Martin um die Welt: 2) Algonquin National Park and Lake Simcoe

Freitag, 7. August 2015

2) Algonquin National Park and Lake Simcoe

From Ottawa we drove northwest to Algonquin National Park. We were eager to see the famous Canadian landscape. We drove straight to the Visitor Center, where we arrived at late afternoon. After gathering some information and a map, we went for the first hiking trail: lookout. Already after a hundred meters we saw the first chipmunk and we were to see plenty more :) This short trail indeed offers a great lookout over the National Park. Before sunset we also went to Beaver Pond. Unfortunately, we didn't encounter any beavers. After sunset we checked into our hotel Bellwood Inn. Which was conveniently located near the entrance of Algonquin National Park. The owner was friendly and helpful and offered us to do campfire or bbq behind the hotel. Instead we walked down to Whitney village and enjoyed a great dinner at The Mad Musher.
The next morning (05.08.) we drove to lake Opeongo in Algonquin Park and rented two Kayaks for four hours. It was my first time in a Kayak, but Franzi explained it well to me and it was quite some fun. The lake is amazing. After each corner you pass you see a new part of the lake, even larger than the one before. After ~1 km we stopped on a tiny island and after ~5 km we stopped for lunch picnic. The way back was faster than expected but still a bit exhausting :) From lake Opeongo we drove to the Visitor Center for some lunch. Afterwards we headed for Booth's Rock hiking trail, which was highly recommended to us by a guide in the Visitor Center. Just after leaving the Visitor Center we saw three black bears crossing the street! We were skeptical at first but then it turned out to truly be a great trail with amazing vistas. Also, on the way we spotted two red squirrels :D As it was already near sunset, we drove to The Mad Musher again for dinner^^ After dinner we drove into Algonquin Park again desparately hoping to see a moose - but we wern't lucky. However, we bought some marshmallows earler and had a campfire and our hotels place. That was super cozy until something make noise from the woods. As it turned out the next morning it might have been black bears that came that night looking through the trash bins. The next morning (06.08.) we checked out and drove through Algonquin Park stopping for Hemlock Bluff, Hardwood Lookout and Whisky Rapids trails. At Hardwood Lookout we encountered a very lively chipmunk during a short banana-break. However, all three trails were a bit disappointing compared to the Booth's Rock and Lookout trail from the days before... but may also because we didn't see any new things.
We then continued to Orilla at Lake Simcoe. There we stayed at Lakeside Inn motel. We quickly went to the beach for some sunbathing and got some ice cream on the way too :D A short break at our hotel later, we went for dinner at the center of Orilla - the restaurant was called Brewery Bay Food. The next day (07.08.) we bought some groceries for a picnic breakfast and went straight for the beach again. This day Franzi and I went for swimming too (the water was terribly cold - probably less than 20°C). Additionally, we played tok tok and frisbee - our beloved beach activities :) After some good beach time we bought a milk shake at Tim Hortons and continued towards Toronto.