Brion Island

Brion is an island 16 kilometers north of Grosse Ile Harbour on the Magdalen Islands. It is roughly 15 km long and up to one and a half km wide. It was first discovered by the Micmac natives as a place to hunt seal and walrus. Then Jacques Cartier came along in 1534 and named the island in honour of his sponsor to the new world. The Europeans came and then the Americans, all with the intent of exploiting the natural reserves. Eventually people moved onto the island and for about 100 years Brion thrived as a commercial fishing center.

S.A.R.A.P.

Eventually because of the isolation, the people moved off the island and the federal government automated the lighthouse so that no one lived there. A division of the oil and gas company Texaco, S.A.R.A.P. bought the island and made some test holes. The found salt at first and then natural gas, methane. They continued until they found oil but since it was only an exploration for the future reserves of Canada, they capped the holes and left.

Quebec’s 20th Ecological Reserve

In 1987, Quebec expropriated Brion Island and created an ecological reserve. The far eastern section which is now an island by its own rights, has been designated for untouched by humans. The center of the island is for studying purposes only and the western section remains federal land because the lighthouse and wharf (not serviceable) exist there and are under federal jurisdiction.

A Total Adventure Campground

This past is what brings Brion Island to being a total adventure campground. There is no one there. The only way to get there is by sea, with a fishing boat or an excursion zodiac and that is an adventure on its own.

Once on Brion, it becomes a playground of nature. It is long walks through plains and prairies, beach and wooded paths. It is time to read and relax in warm sun and sweet flowers. It is time to imagine, reflect and enjoy the simple things in life. It is a time to learn how to live.

Learn!

Learn about the life of Brion. Learn about the islands. Learn about surviving the rat race of tomorrow from the contentment of yesterday and coming away happy! Learn about the native plants the people used to feed and heal themselves. Learn about the seal, marine birds and small mammals and how they came to the island.

Come to the island for a day, two or even three days and nights. Experience first hand how shipwrecked surv

ivors lived and learned to love the harshness of the islands in general. Gather strawberries for a wonderful desert after a long day of playing in the warm waters off the soft sand beach. Slow down and smell the roses!

A Tour of Brion Island

This ebook was wrote especially for those people wanting adventure. Inside theses pages is the past, the present and a touch of the future. It is a tour as though a guide were giving it, by walking over the paths and showing the sights, listening to the sounds, tasting the nature and feeling the freedom.

Each path is well described and its history is given, from the walk over the north capes to the Dingwell homestead and the Saddle, to the blueberry moors on the south shores, to the Magical Forest and it’s elves and gnomes hidden quietly behind each tree truck.

Printed out, it makes a light reading learning objective, a supplement to the guided tours given by the zodiac and boat tours. It is full of colorful pictures of each of the sights found on Brion as you would approach them on a walk-about tour. Plants are shown and described, giving the reader the opportunity to taste and forage as the settlers had done.

A list of shipwrecks is given and how they came to affect the people of Brion and of all the islands. The graves and memorials of Brion are discussed in detail. And finally, but not only are the existing man made structures  that aided the people in their fight to thrive in this lonely existence.

Below is page five from the book, the Table of Contents. It gives an idea of just how extensive the Tour of Brion Island is. This book is by no mean a complete tale of the story of Brion. The history of the island alone would take volumes. No, this book is only present day Brion Island and one day perhaps, the Story of Brion will come to light.

For more information on how to receive this book email

grosseisle@gmail.com

It is sold through PayPal, money order and personal cheque – $7.95CDN

note : (all cheques must pass through banking system before book is sent)

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The Magdalen Islands (Iles de la Madeleine) is one of the world’s safest havens for our precious flying animals. Except for the occasional fox, the islands have no real predators for the birds.  We have over 250 species of birds which come to the islands to nest and raise their young or used the islands for a resting and feeding area to replenish necessary energy to continue on their migratory flight path.

Atlantic Puffin

At least seven of the species of the birds using the islands are on the rare and endangered species list, including the seldom seen Piping plover (Charadrius melodus), Horned grebe (Podiceps auritus) , and Roseate tern (Sterna dougallii).

