SGI OUTSIDE

Strikingly colourful trees and plants, traditional Japanese artifacts at every turn, an island encircled by a pond and accessed by an arched wooden bridge, secreted spots for moments of reflection, and so much more—Mayne Island’s Japanese Memorial Garden is a Southern Gulf Islands wonder. The garden was created to honour and remember the families who emigrated from a small village in Japan and settled on Mayne Island between 1900 and 1942. Visitors will enjoy it again and aga

Third on my list of Five Finest Feathered Friends. No other bird soars in the warm thermal updrafts quite like a Turkey Vulture—wings stretched and feathered fingers splayed; together as wide as sliding patio doors—wobbly but gracefully drifting to higher elevations or descending to near ground level to catch the scent of or see carrion. Another of the nearly two hundred resident and part-time bird species in the Southern Gulf Islands.

Since 2017, Mayne Island visitors have had access to this special wedge of Southern Gulf Islands real estate. The energizing hike includes two beaches, spectacular panoramas from shoreline bluffs, the finest stand of Arbutus in the Southern Gulf Islands, inviting intertidal zones, an assortment of wildflowers along the trail’s edge, and marine life swimming below and birdlife soaring overhead. It’s a dynamic yet tranquil SGI environment worthy of exploration.