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travel / travel magazine / summer 2007
Island Getaways
Sweet summer isles
The natural wonders of Anticosti and other great island getaways
ANTICS IN ANTICOSTI
Getting there You can charter a flight through Air
Satellite, (800) 463-8512.
But the easiest option is to book an all-inclusive package (flight, accommodation, vehicle rental
and, in some cases, food) through Sépaq Anticosti,
(800) 463-0863.
If you drive, the Relais
Nordik ferry runs once a week from Havre-Saint-Pierre and
Rimouski, Que. Book in advance:
(800) 463-0680.
Staying there Four inns (including
the five-star Jupiter 12), 23
cabins and three campgrounds
on the island are all managed by
Sépaq. With only unpaved-road
access, be prepared for the possibility
of long drives between
accommodation and activities.
Playing there
For information on
hiking, wildlife viewing, vehicle
rentals, dining or to book a vacation
package, contact Sépaq.
Pourvoirie du lac Geneviève, a
local outfitter, also organizes
packages: (800) 463-1777. Find out
about amenities and history at
the Tourist Welcome Office:
(418) 535-0250; e-mail
munanticosti@globetrotter.net
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ABOUT ONE-AND-A-HALF TIMES the size of Prince Edward
Island, but with a fraction of the population, Anticosti Island is
a Maritime retreat with unrivalled natural attributes. Rivers cut
through deep canyons, limestone cliffs tower over the sea, and crystal
lakes dot the sub-boreal landscape.
"As soon as you get off the plane, you are on a different
planet," says Gilles Dumaresq, director of sales for Sépaq Anticosti,
the provincial organization that manages the island's recreation
areas. "It is so quiet."
French chocolatier Henri Menier bought the island in 1895
and dreamed of turning the virtually uninhabited land into a
hunting and fishing mecca. The 220 white-tailed deer he transported
to Anticosti for that purpose have since exploded into an
estimated 156,000, creating the highest concentration of the
mammal in eastern North America and, as a result, establishing
the island as a world-class hunting destination in fall.
Fishermen also visit for the salmon and speckled trout.
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Now owned by the province of Quebec, parts of the island are
protected through Parc national d'Anticosti and Pointe-Heath and
Grand-Lac-Salé ecological reserves. The island has only one village,
Port-Menier, a year-round population of about 225, and unpaved
roads are the only means to get visitors where they're going.
"When you arrive," says Dumaresq, "you have to slow down."
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