The Islands  are particularly known for their species of maritime birds, Sea gulls, Northern gannets (Morus bassanus, formerly Sula bassana), Common murres (Uria aalge) and Cormorants ( )but also exotic birds such as the colorful, chubby Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) and the Razorbill (Alca torda), which is the only surviving species of Auk left in the world today.

Roseate Tern

Bird watching tours are given on the islands by several local businesses, but there are equally exciting and adventurous self-guided tours in and around the natural reserves and along the beaches and nearby small uninhabited islands, such as Seal Island, Ile Couchon and Shag Island.  Even the Great Blue Heron is often standing on one leg, resting in the shallows of the islands lagoons, within feet of the main highway.

The plentiful lagoons and salt-water marshes are a haven to many species of birds because they provide shelter and plenty of food sources for our visiting feathered friends.  Plant life and aquatic life seek the shallows to lay eggs and breed and whose young provide a source of food for the birds. The lagoons are easily accessible for anyone wanting to walk the area with a set of binoculars.

Northern Gannet

Boating and zodiac adventure tours to the distant uninhabited islands of Brion Islands Ecological Reserve, the Bird Rock Bird reserve and Deadman’s island are available on request from several specialized business including Excursion en Mer, L’istorlet, and l’Airosport.  These tours could take the complete day to Bird Rock and Brion Island or a half a day to the bluffs, grottos, Entry Island and Deadman’s Island and even Gull Island.

If a water adventure is not on the list of must do’s, then a tour of the East Point Wildlife Reserve on the most northern tip of the Magdalen Islands is definitely a wonderful experience.  These can be guided tours which include the plant life and a tour of the shipwreck gulf, because East Point is very close to the shipping lanes of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and has been the final resting place of many a weary sailor and their wonderful vessels. Or the tours into the Reserve can be self-guided. There are paths around all of the marshes, crowberry, blueberry and cranberry moors. There are even blinds where a birdwatcher can get the most advantages view points to see their passion in their natural setting without disturbing the life cycle of the birds.

If you want the experience of a lifetime while having the most interesting bird-watching holiday then come and join in with hundreds of other adventure activities on the Islands.  Don’t hesitate to take our scenic sunset cruises, seafood worth remembering a lifetime, horseback beach riding tours, fishing tours with some of the local fishermen, story-telling adventures, beach bonfires and fireworks, swimming with the gentle, but wild harbour and harp seal, whale-watching and if lucky maybe even see the large but rare leather-back tortoise, known to inhabit our waters.

The Iles-de-la-Madeleine/Magdalen Islands – a must see, must do adventure!

For more information on birds of the islands, see the IBA Listing site.

Quote:

“I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven.” – Emily Dickinson

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go for a romantic ride on a warm summers evening, under a full moon on a beach of soft white sand, with the sound of the surf to one side and sea birds to other?

The Magdalen Islands are known to have more than 300 running kilometers of cream sandy beaches. Ride some of the beaches and trails of the islands, canter through water and follow trails that were made for riding on, while taking in breath-taking panoramic scenery.  Old Harry beach is world famous for its 30 some odd miles of endless sand, sand hills and surf and the East Point Wildlife Reserve trails are on its borders.

Explore stunted forests, salt-water marshes, cranberry, crowberry and blueberry moors. Get a look at the islands wildlife up close. Study orchids and learn of herbs that the original settlers used to eat and heal themselves with.

Watch the maritime birds in their natural setting and a multitude of the other 250 or more bird species that frequent the islands.  Learn of the early settlers and the shipwreck society they became.  Bask in the beautiful, sunsets known to man. Swim in warm, quiet lagoon waters, salt water lakes or surf waves on the open beach.

Camp on land so close to the beach that the sound of the surf lulls you to sleep.  Rise to the most wonderful sunrise over the Gulf waters. Experience ghost stories from shipwrecks around a warm campfire and take long leisurely walks over varied flatlands. Pick berries during their season and go fishing mackerel with a rod and reel off the wharves and capes. Search for shells, pebbles and small sea creatures that washed ashore.

