Feeling like Easy Rider, I bumped off the Queen of Cumberland at Village Bay, Mayne Island, on my “hog.” OK, it was only a 50cc scooter, but perfect for exploring the 21-sq-km island with its sinuous roads.
A short ride led to Felix Jack Park where a carved, cedar Welcome Figure towered, announcing this isle was initially home to the Tsartlip First Nation.
At Miners Bay I viewed the Agricultural Hall (established 1900), a central hub of the community and the site of the thriving Saturday Farmers Market. The Springwater Lodge (established 1892), the oldest continuously operating pub in the province, beckoned, and soon I was quaffing an ale on the deck while ferries sounded deep throaty warnings in Active Pass. Initially, the Lodge served the men rowing from Victoria to the mainland for the gold rush.
Occasionally joined by smugglers and cattle rustlers, they partied so hard the Lodge became known as “Little Hell.” Little wonder the first gaol in the Gulf Islands, now converted into a museum, was built in 1896 just up the street.
My scooter carried me to the nearby St. Mary Magdalene Church (1897). The dates on the tombstones in the quiet cemetery confirmed this to be another historic site.
At Georgina Point I lay on smooth, sculpted sandstone soaking up the sunshine while admiring the Active Pass Lighthouse (1884), one of the prettiest on the west coast.
Riding through Douglas fir and arbutus forest, past roadside stands and farmers’ fields, took me to Bennett Bay National Park. I hiked to Campbell Point where kayaks bobbed in the glistening waves. I learned that Mayne is blessed with hiking trails offering glorious views of seashore and forest, here 
and at Mt. Parke and St. John Point parks.
At the elegant Japanese Gardens, I sat in the meditation pavilion, reflecting on the sad time during World War II when the island’s Japanese, who formed a third of the population, were removed to internment camps, their farms and possessions confiscated and never returned. In 2002, the islanders built this Garden to honour these early neighbours.
Next, I stopped at the Mayne Island Brewery and sampled a Forager Ale, made from whatever the owners discover in the forest. Refreshing!
As the ferry pulled out from the dock, I was happy. I had discovered that Mayne Island is indeed a jewel of the southern Gulf Islands with fascinating history and rich nature.
During this covid isolation I’m enjoying spending time in nature. Bays, coves and headlands, that fascinating transition between land and the sea, fascinate me. On Pender and the other southern Gulf Islands, the shores are seldom covered in glistening white sand. Instead, rocky outcrops abound, rows of bleached logs mark the high-tide line and many lifeforms skitter here and there. It’s wonderful.
sometimes like rows of cogs in a factory assembly line, other times grey sandstone with beautiful whorls and patterns created by erosion.
attracted to sea lettuce, which is delicious in salads. The mighty bull kelp is often washed up, looking like a long python coiled among the rocks.
emain, transforming the beach into a red colour.
to be part of the glorious complexity of nature.
When skunk cabbages rise in roadside ditches still wet from winter rains, my pulse quickens. The bright yellow flowers appear almost overnight and are like bursts of sunshine signalling that a re-awakening is near. Shortly after, spring sneaks around the corner.
rts as a low almost moss-like plant, but then a yellow flower bursts forth and it grows much higher, towering over the leaves below.
In late spring, the foxglove grows up to 2-metres high with the purple and sometimes white flowers lining up like small bells. I love to watch bees humming from flower to flower, often burrowing right of sight.
Who cannot admire a rose, the very symbol of love? The Nootka (aka wild) rose sports pink flowers and can reach as high as 3 metres, favouring open habitats such as meadows, roadsides and shorelines.
weeding and no pesticides. Best of all, they attract birds, bees and butterflies, providing colour and movement that soothe the soul.
A traditional fire-pit was built at the school where annual roasts are attended by students from the Pender and Tsawout schools. Of particular note, a student leadership program with six students from each school was established.
At Mayne Island an Honouring Figure in Emma and Felix Jack Park welcomes visitors with outstretched arms.
Saturna Island, for example, has recently built a large recreation centre with a gymnasium, kitchen, medical clinic and a large firehall/emergency-services building. The Old Hall, built in 1933, however, continues to be popular, particularly for cultural presentations, which benefit from the building’s excellent acoustics, its cozier size and its unique historical ambiance. Currently, renovation work is underway to significantly improve the old building.
Galiano Club, and is a hub of the community with many local events such as concerts, dances, weddings, plays, exhibitions, lectures, etc. held there. The quaint North Hall, a renovated 1930s school house with a new commercial kitchen, is a hub of north Galiano community events including the Canada Day Jamboree, the Robbie Burn’s Supper, the Great Chilli Cook-off, weddings, receptions, workshops, weekly Scottish Country dancing and a monthly Luncheon Games. It is also the reception centre for the Emergency Preparedness program, and is the home of the Galiano Garden Club and it’s library. The hall at the north end is also a social hub and features soup-and-bread Mondays.
With their many social events, community halls are invaluable in uniting our island communities. They are also a bridge into the past.
I quickly found Car Stops are terrific and now I use them frequently. I seldom wait more than three cars, and saving gas, reducing road congestion and limiting green-house-gas emissions makes me feel good.
The driver and I chat about the approaching fall fair, water shortages and, of course, we gossip. I rode with a local politician and vented about an irksome zoning by-law. Another time, I hung on for dear life as a teenager careened around corners with tires squealing. He was, however, kind and drove out of his way to drop me at the library.
A similar mode of travel is hitchhiking, which is highly encouraged on the Gulf Islands. Paul Brent, Island Trustee for Saturna, summed it up well, “You can’t go for a walk without people stopping their cars, wanting to give you a lift.”
land at the Twin Islands Cidery sippping a Baldwin & the 3 Pippins 2018, which combines four heirloom American and English apple varieties. The server explained they harvest from over thirty heritage orchards on Pender, Saturna & Mayne Islands to make traditional cider and perry (from pears).
Hop Farm contributes to Hoyne Brewery in Victoria. The hops are picked in one day by a crowd of volunteers and ferried the same day to Hoyne, where they are immediately made into Wolf Vine Ale, hoppy, delicious and, of course, very fresh.
Later, I kayaked to Saturna Island and strolled among the 44 acres of vines at the former Saturna Vineyard, which stopped production in 2012. The winery has recently been purchased by the owner of Pender’s Sea Star Winery, and I was pleased the long rows of unkept vines would soon be revived. I can’t wait for the first vintage.
, a curious companion monitoring my progress. At Taylor Point I beach the kayak and explore the ruins of the old Taylor home and the remains of the quarry that supplied stone for many buildings in Victoria a century ago.
Paddling on the Salish Sea brings peace to the soul.
d usually within 100 metres of the sea. Over four months I watched as the eagle mom incubated two eggs and then lovingly nurtured the single chick (the other egg never hatched).
On my island of Pender, walking trails are abundant and I know them well. My favourite is George Hill where I’m soon labouring uphill, through moist forest and then a meadow and onto the summit. I sit next to a spindly Garry oak, watching ferries and the distant snow-capped mountains on the mainland. Ah, wonderful.
My quest continues. Disembarking from the ferry at Mayne Island, I check the trail map and head for the Halliday Ridge hike in Mount Parke Regional Park. The deep forest and views from the top are wonderful, but best is hearing a loud rat-atat-atat and then seeing a pileated woodpecker, its red head a blur as it attacks an old log, sending wood chips flying.
I return home having hiked many great trails. But I think I’ll have to do it all over again, for I can’t decide which one is best.