Sunshine Coast Trip, Part One

My sister and I went to the Sunshine Coast one weekend this February.


Here we are (my car is the green one to the right), at Horseshoe Bay in the lineup for the 11:20 am ferry, Queen of Coquitlam. It's a 40-minute ride across to Langdale.


We're off the ferry and headed into Gibsons. Mount Elphinstone has some snow.


In Gibsons we went down to the beach (Hopkin's Landing) to have a look at the house where Kay and Art lived when they were in Gibsons. They could watch the ferries come and go from their deck.




Next we had lunch at Molly's Reach, famous for being the place where the CBC series, The Beachcombers, was filmed in the 1970s. We had excellent soup and sandwiches. Just up the street you have a good view (if you ignore the parked cars, rooftops and hydro poles). Maybe I should have walked farther uphill for the photo.


Our Bed & Breakfast, Bonniebrook Lodge, is located right next to Chaster Creek. I suppose "Bonniebrook" Lodge makes for better marketing than Chaster Creek Lodge. It's very nice. You have a choice of private cabins beside the creek or suites in the main house with a great view across Georgia Strait. We had a cabin with a large Jacuzzi-style bath and a cozy gas fireplace. If you go, I would recommend bringing warm slippers, the cabin floor was quite cold!

Here's the beach across the road from our B&B



and a tiny park with a cairn in honour of Captain Vancouver who visited the area in 1792.


Robert's Creek, a short 10 minute drive from Gibsons, is a quaint little community known (perhaps undeservedly) for its granola-heads and artsy/craftsy inhabitants. It also has a picturesque beach.



Davis Bay and Wilson Creek, another 10 minute drive, is a very attractive community on the southeast side of Sechelt. There are large new subdivisions going up in the hills high above the shoreline. We drove up around in the new streets - lots of great water views from up there. The well-maintained shoreline has convenient free parking, a boardwalk, benches to sit on, and a pier.



It's mid-afternoon and the sun is low in the west.




Sechelt, a town with population around 8000, is not quite as pretty, largely due to the large gravel/sand mining operation which seems to be visible from almost everywhere. We drove a little ways up Porpoise Bay above Sechelt for better views. No photos, you'll have to take my word for it, there are excellent views up there of steep treed mountainsides and Porpoise Bay itself.

Back at B&B, we relaxed and had a pre-dinner glass of wine. My sister studied Mount Kilimanjaro maps and National Geographic's latest article on the Serengeti. You can never be too prepared for a trekking adventure! I played with my iPod and looked at the photos I had taken so far.


In Gibsons we had dinner at a Mediterranean/Greek-style restaurant, Leo's Tapas & Grill. Very Good!

Back again at B&B, it was a clear night and stars were clearly visible. I suggested going to the beach to stargaze. So, in the dark, we stumbled around off the road, groped blindly over the logs and driftwood piled at the high water mark and teetered carefully across the stony beach to look at the stars. Did I mention it was very dark? I did pack a flashlight for the trip but of course I left it back in the cabin! We could see the Milky Way and looking west across Georgia Strait, the lights of Nanaimo on the horizon.

Part Two of this trip is posted here.