, then went to the nearby winery for a quick lunch, then zoomed to the northern point of the island to check out the lighthouse.
Once again, we walked along a track. This time I was keen to see a turtle that lives in the area but it eluded me. The guide I’d picked up also said the snakes were plentiful so I was worried/keen about seeing on somewhere. We emerged onto the beach, walked a way up, saw the lighthouse then went up to. It hasn’t been used as a lighthouse since 1909 (or 1903) – it was built in 1833 – but they restored the building for posterity and as another attraction for the island.
While Glen was walking around the base, I was looking at the rocks and bushes nearby and then saw the green banded snake lying there, as happy as larry. “Glen…” I said, perhaps a little too seriously, and then Glen, without even looking, bolted to stand closer to where I was standing. He saw the snake and said, “I’ve had enough now.” I wish I’d gotten a little closer as I wasn’t able to get a photo of its head, only its body. Oh well. At least I’d seen something.
By the time we got back to the car, it was nearly time to get to the dock so we drove around the rest of the island (we’d completed a full circle in one day) and waited to be let on. Hour and a half back, some food along the way, more reading, then off at Kingsville and a four-hour drive home. Really, the driving only took three and a half hours but we stopped along the way so that added more time. Oh, and I didn’t get off at the right exit. The signs are so confusing. It didn’t add much time to the journey and we were able to get back on the right highway quickly.
It turns out we do have free parking under our building which we can use from time to time. That saved me stressing about the car getting broken into on the street and also means we don’t have to fork out exorbitant parking fees.
Four hours driving is probably our limit for car journeys so will have to look at what’s within that radius from Toronto. All in all though, it was a nice little trip, we discovered another part of Canada (and somewhere I’m keen to go back to again, even if it’s just to chill out) and we didn’t kill each other in the car. That’s a success in my book.
Two Travelling Aussies 
So . . . Was it or wasn’t it a fox snake? You don’t say, and EVERYONE wants to know!
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Just searched and yes, it was a Fox Snake. How wonderful 🙂 Just of the green variety.
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We spent one night at their only campground. TLk about arachnophobia! Thousands of them everywhere, even found them inside my clothing!!!
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I think that would have been a bit much for me.
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