Last year when I started planning for our 2025 summer vacation to Vancouver Island, I took on the task of finding accommodation for the six of us. It was the first time we'd all shared a family vacation since the kids had become adults. I wanted somewhere unique, breathtaking, and altogether memorable. A place along the coast where we could fully immerse ourself in views that would stay with us for decades.
As mentioned in our recent Victoria post, I found a delightful Airbnb in Cowichan Bay on the eastern side of Vancouver Island that didn't just have a view of the ocean...it was on the ocean!
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| Cowibbean Cottage, 2025, Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, Canada |
We arrived at our Cowibbean Cottage around supper time and couldn't wait to get out onto the large deck and absorb the beautiful tranquility of this oceanfront property. Nelson took the photo while standing on the end of the long dock which was at our disposal for the duration of our visit.
For this post, we're taking you through one memorable day at Cowibbean Cottage, allowing you to not only see and hear what we saw and heard throughout the day, but to know what time it was as the tide went out and rolled back in.
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| Sunrise, 2025, Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, Canada |
6:25 am - The morning after our arrival, I was out on the deck at sunrise while the dew was still on the chairs and railings. Nothing much was moving except for the sun. It truly was breathtaking. Every so often a small boat would skim along, slow and smooth with a quiet hum. A guy on a paddle board left a wake as he dipped his paddle into the quiet water and moved forward, unrushed.
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| 2025, Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, Canada |
7:00 am - It was high tide and I took a photo of our neighbour's deck posts to confirm the water level. The tide was about to go out and I was excited to see the ocean floor with all its flora and fauna as the water receded.
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| 2025, Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, Canada |
7:50 am - A lone canoeist made his way across the water, now shimmering in the morning breeze.
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| Barn Swallows, 2025, Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, Canada |
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| Cowibbean Cottage, 2025, Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, Canada |
8:45 am - Jessie, Nick, and JJ headed off for their adventurous day in Victoria, leaving Nelson, Crystal, and I to lounge around the cottage and deck. It was lovely. No demands...no stress...no need to rush out and look for anything more exciting than watching the tide go out.
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| 2025, Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, Canada |
9 am - The murky green water was low enough to show a littered bottom unlike the clear water and beautiful tidal pools at the Botanical Beach on the western side of Vancouver Island that we'd explored only days before.
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| Crabs, 2025, Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, Canada |
9:15 am - Watching the ocean floor come alive was like watching a movie for the first time. From my deck railing standpoint, I never knew what I was looking at until it moved. Seeing crabs moving upright on their walking legs was an eye-opener to me. The above screenshot is from a video I took as I followed the crab on the right walk around the ocean floor while smaller creatures got out of the way. A smaller crab is camouflaged on the barnacle-covered rock at the top centre of the image, while the medium-sized crab on the left hastily scuttled on its walking legs around the open oyster shell, pausing when the larger crab stopped. Unwilling to play Ring Around The Rosie, the large crab ignored the smaller ones and changed direction across the floor.
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| Sculpin, 2025, Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, Canada |
9:20 am - I spied something moving slowly between a camouflage of crushed shells and acorn barnacles. I didn't know what it was until I zoomed in later and did some research. It is a sculpin, generally scaleless with a size range of 5-20 centimetres.
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| 2025, Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, Canada |
10:17 am - Colourful movement caught my eye and a partially filled dragon boat slid into view, the paddlers pausing as their steerer guided them through a bevy of moorings.
If you are interested in closeup images of crabs and other things as the day progresses, join us for Part 2 on June 10th.
Our stay at the Cowibbean Cottage in Cowichan Bay relates to the June calendar page.