There are a million and one things to do either on horseback, foot, kayak or canoe on the Magdalen Islands.

So, if you feel like stepping out of the rat race and dream of cantering along a deserted sandy beach with the taste of sea-spray rousing your senses, or wonder what it would be like to slow it all down, to get in touch with yourself again, to allow your instincts to guide you and to recall how to laugh, and sing, and celebrate life remember that, even in today’s fast moving world, there is still a place where all this is possible…, Iles-de-la-Madeleine and her horses await you….

To meet and get to know the horses of Old Harry beach see All Things Horse blog.

“A horse is the projection of peoples’ dreams about themselves – strong, powerful, beautiful – and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence.” ~ Pam Brown

There is nothing like watching and hugging a new born white coat with its large, dark, round, liquid pools for eyes.  Being with the wild seal on an ice flow is an adventure like no other.

Tour packages can be reservations can be made at the Chateau Madelinot for 3 to 6 nights, breakfasts, helicopter excursion to the ice flows and a guided visit of the Magdalen Islands. The packages are only available for the first three weeks in March and only with the proper weather conditions.

Unfortunately, this year the seal watching adventure tours had to be canceled due to the fact that there is no ice in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.  The seal herd didn’t arrive to have their pups anywhere near enough to the islands to take visitors to see the and because there is no ice, there is no place to land a helicopter.

Magdalen Island Adventure Tours – Iles-de-la-Madeleine Adventure Tours.

The Magdalen Islands were evolved by nature and built by man for adventure. Water, wind and land activities abound on the islands whether it is on the north, east, south, west or right down the center.

There are no large amusement theme parks, with funny costumed comic characters parading around and making children laugh. But we do have quaint storytellers at every corner who are willing to pull your leg a bit, if you allow it.

There are no zoos with exotic animals basking in the warmth of a summer sun. But we do have Mother Nature, who is always willing to welcome a visitor to enjoy her bounty of tranquil beaches, moors and lagoons.

There are no tall skyscrapers where you can reach the sky and look down on insect sized cars moving ant-like along a highway grid. But there are hills to climb, high enough to touch the sky and a horizon as wide as the earth itself.

There are no white water rapids to wildly churn and toss on…. But there are boat and zodiacs excursions to cause white-sea froth to fly up and cause your lips to taste salty, while hopping wildly from wave crest to wave crest.

There are no large concerts with big ticket rock band and hundreds of thousands of spectators. But there are fiddle, guitar and organ players livening up warm evenings and welcoming visitors to quaint little pubs for an enjoyable evening on the town.

The Magdalen offers bus tours, boat tours, cycling tours, walking tours into all of her corners. Shopping tours is not a problem and since the selection is of high quality locally hand-crafted items, the difficult decision of choosing becomes less difficult. An item made from natural wood, or sand, shell or sea glass makes a lovely gift or a treasured keepsake.

With your itinerary in hand, spend two hours or two days at the historical La Grave site in Amherst, exploring all the Acadian culture has to offer. Another couple hours at Site d’autre fois (Place of Another Time) in the Bassin is time to learn of how the people of yesteryear settled and survived on isolated Gulf islands. Don’t forget to go to La Cote either. It is a must for those of you who have an artistic nature.

Grindstone (Cap-aux-Meules) is the islands bustling metropolitan center and the place that offers the most of civilized services. House Harbour (Havre-aux-Maisons) offers spectacular views of the sea and the surrounding lands, while Pointe-aux-Loups (Wolf Point, probably named for sea wolves or seal (loups marine)) has products harvested from the seal hunt.

Grosse Isle has all the islands natural parks and is abound in eco-tourism. Old Harry is rich in islands history from its name to the walrus hunt which went extinct centuries ago. And at the far end of the islands, Grand Entry Point is calling to visitors to come, sit, relax and watch the beautiful sun setting on peaceful and calm sea waters.