Spieden Island

May 7, 2018


[perfectpullquote align="full" bordertop="false" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]"Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday" – John Wayne.[/perfectpullquote]

Sitting only E of Vancouver Island and a few hundred kilometres South of the city of Vancouver, Spieden Island is an elongated, roughly 516 acre, stunning piece of Pacific Northwest history. While mainly attainable by boat today, a landing strip too sits atop the sun-drenched island: a remnant from the 1970s when a hotel and small-scale hanger were congenital to house American taxidermists.

View of Spieden Island on Whale Watching Tour

Exotic Deer on Spieden Island


As the fable goes, John Wayne used to venture to this cute isle with his Seattle-based hunting pals to stem 'wild' big game on their newly claimed geographic spoil. Many say that giraffe, tigers, and kangaroos were brought to the island by these adventurists every bit they sought to create an exotic land that was about to abode. While the geography and climate couldn't sustain these majestic creatures, the tale of their brusk existence still lives on.

Zodiac Skipper and Whale Watching Tour Guide Mark Malleson

Mark Malleson, Whale Researcher and Tour Guide Virtuoso

The island has yet to host a permanent human being population, but today, wild deer from this celebrity-influenced era still live off its grasses. Mouflon sheep from Corsica, dormant deer from Europe, and Sitka deer from Central Asia were brought over and, impressively, managed to sustain themselves on the island afterwards the hunters moved on to their next conquest.

Currently, Oakley cofounder James Jannard owns this history-rich strip of country that runs parallel to the Spieden Chanel. Deer hunting on the isle has since ceased because Spieden Island sits merely a few kilometres north of the relatively more than populated San Juan Islands. The worry of bullets reaching beyond made certain that continued gaming could non exist a safe bet for locals. It'due south unknown if Jannard or family however visit, simply it has certainly been kept quite serene.

View of Spieden Island on Whale Watching Tour

Grazing Deer on Spieden Isle

Cruising by, you can still spot the beautiful Asian and European deer grazing in the dominicus–in rather large numbers. They besprinkle off if they hear an engine too close, but they're a stunning sight to encounter as you lot approach. A beautiful view from the bounding main, Spieden is freckled on the South slope with glacial erratics (boulders) that sit down on the arid merely grassy hills. Left behind subsequently existence picked up past ancient glaciers, information technology looks almost as though they were placed at that place strategically, like hand-carved chess pieces. Only it was the melting of these glaciers millennia ago left the erratics where they sit today.

Passing by in the spring (just in time for our Apr-start Zodiac tours!), you'll spot a purple tone that paints the grooves in the hillside: brindled wildflowers grow in the sun and ocean air. The north side of the island is oddly stark in its inverse: a deep, heavy forest gives information technology a contrasting hue. This affluent in flora is caused by an unusual climate of Olympic Mount rainshadow, which makes it a popular island for perching Eagles.

Sea Lions on Spieden Island Eco Tour

Sea Lions on Spieden Island's Rocky Bay

Sea lions often breast-stroke in the splashes and salty effervescence of the ocean on the Southeast bay of Spieden Island. They're large, dignified, and otherworldly. Seemingly unbothered by passing vessels, these eutherians double equally both comical to some and unnerving for others. But rest assured: these purple marine mammals won't attack humans unless they feel threatened, so watch (or photograph) away; they're an absolutely heartwarming sight–and rather photographic models!

Many of our Victoria Zodiac tours volition venture over to Spieden Island, and, while hopefully this weblog has gotten you excited to view these sights for yourself, your naturalists volition know all nearly this rich history themselves, so don't hesitate to ask: it's quite the opportune class in our 'floating classrooms'!

Have fun out at that place!