The adventurous 81-kilometre drive to Denman Island is a pleasant day trip from Campbell River south along Highway 19A, also known as Oceanside Route. Our Russian Ural bike rally team was presented with views of Georgia Strait on our left and property in full bloom on our right.

Even with a ferry schedule to match, the drive south offers a wealth of panoramic views of life on this part of the central Vancouver Island.

If you don’t own your own boat the only way to get to Denman Island from Vancouver Island is to pay the twenty-nine dollar entrance fee. You are guaranteed a safe return.

The ten-minute over-seas excursion begins at Buckley Bay and presents a spectacular view of Denman Island’s west face, the salty spray of ocean water and a brilliant blue-sky vista. At the port, we disembarked and drove across the Island on Denman Road to the Saturday Market at Old School. The smell of fall vegetables filled the air. Artisans display their wares on tables strewn over the grassed property and there is an indoor ‘reusables’ building with many free items.

We travelled south on East Road and turned onto the driveway of one of the potters on the Island. Unfortunately, the artist’s masterpieces are revealed by appointment only. We stopped next at Jaquie’s Wild Fruit and Ice Cream at Gravelly Bay and picked up some luscious blueberries to add to our picnic feast.

Further down the road, at Bill Mee Park and Boat Launch, we barbequed turkey and pork sausages, fed on various salads and devoured our treasure of berries. At this point we were presented with an expansive view of Hornby Island to the east. The boat activity was plenty, the ocean smell pungent and the light breeze refreshing. We walked over the volcanic rock in search of fossils and interesting crustaceans.

After a calm and relaxing session at the ocean’s edge, we boarded our bikes and headed off to roads less travelled. Our return trip north on East Road led to Swan Road, an undeveloped 17-kilometre path of gravel, sand and more gravel. As we headed north, we were rewarded with spectacular views of mountains, brilliant blue skies and untouched wilderness.

We arrived at Denman Village where friendly folks at the General Store steered us toward their world famous Denman Island Chocolate bars. We boarded the next ferry and said farewell to the pleasant, quiet and gentle Denman Island.

About the author
Susan Black is a published author. The Little Red Book Teaching ESL in China reveals her expedition to China, along with her husband. Most recently, her essay “How Detachment Changes Everything” was included in the anthology of stories published in The Moment I Knew–Reflections from Women on Life’s Defining Moments. She won Second Prize for her story, “Cowboys and Indians” at the 2010 Powell River Writers Conference. Susan’s interests include traveling with her husband on their Russian URAL motorbike, walking, swimming and reading. To learn more about Susan, visit her at: http://susanbraveheart.blogspot.com/ and http://uralbuddies.blogspot.ca/

The short 31-kilometre drive to Roberts Lake Resort on Island Highway North, part of Sayward District, is a pleasant day-trip from Campbell River that offers one of the cafe’s world-famous sweet cinnamon buns and a steaming cup of coffee.

During our visit, the chatter among the cottagers was pronounced by raving reviews of their recent catch of Rainbow Trout and Cutthroat Trout. Our view from the cookhouse included the lake with treed hills in the background.

My husband and I overhead the owner, Lorna Duncan, telling her customers that the area was once logged by the Norie Brothers in the 1960s, but returned to resort status as it was established originally in 1945. Roberts Lake got its name from the surveyor who discovered it.

The interior of the café feels much like a museum. There are dramatic photos of the area’s logging history and the lifestyle it took to live in the bushes. One photo shows a young boy looking up at his father with a big smile on his face. His father is holding a cougar by the scruff of the neck; its eyes glazed over, lifeless.

The nearby cabins range in size from one-bedroom at $75 per night to three bedrooms with a loft, two double beds and a single cot, a shower and indoor plumbing at $99. Each cottage is fully furnished and you are provided with bedding, cooking utensils and cleaning supplies. You can capture more details from the owner who can be reached at (250) 287-9421.

Later, at the lakefront parking lot, only a few kilometers south, we climbed off our motorcycle and walked briefly to the nearest picnic table. A long dock provided us a platform to overlook the expanse of the lake. The water was clear and calm. The layer of smooth rock at the lake’s edge made it easy to wade into the swimming hole and refresh our body and head with repeated plunges. Children’s laughter filled the air and then only the chirping of birds could be heard as the explorers ran to another area.

We changed into our walk-about attire and took a hike over the wooden bridge. A two-person team of canoeists was paddling gently south along the lake, their oars silently dipping into the deep water. I picked up a rock and skipped it forcibly across the lake. It sank after only four licks.

Our visit to Roberts Lake that day left a calm feeling in my heart. The serenity of the property had left a mark that would have us returning regularly.

About the author
Susan Black is a published author. The Little Red Book Teaching ESL in China reveals her expedition to China, along with her husband. Most recently, her essay “How Detachment Changes Everything” was included in the anthology of stories published in The Moment I Knew–Reflections from Women on Life’s Defining Moments. She won Second Prize for her story, “Cowboys and Indians” at the 2010 Powell River Writers Conference. Susan’s interests include traveling with her husband on their Russian URAL motorbike, walking, swimming and reading. To learn more about Susan, visit her at: http://susanbraveheart.blogspot.com/ and http://uralbuddies.blogspot.ca/