Dear Reader, if you feel that is has taken an inordinate amount of time to to get all of my thoughts down regarding my visit to Outer Shores Lodge, I’m with you! I have been sifting through hundreds of photos and so many incredible memories and struggling to figure out how to transfer them to Ye Olde Blogge such that a reader who has never been to this extraordinary place will feel the magic and, well…I am not that talented, I fear. And that has kept me pondering instead of writing. However, it is past time to put this one to bed so here is the final post about my 2024 stay at Outer Shores Lodge, imperfect though it will invariably be. So here are the last few things I want to write about.
The Meals
Five star dining at every turn! Chef Jeanne Rankin, ably assisted by fellow staffers Sara and Abi stunned me at each meal – first with the beautifully set table, and then with the unbelievably delicious food and free-flowing wine. This is not what I had previously experienced from other lodges I have been to. Yes, I was expecting good, tasty food but not of this calibre! Out. Of. This. World.
At every meal we were treated to a beautifully set table.The evening’s menu was up on the screen in late afternoon, to get the taste buds salivating. At each meal, I thought nothing could possibly top that night’s menu, and at each subsequent meal I was delightfully proved wrong. I want to be able to add this trifle to my repertoire, and Chef Jeanne generously shared how she created it with me. I still have some rhubarb in the freezer too! I didn’t want to take pictures of every dish (for varying reasons) but I did take a shot of this dessert to send back to my daughter. Another example of a nightly dinner. On the admitting paperwork, guests were asked if they were going to the lodge for any special reason, and this particular meal was to celebrate those reasons.Celebration cake for my 65th and for a lovely couple of guests’ wedding anniversary! Photo kindly taken by Sara Ellison. The dining was always 5 star and we made sure to dress in our best flannel and fleece shirts for dinner 😉. The cake was astounding btw, and I don’t even like chocolate cake normally.
Our Last Evening and Wrap Up
The sun came out on our last afternoon and everyone naturally migrated to the front deck to bask there after the day’s activities.
Sara Ellison took this photo of us enjoying cocktail and appie hour on the deck on our last afternoon. She and Jon were staying in a cabin on the upper part of the property.Sea urchins were harvested so Scott could prepare uni for us to try, on the last night. It doesn’t get fresher than this, folks!Scott holding a sea urchin, while already prepped uni is awaiting the lodge guests. Photo by Sara Ellison.The last evening’s meal. It absolutely blew my mind. I didn’t think anything could top rack of lamb for me, but this meal certainly did.The wonderful staff of Outer Shores Lodge: our gracious host Scott, with Chef Jeanne, Sara, and Abi. Watching the sun go down on our last evening at the lodge.Cheers to an amazing stay, experiencing spectacular nature, and meeting so many vibrant and interesting people! I can’t wait for next year.
Scott, Jeanne, Sara and Abi – I can’t thank you enough for the magic that you do and I can only hope to experience it again next year.
To my fellow guests in this special moment in time – thank you for your open-heartedness, warm support, and all of the exhilarating, stimulating conversations I was privileged to be a part of. Extra special thanks to Sara and Jon, for being so giving of their vast knowledge and experience of the “Stars and Sea Stars”!
Welcome to Part Three of this series about my recent visit to Bamfield, to stay at Outer Shores Lodge. You can find Part One here, and Part Two here.
While our days were spent in and on the water, the clear nights were for observing the skies while listening to Sara and Jon talk about the universe and point out what we were seeing. Fascinating stuff!
Crappy night sky photo taken with my phone, to give you an idea…Using the Stellarium app on my phone, and pointing it at the sky to show me what stars I was looking at.
Another option for guests at Outer Shores was a tour of the local waters, hosted by Scott. I was lucky enough to get to experience 2 of these rides! During our tours, Scott shared his knowledge of the area including showing us ancient village sites, and of course the local flora and fauna. Including whales! Humpback whales were spotted on every boat ride!
Scott took us to see “Moan-ah”, the whistle buoy we can hear (faintly) from the Lodge. Fun! Love his sense of humour.
We spent a lot of time observing the hundreds (if not thousands!) of sea lions hanging out on the rocks and cavorting in the water.
Pardon the blips in the video. I was trying to zoom in closer. Listen to Scott sharing his knowledge of these massive creatures.Scott took us through stunning rock formations.For my 2nd tour, the sun was out! An example of the stunning views.Scott, Jon and I were talking about kayaking through this natural hole in the rocks. They were only joking though, right? Right??? 😬 I mean, there were some serious waves happening!View from the other side of the hole.
