111 Hornby Island Here We Come

Hornby Island has to be one of the neatest islands in Georgia Straight and one of the greatest places to camp. We and many of our friends used to look forward to the 24th of May. This was the earliest weekend that the weather might cooperate and allow us to get out and cure the winter blues.

I remember out first camping experience with our friends on the island and the great time we had in just getting there. After the hour and a half drive to Buckley Bay the fun really began with a ferry ride to Denman. Once on Denman it was a mad scramble to the Hornby ferry terminal with the hope of maybe moving up in the ferry lineup, by either passing all the cars that you could as you crossed the island to the Hornby terminal or by using the short cut to circumvent the long traffic line.

I will say one thing about the ferry help; they would cram as many cars on the ferry as they could. I remember one time when my little tent trailer hung out over the water on the back end of the ferry, with it’s wheels still on the ramp when the ferry pulled out. I was somewhat relieved that the wheels actually landed on the ferry and not in the water as the ramp slowly pulled out from under its wheels.

Once on the island we headed to the Tribune Bay campsite and even though it was sometimes in disarray we liked the campsites and had a great time with all of our many friends. We used to gather all of our campers around in a grand circle and sit in a huge ring around a large roaring campfire known as the Betts’ fire. Compliment or otherwise it meant that no one was left out in the cold.

After everyone had gathered round we used to sing songs and then someone would present a spiritual lesson and have a prayer and ask God’s blessing and protection over our group. On Sabbath we always had a mini Sabbath School and a lesson study Sabbath morning. After that we would have a huge potluck as everyone hauled out that special dish they had prepared for the occasion.

Sabbath afternoon was a great time to take a nap, but a bunch of us would usually go for a walk along the sands of Tribune Bay. This has to be a great sand beach, especially along the east end of the bay with its sculptured sandstone.

We never left the island without visiting Helliwell Park and its amazing scenery and wildlife. The three-mile loop through the park was one of the most memorable experiences of the whole weekend. The walk takes a person past the sandstone bluff with their pelagic cormorants and the pungent smell of the guano painted cliffs along Tribune Bay. The wildflowers with their many colors leave you with a most memorable experience. Flores Islet off St. John’s Point, the south tip of the park, is home to sea lions and its waters are where the primitive and rare six-gilled shark lurks. Coming around the backside of the loop and just as you enter a magnificent old growth Douglas fir stand, is where you pass beneath the home of a bald eagle’s nest high in the top of a large Douglas fir tree, with the young eaglets eagerly waiting to be fed. What a treat.

I will always think back on the many May weekends that we enjoyed on Hornby and the great fun we had with our many friends and aquaintenances. All in all a most beautiful experience and one that I will always treasure.