My parents built a cottage in the late 70's on an acre of lake front land on Ponhook lake in Nova Scotia. My brother and I spent our adolescence there swimming and boating and when we were in college having friends over and partying. When I left Nova Scotia in 2003 and there was no one left to use or look after the place, we sold the family cottage to friends. Being without a cottage was liberating in some ways because I no longer felt obliged to spend much of my free time in one place and was now free to travel in my spare time. However, over the years, I missed having a place in the country with its wood fire, the morning mist rising on the lake, and the call of loons.
Our friend Andy, who has a cottage on Ruxton island, put us onto the idea of buying an inexpensive place on an island. Ruxton and neighboring De Courcy island are about 4 hours sail north of Maple Bay where we keep our boat. They have no BC ferry service, so you can only get to them by private boat, water taxi, or float plane. These islands are off the grid, with no power or wired communications and it is this and their inaccessibility that has, at least until recently, kept prices relatively low. This has begun to change during the Covid pandemic, which has increased demand in general for country properties.
Over the last two years we looked at lots on both islands and even put in offers on a couple of lots on Ruxton, but ended up buying an A-Frame a few weeks ago on De Courcy, about five minutes walk from the beach at the south end of the island. The lot is about one acre and the cabin is powered by a generator that charges a bank of golf cart batteries to provide electricity. The current solar panels provide only a small amount of electricity due to their size and tree shading. There is a propane fridge and stove, a drilled well, and an indoor bathroom and septic system. The home is insulated and the systems are adequate for full time living. In fact the previous owner lived on the island for much of the year, leaving only for a few months in the winter.
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| The A-frame cottage has a large screened in porch - this picture is several years old and was used to sell the property. The grass has reverted to moss and natural plants and the deck needs work... |
We plan to spend about half our time out here at least during the spring, summer, and fall. The residents we have met have been very welcoming and are an eclectic and talented group of people, many of whom make the island their full time home. Some work from the island and there are even families who send their kids to Gabriola for schooling. There are no shops, but there are some families that sell eggs and apparently other produce will be available later in the year. Otherwise, one must go to Gabriola island or Nanaimo for groceries.
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| Swamp Angel anchored at Pirate's Cove marine park on De Courcy island |
The island has a marina run by a few of the locals and moorage is available for island residents only. We have not arranged this yet and anchor our boat in the provincial marine park lagoon or off the south beach.
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| Rani kayaks near Swamp Angel at anchor off the south beach. Valdes island is in the background and we look forward to exploring its trails |
A bonus of living on De Courcy is access to the lovely wooded trails and tide pools found in Pirate's Cove marine park. We walk in the park most days. Rani has also been invited to walk with some of the local women who walk around the island each day on the road system.
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| Rani enjoying the scenery along the Pirate's Cove park trail |
The roads are provincially maintained and suitable for vehicles, although the only way to get a vehicle on or off the island is via a barge service.
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| We bought a somewhat decrepit 1993 Dodge Caravan with the cottage. Very useful for getting supplies to and from the boat. |
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| The cottage is located by a 'wetlands' area |
The cottage overlooks what the realtors call a wetlands area. It is full of bird life now and the frogs sing us to sleep each night.
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| Down by the water at the edge of the property |
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| Deer proof garden |
There is also a garden fenced off from deer to the rear of the house. It has not been tended for a long time (the picture above is several years old) so we will be doing some restoration this summer.
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| The beach at the south end with Swamp Angel at anchor in the distance |
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| Another view of the coves at the south end of the island with the mountains on Vancouver Island behind |
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| A cozy fire in the living room. Most furniture, dishes, and linens came with the place. |
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| A raccoon makes its way across the pond by walking on water (probably on a submerged log!) |
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Upstairs is accessed via a real stair case rather than a loft ladder. The main bedroom is a good size and there is a small guest bedroom too.
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| There is a small work shop near the main house as well as a good sized wood shed and a building to house fuel for the generators |
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| Seaweed on the south beach |
We are looking forward to sharing this place with friends and family when Covid restrictions are lifted.
