Bruce Peninsula

Aug 26, 2013 by Danny in Camping

Cliff jumping at Indian Head Cove

What was that on the signs about no cliff jumping? I think it was something about how people die or get maimed… something like that. Either way, apparently nobody pays attention that nonsense. Dangerous or not, it sure looked like fun. I’d have no problem with the jump mind you, but the climb up the rocks to the top on the other hand made me nervous just watching.

After about eight hours to take the five hour trip to Bruce Peninsula Provincial Park (when will I learn that a four year old doubles travel time?), we quickly setup camp and grabbed some supper before heading out to Indian Head Cove and The Grotto to see what this place was all about. We were pretty lucky that our campsite was very close to the walking trail and it wasn’t that long of a walk so we had some time to check out the beach and climb around on the cliffs.

Indian Head Cove

So off we went climbing around on the cliffs to check it all out, which I’m not ashamed to admit made me quite nervous with my son running around on the jagged cliffs like he’s on the playground! But as you can see he had a great time, only taking time to fuss over not being aloud to climb down the “hole” into The Grotto below.

Overlooking The Grotto

After some time trying as hard as possible to give me a nervous breakdown, my son was getting pretty tired, so it was time for him to head back to camp for the night. Thankfully, my wife knew that there was no way I was leaving at sunset, so I stuck around for a few extra minutes.

At first it looked like there wasn’t going to be much of a sunset, but then the clouds started to clear so I got up the side of the cliff as fast as I could. As I was making my way up, I could hear someone coming up behind me. It turned out to be a local photographer who was also scrambling to get the shot (that’s also him in the red shirt below).

Indian Head Cove

The Grotto

Sunset at Indian Head Cove

The next day, I woke up early (as usual!) with my son and we headed out for a little walk to explore the campground. The question is of course… what to do today? Which we were clearly discussing on our walk.

Exploring Cyprus Lake

First things first, we headed off to Tobermory to check out the town and The Fathom Five National Marine Park. On the way there we also decided to go on one of the boat tours around Flowerpot Island. There were a LOT of choices for different boat tours, but we were lucky to get there just in time to catch the jet boat ride.

Overlooking Tobermory from lookout at Fathom Five

Big Tub Lighthouse

Flowerpot Island

I thought this was JET BOAT!

We slowed down to check out the tall ship

Arrrr matey! Walk the plank me scurvy dog!

You call this fast?

That’s better!

Picnic at Big Tub Lighthouse

After lunch we headed over to Singing Sands Beach. We weren’t sure exactly what to expect there, all we knew was that it was really shallow water, so we decided not to bother with swimsuits. The plan was to wade around in the shallow water just to check it out since it wasn’t deep enough for swimming. That didn’t last long though. Apparently a four old can swim just fine in less than a foot of water.

The loooong walk to the water

So much for staying dry

Why not dance?

After our little impromptu swim party, it was time for another hike. This time the plan was to head back to Indian Head Cove for a swim in Georgian Bay, but we took a different path which took us to this rocky beach. We thought about swimming here instead, but decided we had to swim at the cove, and there was probably no way we were getting in this water twice.

Rocky Beach All Y’all

The previous night when we were at The Grotto, we were told the only way to get to the bottom was through this little hole in the side of the cliff that people were squeezing their way down, so we decided against going in. However on this day there were lots of people that managed to pick their way down over the cliff face. Much better! After all, what could possibly go wrong descending a rocky jagged cliff face with a four year old in tow? Apparently I was the only one nervous about the whole thing so down we went. After a very stern talk about life and death with my son of course. He didn’t actually have to climb anyway, he was basically lowered down one bit at a time and luckily did not decide to have a dance party midway. Despite the precarious climb I’m really glad we went down there, it was pretty cool!

After a nerve wracking climb into The Grotto

The Grotto

What sign about “death” are you talking about?

After our adventure at The Grotto, it was finally time to go for a well deserved dip in Georgian Bay. As you can imagine, it was coooooold, so the only way to do this is all or nothing. We have actually swam in colder water up north but this was a lot colder than we’re used to. It was very refreshing (especially since the campground had no showers!) but once I couldn’t feel my limbs anymore and my organs started shutting down it was time to get out.

This is what I look like before my genitals retreat into my body

Nice form Hayden!

Now this is how you warm up after a swim in Georgian Bay

To wind down our trip, we headed back to our site for some grub and entertainment by the chipmunk family living in the nearby tree, then back to Tobermory for a walk around town (and to check out this so called “sweet shop” we had seen earlier). In retrospect we should have just headed to town for supper rather than eating hot dogs back at camp…I’m looking at you wood fired pizza place. Next time. Next time.