by Lauren Kramer
Long known as a sleepy strip of land where many an older couple has aired out the kids’ empty rooms and hung a “Bed & Breakfast” shingle out front, British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast is finally coming into its own and delivering new or upgraded accommodations that offer luxury, serenity and proximity to the elements.
Mistakenly considered an island by many, the Sunshine Coast is in fact connected to Vancouver’s Lower Mainland – only problem is, there are no roads that lead to it.
As a result, the only way to get there is by boarding a 40-minute ferry from Vancouver, a trip that lends this strip of land an isle-like sense of blissful isolation.
The Coast’s activities are many – from terrific hikes to kayaking, fishing, wildlife viewing, or visiting the galleries and eclectic mom-and-pop stores that pepper its major centres.
There’s lots to do on the Sunshine Coast, – the only question is this: when it comes to bedtime, how close to the elements do you want to get?
The evening my husband and I arrived on the Sunshine Coast, the rain was pounding down and the surf was thrashing against Ole’s Cove, a quiet inlet 45 minutes from the ferry terminal in Langdale.
It couldn’t have been more perfect.
Surrounded by the majesty and power of the elements, we were to spend the night sequestered in a tenthouse suite at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort. Sure, sunshine and blue skies are pleasant. But to really appreciate how close you are to nature, there’s nothing like a good storm.
Kevin Toth and Peter Rubin purchased the resort previously known as Lord Jim’s in 2004, knowing all too well that with its tired seaside cabins, it needed a new lease of life if it was to survive far into this century.
One of its best vantage points was the peninsula, a rocky outcropping where old growth trees, their roots covered with reindeer lichen, cling defiantly to the hillside, offering an extraordinary view of the cove.
Worried about the destructive environmental impact of building hillside cottages, they came up with a better solution: tenthouse suites. The creative pair designed and patented aluminum-framed tents, complete with fire-retardant canvas, luxurious interiors, plumbing, hot water and electricity, and set up 13 of them overlooking the water, at $87,000 a pop.
Deluxe-style camping, the 13 suites offer a tent-like experience, but without the penalties of having to ‘rough it,’ even for a second.
Inside the canvas walls of a 320-square-foot enclosure, expect slate floors with radiant heat, a Jacuzzi bathtub for two, flush toilets, a comfy king-size bed with down comforter and pumped up pillows and securely locked doors.
There’s a coffee maker and kettle for a hot drink in the morning, a propane fireplace to warm the cozy room, hot water in the slate-tiled shower and every luxury – thankfully with the exception of a television – you’d anticipate from a five-star hotel, even down to the room service.
Only thing is, you’re in a tent – sort-of. That means, when the rain comes down, as it did the night we slept in the cove, you hear every last drop.
Between the downpour, the wind and the pounding surf, there was an orchestra of sound that night, which adds dollops of romance to an extraordinarily cozy, intimate accommodation.
“This past winter, the weather could not have been worse,” Toth confided over dinner. “It sounded like the world was coming apart, it was blowing so hard. I took a walk late at night to check on the tenthouse suites, and though I could hear tree branches snapping nearby, there was no damage to the tents.”
That could be thanks to the arborist who inspected the trees before the tenthouses were constructed, advising which were in danger of falling in upcoming storms, and should be removed.
The tenthouses are accessed by a treetop boardwalk, surrounded on both sides by forest. The wet bark of Arbutus trees gleams in the early evening, and the branches of old Douglas Firs are heavy with moisture, releasing a fresh, invigorating scent into the air.
The boardwalk is your passage to and from the real world. Back at the resort, the white tablecloth restaurant hums with activity as Chef Steven Ewing prepares such delicacies as sesame crusted Pacific albacore tuna with wasabi kewpie aioli, followed by caramelized lemon sabayon tart.
There’s no urgency to go anywhere once you arrive at Rockwater. A game of Scrabble, a good book and a pair of binoculars are all you need to pass the time.
But if you feel the need to get up and go, the resort can arrange a variety of activities, from Scuba lessons in the swimming pool, and later a dive in the cove, to spa treatments. On calm days, you can rent a kayak and paddle around the perimeter of the rocky island, or hop in the car to explore some of the neat galleries and stores that pepper the coast.
But it’s hard to resist the temptation of curling up with your partner beneath the comforter, especially when you find yourself in the midst of a winter storm.
The fireplace crackles, the wind whips the canvas, and though you’re ensconced in the lap of luxury, you can’t help but feel like in the tenthouse suite, you’re on an exciting adventure, a grand gesture of defiance against the elements.
About the author:
This week Traveling Tales welcomes freelance travel writer Lauren Kramer who lives in Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver, on Canada’s West Coast.
Photos courtesy of Rockwater Resort:
1: The view from a deck high up in the trees.
2: The luxurious interior of one of the tenthouses.
3: A couple takes a stroll on the rocky shore.
If You Go:
For more information call (877) 296-4593 or visit www.rockwatersecretcoveresort.com. The tenthouses are perfect for couples, but if you’re keen to venture out with the family, the old seaside cabins are still available this summer.
BC Ferries offers regular service between Horseshoe Bay and the Langdale ferry terminal on the Sunshine Coast. Visit www.bcferries.com or call (888) BCFERRY. Reservations are highly recommended, particularly on weekends and in summer months.
