Ba-Ba-Ba-Bamfield

As I’ve mentioned rather frequently in recent days, I spent last week in Bamfield. Here is my brief summary of the trip.

We left our house at 8:30am or so on Monday morning. After a quick trip to the drive-through ATM we headed to the ferry terminal. Jacob slept most of the way and the drive is only around 45 minutes, so that part went well. We had to wait about an hour for our boat, during which time we walked on the beach and visited the bathroom about 15 times. Fun!

Cars parked in line at the ferry terminal

On the boat we met up with our friends. The kids played in the play area, we ate brunch, and we walked on the deck. So far so good.

Kids playing in the wind on the ferry

Once our ferry arrived we had to drive about 90 minutes to Port Alberni. That part went smoothly, since Jacob was exhausted and slept the whole way, and I had plenty of Raffi on hand for Hannah to groove to. From Port Alberni to Bamfield, however, was another story. It’s around 75 kilometers on a logging road, and it took us in the neighbourhood of one hour and forty five minutes to drive it. The last 45 minutes of that Jacob was not happy and letting me know it. It was not a good drive, since I was already white-knuckling it on the gravel and I didn’t really know how far we were going or when it would end. But the most eventful part is that right at the end of the gravel section the tire on my friend’s van blew.

Shredded tire

In the end I entertained the 6 children while the other two adults changed the tire. I was feeling very thankful that my husband Jon had loaned me his SUV with good tires and fabulous shock absorption. Thankfully from there it was only 5 minutes on to Bamfield. In Bamfield we had to unload the cars and take a water taxi across the harbour to the other side, and then we drove on to the house. I was so glad to get there when we finally pulled up at around 6:30pm.

House in Bamfield

Bamfield is quite the place. It has around 250 year-round residents, and it’s not very accessible. Which, I think, is why it has so few residents. Most of the people live on the West side, which has no roads in. There are a few roads around West Bamfield, but vehicles (and fuel) need to be transported over by barge. Because the roads are very rough, the distances are small, and you’re totally isolated everyone drives old clunkers without license plates or safety features. We actually saw a woman breastfeeding while she drove!

Hood ornament on a truck

The real selling feature of Bamfield is the natural beauty. Because it is so remote and unspoiled you can experience the wild coast in a way that you simply can’t in more populated areas. The Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, a teaching and research facility run by several universities, is located there for this reason.

The large buildings you see belong to the Marine Sciences Centre

I have to say this about Bamfield – it has character. People who live there are choosing to do so for very specific reasons. It’s hard to get to. There are few conveniences, although everyone seems to have electricity and wifi. But groceries are brought in by boat from Port Alberni, power outages are frequent, and people are few. It’s a lifestyle choice to be there, and while folks do seem to work together to create a community, I was always cognizant of the tenuous balance between people and wilderness.

Jacob found a button on the button path, and example of the character of Bamfield

A float plane landing in the harbour

Composting toilets, the public bathrooms in West Bamfield

A little roadside garden

During the four nights that we were there the children slept, to my great relief. I got to visit with friends and see some truly beautiful sights. We all learned a bit more about the natural world and the coast we call home. We spent a lot of time looking at the water, although I found it way too cold for swimming. Or even wading. The ocean is much colder on the west side of Vancouver Island, and it never really warms up.

Jacob walking on the beach

Hannah playing a bull kelp trumpet

A chair perched over Brady’s Beach

Learning about hermit crabs

On Friday morning we had to do our whole trip in reverse. We packed the truck, and drove it to the dock where we unpacked it. We rode across on the water taxi, and re-loaded both cars. Then we drove back on the logging road to Port Alberni, and thankfully all the tires survived this time. The kids and I headed straight on to the ferry, and Jacob cried for that whole hour. Not fun. But we did some walking and exploring at the ferry terminal, and on the ferry, and that was good.

Van on the dock, ready for loading

Self-portrait on the ferry ride home

It was an amazing trip. I am very glad to be home, but Bamfield was quite the place. And totally worth the hassle of getting there, as it turns out. I recommend you visit, should you ever have the chance.

I took many more photos of our adventures in Bamfield. If you want to see them, you can check them out in my Bamfield set on Flickr.

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