Whiteshell Provincial Park is a large area. Miles upon miles of nearly untouched wilderness, home to many of Manitoba's less common and secretive creatures. Normally I spend my time there in the less traversed areas in the north and central areas of the park, but I was invited on a camping trip to a popular area in the south in June 2012.
I got there in the evening just as the sun was setting, perfect time to be sitting by the lake.
Later in the evening while having a fire I realized a deer was standing right behind me. The deer in this campground must get fed a lot, as they were quite tame and would not run away even if you were only several feet away.
The next morning offered a perfect opportunity to go out on the canoe and paddle around the lake. The morning was cool and the lake was like glass.
A few animals could be spotted, such as this female Common Merganser, a type of duck. I know this is a bit hard to see!
This lake is actually a big crater, and the crystal clear water drops in depth very fast. The rocks below me in this photo are actually about 50 feet down, even though I was only about 20 feet from shore!
As I got back to the beach a pair of Common Loons showed up, swimming around the canoe totally unafraid! Loons are quite common in boreal lakes, where they feed on fish, crustaceans, frogs and insects.
The afternoon offered the opportunity to go for a hike around the lake and nearby Hunt Lake. The Whiteshell is part of the Canadian Shield, and so has numerous granite cliffs, outcrops and hills. Some of these have small caves, such as this one.
After packing up it was time to head home, but not before a final appearance from another one of Manitoba's amazing animals. This is a pair of Sandhill Cranes, which are often mistaken for storks or herons. The brownish tinge to their usually grey feathers comes from iron in their food and water sources. Cranes are normally birds of open country, but this pair was in a open ditch in a woodland.
Definitely an interesting area, but a bit to modern and crowded for my liking!
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