Oxtongue Lake

In order to make our way to canoeing, we had a reasonable journey ahead. We checked out of the RCMI whilst also booking in one more night there - our final of the holiday. We then headed to the coach station which was fortuitously across the road - not by planning! The bus was a four hour journey to Huntsville and with a bit of napping was perfectly pleasant.

In Huntsville, rather than calling a cab we walked into the centre for lunch - this turned out to be a great call thanks to the Whimsical Bakery. This little cafe made us a fabulous grilled cheese sandwich and we bought dessert for later on - I had triple chocolate fudge brownie and Ben had a massive blueberry crumble. I am amazed they did not get eaten on the way to Algonquin.

From Huntsville, we had a half hour taxi ride with a lovely fella named Jim who kept us entertained the whole way with war and weather stories.

At Algonquin Outfitters, we were shown to our pre-departure accommodation - a four man tent cabin (but just for us!). We were then walked through every meal (I have never seen so much food), the route and the gear, including how and where to tie up your food to prevent a bear eating it. We were also briefed that our water for the trip was to come from the lakes, so boiling or purifying tabs were required.

After trying to take in all this information and an hour relaxing on the Oxtongue Lake dock, a brief walk to locate some dinner was in order. Informed by the locals, we headed 15 minutes up Highway 60 to Lobo's who, apparently, do great pizza. While they did, and it was lovely, there wasn't exactly any competition!

Back to the dock for the Whimsical desserts...safe to say we shall be calling in on our way home too! A few games of crib before bed and our first day of canoeing lying ahead.Read more