Another activity I really enjoyed was exploring West Bamfield. Scott took me on a walk to Brady’s Beach the first day there and I enjoyed it so much I went back on my own later.
Brady’s Beach is well-signed and easy to find.Sea stacks on Brady’s BeachHeron and gull on sea stacks.I was obsessed with capturing the heron.Heron preening feathers, on the rock.While I was exploring the beach, a group of my fellow Lodge guests came kayaking by.
I also visited the West Coast Magic Park.
Including a phone of the wind. I had never heard of this before, but I can see how this would provide an outlet for people experiencing grief and loss.
And the tiniest artist’s studio I have ever seen.
I spotted beautiful fungi on my walks.
I also enjoyed walks along the boardwalk along on the east side of West Bamfield, facing the inlet.
Always a good idea to be reminded of the neighbours. Every type of neighbour!West Bamfield quirk and humour.In one little garden was this sign. I wonder if the cougars and bears had any part to play in the length of these cat’s lives. This is just one example of the multiple signs along the boardwalk, detailing the history of West Bamfield.
Whew! This post turned out to be quite a long one, and if you made it this far I hope you enjoyed the visual tour of West Bamfield and surrounding waters.
Shortly after arriving at Outer Shores Lodge, I asked Scott if there was an agenda or schedule that would be followed each day and he answered that each morning at breakfast he would come up with a list and time for activities based on the day’s weather, tides and people’s interests. We would be free to join in or do our own thing. A show of hands was needed for certain activities that were limited by gear availability or space and those were repeated throughout the day so all 13 of us could partake if we wanted (e.g. kayaking, boat outings). I really appreciated the easy-breezy and casual-ness of it all! It immediately relaxed me.
Each day went something like this:
6:30 am Cold breakfast (granola, yogurt, fruit bowl) was set out by the beverage station (always stocked with coffee, tea, cold beverages and 3 jars kept topped up with homemade cookies!).
8:30 am Hot breakfast is served.
Morning activities
12:00 pm Lunch is served.
Afternoon activities
At some point in the afternoon, delicious snacks (like Outer Shores Lodge’s flapjack bars!) magically appeared at the beverage station.
5:00 pm Appetizers were laid out. Did I mention the cold drinks at the beverage station included beers and coolers as well as soft/non-alcoholic drinks? Wine was also available upon request.
6:00 pm Dinner is served, with a choice of two wines. Usually accompanied by Scott entertaining us with some of his vast knowledge of the area and its history, plus some suggestions for our group as to how the following day could unfold, activity-wise.
Evening – various activities depending on weather, availability of people (e.g. outdoor talks on the night sky, musical entertainment or subject experts brought in, etc.).
Some people started their day at the property’s natural cold plunge pool (bottom left corner), followed by a visit to the Lodge’s steam shower or hot tub.
Shore Walk – the first morning Scott took us on a low-tide walk right outside the lodge, showing us the natural wonders at our feet and explaining the tidal eco-system in funny and immediately graspable ways.
We saw so many beautiful sea stars on this walk, as well as many crustaceans and other sea life.
Kayaking – The Lodge has 6 kayaks for guest use. A guide must accompany you if you want to leave the inlet (insurance requirement); otherwise you can take them when you like and explore the inlet on your own.
The Lodge supplies its guests with 12 foot Delta kayaks, for our kayaking pleasure!Some of my group getting ready to leave the inlet and go exploring. We saw a mama black bear and 2 cubs when we visited a salt marsh! I didn’t take any more photos as I’d forgotten my waterproof phone case for this trip and was getting a bit nervous I could drop/lose my phone.
Snorkelling – the Lodge provides a full range of gear for snorkelers who didn’t bring their own. All 13 of us geared up and went into the water at the same time – from the youngest among us up to the octogenarians!
Here is a photo of (almost) all of us, ready to explore the underwater world just a few steps away. Sara Ellison is in the front wearing the red weight belt (her husband Jon Willis – fellow astrophysicist and snorkeler – is behind her). Photo by Scott Wallace
Here’s some underwater footage I shot with my GoPro. There was a bit of wave action pushing me around!
Still smiling at this point – started to feel queasy from all the wave action shortly thereafter so I headed to the nearby kelp forest, where it was a bit calmer (next video).
Some video of the crabs hanging out in the kelp.
Lucky me! Sara Ellison photobombed my video. Maureen Scott took this gorgeous photo of a nudibranch. Note to self: need better camera and free-diving gear!!!
As this post is getting a bit long, I will stop here. To be continued in the next: Night skies, boat tours, hiking etc.!
