Haddington Island
My long stay around Kidney Lake was done. I was going to take a ferry to Malcom Island, and head for Bere Point Campground – one the locals had told me it was really nice. I could see that the town of Sointula was close enough to walk in, plus there were some trails and roads in the area to explore. I figured it would at least be worth paying the $35 for the ferry ride over.
I had finally gotten my mail forwarded to me from Alberta. That was one of my reasons for hanging around Kidney Lake for so long, it was not far from Port Hardy where I had set up a Canada Post Flex mail address. Flex mail is supposed to give you something that resembles a regular address. It might also have notification when you got mail, and it might also be usable when a shipper will not ship to a post office as general delivery. Yes, Canada Post’s website is somewhat ambiguous on these points.
It turns out that Canada Post’s new Flex Mail service required some more staff training. The PO box number that indicated that the package was a Flex Mail address had been circled, with “USA” scrawled underneath. So my long delay had been due to a mistaken forward of my mail to the US. I never got any notification either. So really at the end of the day, you might as well get your mail sent to general delivery at a post office. It remains to be seen if I can use Flex Mail to get something shipped to me when general delivery won’t work.
The “Island Aurora” Ferry
The Island Aurora was my ferry for getting to Malcom Island. It is a brand new, only in service for the last year. Talking to one of the locals, I found out that while it is a fair bit bigger than the old ferry, it can still fill up in the summer leaving you waiting for the next ferry. At least in the winter it does not fill up. We only took part of one lane of the five lanes, all six of us vehicles.
I had arrived early enough to score the pole position in the ferry lineup. That also got me on the front of the ferry, perfect for inspecting the roof from above it turned out. Everything looks new and shiny still, just a little bird poop on the solar panel.
The ride is about twenty minutes, just long enough to stretch my legs and explore the ferry. The lane you see coming down the left is exit ramp for the other two lanes, cars only up there. When I was heading to the island, I had not figured this out. The ramps and decks are so clean I just assumed it was ‘wheelchair access’ for the upper deck. The ramps are narrow and the turn is sharp, so I wasn’t thinking vehicles, even though now I see those lanes are wide enough for a car. I’m not sure about a full sized pickup extended bed though – that is a tight turn getting on and off the ramp.
The ferry has some nice sitting areas, one on the main level under the upper car deck, and a sunroom on the second level that is semi-open, so you’ll always have a bit of a breeze. I bet there was some uncertainty about wearing a mask during COVID times in this area!
I could see Sointula, my destination on Malcom Island from Port McNeill. It looked to be a fair size. The advertisements I had read said that I could get pretty much anything for regular supplies in town. We’ll see during the winter. I might stay longer if I could actually get propane on the island, might as well get the most out of my $35 ferry ride.
Need to learn to stand straight for a posed photo
I keep being reminded how nice people are here. While on a lot of ferries you get an aloof vibe, here the crew member struck up a conversation after warning me that they were about to lower the gate I was taking pictures over. He offered to take my picture too, which I will never refuse because being on your own means you don’t get that many pictures of yourself. It’s a pain in the ass to do. Being right there in front, I watch the staff dock while waiting to drive off. It’s all professional, but casual. Some of the staff were talking to the locals waiting to walk off as they worked, no doubt catching up with people they knew in the area.
I had figured out my route in advance, so I knew to turn left and head down first street in Sointula, keep heading that way out of town. But the roads were narrower than I expected. I was doubting my choice of route – should I have turned left on second street like the googles suggested? The street I was on was right by the ocean, but once out of town centre, the road felt more like a back lane rather than a main road connecting to the marina and points beyond. I need not have worried. Most of the roads on the island are like this – if you drive the country roads in Europe you will be right at home. Considering that Sointula was originally a Finnish settlement, the bits of European flavor make sense – many of the older building have Scandinavian colors and styles. I definitely wanted to do a walking tour to get some pictures around town.
I arrived at the campground and scouted out a spot. I knew that internet here was fringe, so I drove around the oceanside sites, looking at my Network Cell Info app to tell me where there might be some signal. The main loop doesn’t look good, so I head down the branch towards the point. I know from the tower locations that cell signal is likely to be good beyond the point, so the closer I get to it, the better the chances are I will find signal. Sure enough, the last site at the end of the branch finally gives me a weak signal on my phone. I’ll be putting up the booster for sure to help things out on that front. I park the RV, noting I have one neighbor two stalls up. I’d normally move somewhere farther away, but here is where the internet is, so I’ll tolerate the neighbor.
Upper part of loop treed sites
Bere Point Campground is indeed quite nice. My spot has an excellent view of the bay and the gravel beach. You could go for a site in the trees if you prefer that. There are some Salal shrubs and a couple of smaller spruce trees, but they are not enough to cut the wind that blew most of the time I was here. But the wind brings the sound of crashing surf, feeling like it is almost at my feet when I sit in the RV. The landlubber in me finds that a bit unsettling, especially at night with the howling wind. I kept thinking a high tide was going to come up and sweep away the RV.
My RV gets 2 Kiloeagles per litre.
If you are used to staying at BC recreation sites, you will find this one a little different, because it isn’t a BC rec site. It is run by the local region (kind of like a county), so they have a different take on facilities. While you still have pit toilets, these are the very nicest ones, with concrete floor and lots of room. There are a few shelters about, much better than trying to string a tarp up to stay out of the rain. There are garbage cans. There is non-potable water provided in large portable tanks. They even have their own measurement system, the eagle – sure to catch on everywhere soon in preference to the metric system.
There is a cost to all of this, during the summer. But while I’m here, it is free. If this was Alberta, there would be a payment box with payment on the honor system for sure. While I’m not trying to give the regional government any ideas here, you already have to send someone out to collect the garbage at least, so why not get a little money from the one to four campers that were in the campground while I was there? But that is my Alberta bred thinking coming to the forefront. Free camping good, keep it up BC! Come to think of it, camping at the equivalent remote sites in Alberta use to be free too. It seems I have been brainwashed by my provincial government that everything must be user pay. Hmmmm.
Join me next time, when I explore Beautiful Bay, with trails that range from easy to treacherous!