Among the 11 million annual visitors to Niagara Falls, 50,000 are honeymooners, who are rewarded with discounts aplenty from local businesses and honeymoon certificates from the tourism bureau.
One way to experience the view is from a heated gondola on the Niagara SkyWheel, a 53-meter-high Ferris wheel that sweeps visitors to the summit for breathtaking views of the falls.
Every Saturday morning from April to October over a hundred artisans and farmers congregate to sell their goods. Tables, shaded by colourful umbrellas, border the parkway and host everything from bead work to bokchoy.
The string of bargains and vendor stalls carry on after we leave the market place. Roadside stands dot the hillsides on our island drive and brim over with everything from bright floral bouquets to the garden’s daily pick. Most are unmanned, and operate by a trustworthy honor system -a refreshing change from our commercialized big box stores!
As the crowd files into the square, the opening ceremonies begin: songs, speeches and performances. And then the Christmas lights decorating the building, the Christmas tree and the square are turned on to cheers and exclamations of delight. The Christkindl Market has officially opened!
It’s a great way to buy truly unique gifts for everyone on my list. I select a hand-crafted necklace from one stall, while a nearby toddler watches in fascination as a toymaker demonstrates the intricate mechanisms of his wares—carved wooden figurines that evoke days long past. A few moments later, I know exactly how the toddler feels, as I find a table of Fabergé-style eggs, each gilt-encrusted orb concealing its own little wonder.
Her terrain is the beach just beyond the Sooke Harbour House, alongside a narrow stretch of land that twists like a dog’s tail into the ocean. The area is straight out of a west coast fairy tale, from its very name, Whiffen Spit, to the white clapboard house that is Sooke Harbour House, with the acres of edible flowers that trim its perimeter.
Braving about 100 bee stings a year, Liptrot turns some of his honey into mead, the dessert wine most often referred to in the works of Shakespeare and Chaucer. The mead is a deliciously different alcoholic beverage, and Tugwell Creek’s varieties are hard to come by unless you stop in at the farm or visit the smattering of wine shops in BC that carry this product.
A small part of the old city known as Basse-Ville or Lower Town, next to the river, is the oldest quarter in the city, filled with impressive renovated old structures from the 1600s and 1700s. It was here where Samuel de Champlain founded New France in 1608. Basse-Ville lies outside the walls, between the base of the cliff and the river, and has a good number fine shops and restaurants. Stairways lead down to Basse-Ville from the bluff, but an easier way to go is the renovated funicular – a glass elevator sliding up and down a ramp that has been in use since 1879.
The Museum of French America, noted for its stunning chapel. The Museum of Québec; an architectural master piece, is one of Québec’s most important museums, containing an extensive collection of Québécois art and historical documents.
Eby Street is a well-traveled thoroughfare, the William W. Snyder House, built in 1898—now re-named Jakobstettel Guest House—is an elegant Queen Anne style mansion, while the Steiner House built around 1857, is a four-square Georgian building fronting on King Street. (In the course of recent renovations, a child’s shoe was discovered buried in the wall – a good luck charm, according to an old German belief.)
Established by Elias W.B Snider in 1870, this was the first mill in Canada to export its prime quality flour to Glasgow, Liverpool and Belfast. Today the silos have been converted into an unusual retail outlet for the Village’s gifted craftspeople, and as a showcase for exquisite collections of crystal ornaments, brass lamps, jewelry, leatherwork, quilts, pottery and glass-blown objects d’art.
We could have kayaked. Or fished. Or even twisted through a yoga encounter. And Sally kayaked. I chose to read. We could have hiked, gone up the inlet to see the whales or the bears. Or we could have enjoyed the hot tub. Sally went hiking. I napped. We could have joined Mark on a Nature walk or cooked in the kitchen with Abby. Sal cooked. I chose to sip wine and watch the boats go by. Rendezvous Lodge has so many interests to pursue and sights to see, I decided that contemplation was the better part of valour. And I don’t regret a second of it.
Surprisingly, and despite the remoteness, despite the distance and the various modes of transportation, it all worked out and it all worked out easily. You can travel quickly and efficiently or you can take your time and languidly explore the area. It is hard to imagine a better way to spend a few days.
At Howard House millinery shop, we admire fetching brimmed hats elaborately decorated with gaudy fruits or elegant ostrich plumes and satin ribbons. We find the barbershop fronted by universal red and white poles, stage and express office, livery stables and government building, all remarkably restored. Period furnishings, wallpapers, artifacts and memorabilia are placed just as they might have been during the town’s hey-day.
Away from the river, weathered Scandinavian-designed houses exemplify turn-of-the- century homes. Thriving heritage gardens cluster around the doctor’s house and the vicarage; a group of residences sporting white lace curtains and railed porches back onto Opera House Street.
It was evening in the town of Pond Inlet when our flight landed, and though a heavy fog obscured the view, night could not have been further away. By late May, Nunavut has surrendered to 24-hour days, confusing the mind and body with sunshine even at 11pm.
“This is a harsh land,” cautions Parks Canada in its literature to visitors of Sirmilik National Park. “Rescue facilities and services are very limited…and may make rescue entirely impossible. You must be prepared for self-rescue.”