How indeed? Literally and figuratively. After all, I have never gone away on a experiential vacation like this alone before – I’ve always had a friend (or two) to join me. See here and here for my last one, with my friends Joanne and Judith.
It started with this book….no wait…it actually started waaaaay back in my ocean-deprived childhood in southern Ontario. When I would read picture books about exploring the tidal pools of the sea shore, and the gorgeous, strange (to me) sea life to be found in and around those waters. That led to me trying to replicate the experience in the many lakes and rivers in my home province. It wasn’t summer unless I was in the water somewhere, exploring the shoreline with my kiddie-version mask, snorkel and fins. Mom had presciently signed me (and later my sisters) into swim lessons as early as humanly possible, so she could rest easy while I disappeared into the water for hours on end, only to come back ashore when my stomach begged for food.
Now that I’ve gotten settled on Vancouver Island I’ve been thinking about how to explore the rich (and cold) ocean waters of my new home, safely and year-round. Snorkelling in Barbados is great fun, but what about the other 50-ish weeks of the year, hmmm?
As I was saying, earlier this year I came across this book one day at my local grocery store:
Can you hear the choir of angels singing? I can.
If you are at all interested in exploring the rich waters surrounding Vancouver Island without having to invest in uber-spendy scuba lessons and gear, this is THE BOOK you need. Sara covers gear, safety and destinations around the island in a way that is easy for even a relative beginner to this type of snorkelling like me to understand.
In the summer (I think), I came across a Facebook page in my online travels, called Snorkellers of BC and immediately signed up. I’d been living vicariously through enjoying seeing what people were posting about locations and their underwater finds. I’d done a few snorkels with the grandkids at local beaches and a river by this point, but none of the locations from the book as my garden chores (amongst other things) were keeping me ashore. Note to self: design Garden 2025 to be better able to withstand my absences!
Then I saw a fabulous post – loaded with stunning underwater pictures of marine life – from someone who was staying at a place called Outer Shores Lodge, in Bamfield. I googled Outer Shores Lodge so fast I didn’t even register that the poster was THE Sara Ellison until much, much later. And that is when I came across the description of the upcoming Stars and Sea Stars featured lodge stay, and I was hooked! Snorkelling AND learning about the night sky?!? Yes, please!
After a few email conversations with the lodge’s very personable owner and host, Scott Wallace, I was booked. And counting the days until my departure in early October. I had decided that this trip was going to be my 65th birthday gift to myself – after all, it is kind of a momentous birthday, isn’t it? 😉
The drive from Port Alberni to Bamfield was pretty spectacular, and I only came across a couple of other vehicles on my journey along this newly-paved logging access road. I felt like I had it almost entirely to myself. No cell service, and my GPS had no idea this road existed… but it was well-marked and the day was fine so I wasn’t worried. Only a short couple of weeks later during an atmospheric river event, 2 people lost their lives on this road when they were swept (in their vehicles) into the then-raging Sarita River – a sombre reminder to respect the weather because Mother Nature ultimately rules, especially on the remote areas of this land.
View of the Alberni Inlet from the Bamfield Road.
After a relaxing 90 minute drive (3 hrs in total from my house), I arrived in East Bamfield and brought my luggage and gear to the dock, as instructed. Here I met most of the other guests (aka my new best friends!) for this stay, as we awaited Scott’s arrival with the Zodiac, to take us to the lodge. You might notice in these posts that I tried to take pictures that didn’t include my fellow guests whenever possible as I didn’t want to encroach on anyone’s right to privacy or make people feel otherwise uncomfortable and I wanted to use the photos for my blog later, natch!
Bamfield Map, at the dock. The lodge is located at the the tip and left side of Aguilar Point.Captain Scott pointing out West Bamfield as we head to the West Bamfield dock and then the short walk to Outer Shores Lodge.My first view of my home for the next 4 nights.
I was paired with a very lovely lady from Chemainus as my roomie for our stay. Our room was large and consisted of 2 parts. Upon entering the room, there were twin beds in a little nook directly across from our bathroom.
Dark and cozy sleeping nook. The beds and bedding were top quality.Well-appointed with heavenly-smelling soap, shampoo and conditioner from Saltspring Island Soap Company. Plenty of hot water too!
A step up from the sleeping nook led to this amazing area of our room!
My roomie decided she wanted to sleep in one of the bunks (Can you blame her? They are magical!), and I decided to take over the twin bed area.This was the view from our room.
I’ll end this post here. Stay tuned for the next one(s)! I promise they will be much less wordy and much more visual as I show you some of the wonders of the lodge and area.
