Pender Harbour On The Sunshine Coast Of British Columbia

The Sunshine Coast of British Columbia is a beautiful destination at any time of the year but no more so than in the summer.  A forty minute ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver, B.C. has you arriving in Langdale which is the link to Highway 101.  Connecting the Sechelt and Malaspina Peninsualas of the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, travelling on Highway 101 goes through Gibsons, past Roberts Creek, Wilson Creek and Davis Bay.  Continuing north through Sechelt past Halfmoon Bay and Secret Cove before reaching Maderia Park. Marderia Park along with the villages of Irvine's Landing, Garden Bay and Kleindale make up the area known as Pender Harbour.

As a child I spent many summers exploring in and around Pender Harbour, both with my family and on my own.  My younger brother's godparents, Uncle Joe and Auntie Dora lived just outside of Maderia Park in a home overlooking a little bay called Whiskey Slough.  Uncle Joe had been a pilot with the Canadian Royal Air Force during World War II and at the war's end worked for the City of North Vancouver.  Leaving the city behind the couple moved to the Sechelt Peninsula to take up commercial fishing.  Often Auntie Dora and their dog, Maggie Muggins would accompany Uncle Joe during the fishing season leaving their house empty.  For two blissful weeks every summer we would take up residence there.  

Many of the descendants of the pioneers who settled in the area to take up commercial fishing and logging still inhabit the area today, along with First Nations tribes, retirees and artists.  A popular destination for tourists, the Sechelt Peninsula it is accessed not only by ferry but is a frequent destination for yatchs and sailboats.  Fishing, canoeing, and kayaking are popular pastimes as is hiking the many trails and exploring the many beaches in the area.

On summer days we spent our childhood

Jumping off the wharf, swimming and splashing

in Whiskey Slough

On summer days we spent our childhood

Scouring the beaches, scrambling over rocks,

catching bullheads.

On summer days we spent our childhood

Running through the forest, laughing and jumping

Sun filtering through giant trees and glistening on

dew damp ferns

Left to our own devices to explore the beaches and old growth forests coming in only when we were hungry or darkness began to descend, I wrote the following poem for my mother as I looked back on my childhood summers.

What did you do mum, alone, on summer days

While we spent our childhood

blissfully unaware?

What did you do mum, alone, besides lay Eden

at our ignorant feet?

Pender Harbour boasts a temperate climate and spectacular scenery along with year round recreation and a laid back atmosphere that is well removed from the 'fast lane'.

Traveling the Sunshine Coast of B.C. is a step back in time and Pender Harbour is no exception.

As you sail back to Horseshoe Bay there is a good chance you will already be planning your return trip to British Columbia's Sunshine Coast.

All photographs are used with the permission of my wonderful niece Sarah who took them while on vacation with my brother, sister-in-law and her brother, Adam. Thank you Sarah and Well Done!

Summer, 2010