We left our anchorage at 11am after rain, wind and t-storms. We now know why the anchor held so well—lots of mud and long stringy grass which knotted around itself and required 2 boat poles and the washdown pump set on a fire hose setting to dislodge.
As we traveled down the Collins Inlet narrows, the sun started to shine and outlined the granite cliffs. What a difference a day makes—today we have light NW winds off land and it is an easy 14 miles to Killarney.
You are greeted by the Killarney East Light at Red Rock Point and it guides you into a bustling little harbor of marinas, a general store, restaurants, and resorts on one side and George Island on the other. There is a 2 hour trail back to the lighthouse that we enjoyed. We are docked at the Sportsman’s Inn Marina which has undergone major renovations and provides everything you need. The marina will ferry you over to George Island where you can do the 7.5 km Killarney Wilderness hike—it takes you through the forest on a well-marked trail and then loops along the coast. I hope to get better pictures, but can you see the white quartzite of the La Cloche Mountains in the distance, the pink granite shore rocks and the blue green lake water. I have to get out the Crayola 48 crayon box to match this color.
Since we walked our socks off, we were starving and stopped for a late lunch at Herbert Fisheries. You place your order at the school bus out front and the fishermen bring the fish right off the boat. It does not get fresher than this. Gateway Restaurant has a good breakfast and bakery and the General Store has a good supply for basic reprovisioning, but it is expensive.
Nobody knows why the town’s name changed from the Ojibwe Shebahonaning or “safe passage” to Killarney in the 1850s. I grew up in an Irish household where we heard Bing Crosby’s Christmas in Killarney every holiday season. Try as I may, I can not get that corny song out of my head. I expected to see lots of leprechaun Santas doing a jig down Main Street or one of those kitschy Christmas stores. None here, thank goodness, but I still can’t stop humming that silly song.
As we traveled down the Collins Inlet narrows, the sun started to shine and outlined the granite cliffs. What a difference a day makes—today we have light NW winds off land and it is an easy 14 miles to Killarney.
You are greeted by the Killarney East Light at Red Rock Point and it guides you into a bustling little harbor of marinas, a general store, restaurants, and resorts on one side and George Island on the other. There is a 2 hour trail back to the lighthouse that we enjoyed. We are docked at the Sportsman’s Inn Marina which has undergone major renovations and provides everything you need. The marina will ferry you over to George Island where you can do the 7.5 km Killarney Wilderness hike—it takes you through the forest on a well-marked trail and then loops along the coast. I hope to get better pictures, but can you see the white quartzite of the La Cloche Mountains in the distance, the pink granite shore rocks and the blue green lake water. I have to get out the Crayola 48 crayon box to match this color.
Since we walked our socks off, we were starving and stopped for a late lunch at Herbert Fisheries. You place your order at the school bus out front and the fishermen bring the fish right off the boat. It does not get fresher than this. Gateway Restaurant has a good breakfast and bakery and the General Store has a good supply for basic reprovisioning, but it is expensive.
Nobody knows why the town’s name changed from the Ojibwe Shebahonaning or “safe passage” to Killarney in the 1850s. I grew up in an Irish household where we heard Bing Crosby’s Christmas in Killarney every holiday season. Try as I may, I can not get that corny song out of my head. I expected to see lots of leprechaun Santas doing a jig down Main Street or one of those kitschy Christmas stores. None here, thank goodness, but I still can’t stop humming that silly song.
