Where is Gabriola Island?; coffee, hiccups and kindness; Route of the Totems; dream home; Elder Cedar forest where Hobbits tread; Folklife Village, island artists and chi chi shops

Not everyone has heard of Gabriola Island, and I suspect that many of the locals would like to keep it that way. It’s about 14.5km long and 4.5km wide, located in the Strait of Georgia, between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia. We will be spending three nights here with my cousin Brad and his wife, Ingrid, who have their main home on the island … and what a home it is.

Getting to Gabriola Island

Leaving the Fairmont Empress in Victoria B.C. (click here for Part One) soon after 10am, and with my cousin behind the wheel of the Ford F150 Raptor, we set off along the shores of Vancouver Island to the small port town of Nanaimo. From there, it’s a 20-minute ride on BC Ferries across to Gabriola Island. It’s another perfect, sunny  day – if a bit chillier than when we arrived in Victoria yesterday.

 

Our route was part of the Route of the Totems, a 1966 centenary project that commissioned 19 totems by British Columbian First Nations artists. This beauty (above) is one of them. It overlooks the magnificent view shown below.

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Coffee can cause hiccups

Directly and only because I requested a coffee-stop along the way, we just missed the 1.15pm ferry from Nanaimo to Gabriola, and had to wait about 25 minutes for the next one.  Everyone was wonderfully kind… even Roy!

Mind you, Roy tends to radiate kindness immediately after a cup of coffee. Brad and Ingrid, however, both of whom are inveterate tea-drinkers, must just be kind by nature.

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Gabriola Island Dream Home

It’s difficult to describe the Gabriola property without lapsing into superlatives. Imagine 10 acres of shoreside property bordering on pristine Canadian forest criss-crossed with walkable trails, and directly overlooking the wide and lovely Strait of Georgia.

Add a custom-built dream home with large windows enjoying ever-changing views of the water through several strategically positioned conifers (above) that are home to bald eagles (similar to South African fish eagles), pileated woodpeckers and more. Deer roam freely, frustrating Ingrid’s gardening efforts. A mating pair of Canadian geese appeared soon after we arrived, to general consternation: If they take up residence, they can be a hugely destructive nuisance and really difficult to get rid of.

As the distant low cloud lifts, we can see the mainland across the Strait; across and to the right is the city of Vancouver with its backdrop of snow-capped mountains.

Without going into my usual intrusive detail, the property has just about every comfort and luxury you could think of. And the artwork in the slideshow below is by my wonderfully talented cousin Sharon Potter, Bradley’s sister.

(You can find Sharon at: https://www.instagram.com/sharonpotterartist/)

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Where Hobbits tread

Next morning, we did a lovely 40-minute walk in light drizzle through a veritable Hobbit-land called the Elder Cedar Nature Reserve. It covers 65 hectares and is home to some of the largest Western red cedar, Western hemlock and Douglas fir trees on the Gulf Islands.

We followed a walking loop through forest wetland with rare native species. The terrain is fairly level, with a small bridge and stepping stones to cross the stream. So you need to stay on the paths and watch your step.

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Once around the island

Another day, during a leisurely drive around Gabriola Island, we stopped at Silva Bay marina, went for a little walk at Drumbeg National Park, and then it was time to shop.

You can tell from the quality of the village shops and boutiques in Folklife Village not only that there are plenty of artists on Gabriola Island, but also that a fair number of the island’s approximately 4,000 residents are well-off – though Ingrid says they’re a very mixed bunch. Islands are often like that, aren’t they?

I’ll finish off with a pic of a back-lit tree on Gabriola Island. Isn’t it magnificent? (The tree, of course, not my photo.)

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Up Next?

Vancouver, a most glorious city!