Backpacking Flores Island: Camping At Cow Bay

The following four days were absolutely amazing. Waking up in the morning to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach, and watching whales spouting while we drank our morning coffee, it was incredible. We fished, and played in the water, and caught crabs and minnows and whatever else we could find. The beach at Cow Bay is truly beautiful, and goes on for a great distance. We practically had the place to ourselves (there were 4 other people there, but they kept to themselves) and we wandered along the shore at our leisure, without another soul in sight.

Hawk

The View From Our Tent

Camping On The Beach

The Beach At Cow Bay

Our Rocks

The pod of grey whales that live in the bay could be viewed off and on throughout the day, every day. Sometimes they were so close to the shore that you could hear them spouting. It was fantastic.

30. Go whale watching

Whale Spout

Starfish

Hermit Crab

Small Dungeness Crab

Baby Fish

On the first day, Mike caught this Tilapia-looking fish, with stripes. It was small, so we didn’t keep it, but it was very exciting that he caught his first ever ocean fish.

Mike's First Catch

Silver Fish

On the second day, he caught a much larger fish. We thought it was a rockfish, but upon closer inspection it appeared to be a type of grouper or bass.

Mike And His Fish

The Big Catch

We decided to have it for supper that evening, so after cleaning it and wrapping it in foil, we threw it into the coals and roasted it to a delicious doneness.

Cooking Our Fish In The Coals

Mmmmmm Fish!

It was some of the most amazing fish I’ve ever had. Hardly any bones, the meat wasn’t fishy tasting. It was lovely.

The Grove

Tiny Flatfish

Mr. Crab

Wee Rockfish

We didn’t just hang out at our beach, but hiked back to the previous beach, which had a nice little cove. There were loads of crabs, and we spent an afternoon splashing around. We didn’t catch any fish there, but we had a lot of fun anyway.

Rocks And Trees

Sunset On The Beach

This is a whale!

Grey Whale!

And a bald eagle (we saw loads of them)

Bald Eagle

Mike And His Friend

Ugly Fish!

Our Spot On The Beach

Mike And Cal At Sunset

Shore Birds

Wee Crab

One afternoon we found a large tidal pool (the size of a small swimming pool, but only knee-deep) that was FULL of small crabs. Mike was wading while I chased the crabs. I guess around 50 of them were swarming his feet (which is a weird feeling by the way) and he hollered “STOP HERDING THEM” which led to much giggling. It really was the neatest thing. We found so many interesting creatures, my only real regret is that we didn’t take more photos of everything. It was really one of those vacations though where we just…enjoyed ourselves, and relaxed.

Mike Fishing

Rocks And The Ocean

Crashing Waves

Although it wasn’t specifically Tofino, it was just off the coast, so I am considering this item completed:

139. Spend at least a weekend in Tofino camping with friends

About the author

Mike & Cal have been backpacking around Alberta for the past decade. This site is where they share trip reports, photos, and tips and tricks for getting outside.

Comments

  1. That entire trip and everything you did is one of my life dreams. I must find a lovely beach like that (or that one!) full of adventure and beauty and whisk my future family. Time for me to make my own bucket list.

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