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Shoreside, a few pioneer Finnish homesteads still remain – including the Victor Wirrki cottage and shed, set back behind a fishing-float rope fence. Turn up Mitchell Bay Road and go right through forest to the small settlement at Mitchell Bay, then on to the eastern tip of the island at Donegal Head. Here in quiet coastal wilderness is Dunroven Farm and Forge, a rustically elegant B&B where guests can learn blacksmith basics, help with the chickens and pat the grey Percheron horse – a place so relaxing most travellers want to stay more than one night. Retrace your route along Mitchell Bay Road, but instead of returning to the village, go straight (the road name changes to Big Lake Road) for about five km to Bere Point Road and its small campsite. A five-km trail leads around Beautiful Bay: from the trailhead viewing platform, look north across Queen Charlotte Sound for sightings of dolphins, humpback whales, the occasional orca (there's a "rubbing" beach just below), peregrine falcons and lots of eagles. From Bere Point, the narrow gravel road – which continues west for 11 km along the island's forested spine – deteriorates and needs careful driving, particularly in wet weather. But persist. It leads to Pulteney Point and one of the 27 remaining, manned lighthouses on the coast (see page 28). Park at the lighthouse gate and take the trail on the right to an extensive black-pebble beach. Its farflung mountain and island vistas and extraordinary sunsets make the 10-minute walk to the lighthouse (closed to the public) well worth it. To complete this island tour, backtrack to Bere Point Road and head south to stroll among the boats in Rough Bay Harbour before lunch or dinner, enjoying the picturesque, shoreside boat sheds and net lofts on returning to the village. Good eats: Burger Barn, for lunch and dinner (seven days a week, July and August), is known for its halibut burgers (check hours; 250-973-2022); the Bistro at Sointula Art Gallery, open seven days a week (check hours; 250-974-7172). Good sleeps: Dunroven Farm and Forge (see above description (recn.ca/oxdoc); Sea 4 Miles Cottages, Kaleva Road (sointulacottages.com). Leg 2: Alert Bay, Cormorant Island The ferry from Sointula to Alert Bay (traffic lines up along Fir Street) goes back to Port McNeill first. Since ferry tickets are sold on a return basis, advise ferry personnel of your destination and staff will likely provide a (map) DTGraphix p16-17_Roadtrip.indd 17 turn-around ticket, getting you back on the ferry after it "turns around" for Alert Bay. Cormorant Island's tiny land base is divided: the western half is the 'Namgis First Nations reserve, centred around the village of 'Yalis; the rest is a non-native fishing community based around the village of Alert Bay, though divisions and affiliations are blurred. At the ferry dock, a welcome arch carved by Chief Doug Cranmer shows the apropos, mythic two-headed creature, Sisiutl. In 1870, the island was leased for 21 years for $40 a year to Wesley Spencer and Alden Huson, who built a factory for salt-cured herring and salmon, with shipment to Victoria. At that time, the 'Namgis main village was at the mouth of the Nimpkish River, across the strait; the tribe used the island as a burial ground and for summer food gathering. The 'Namgis canoed across to work at the factory Beautiful Bay Trail the historic Nimpkish Hotel, built in 1920 (presently closed). Stop for a look at the old 'Namgis cemetery and its forest of memorial totems, some dating to the 1870s – the oldest in B.C. still on their original sites. (Note: The cemetery is out of bounds, but can be seen from the road.) Continue east along the shore and around the island's tip, where the road ends. Head back and take a spin up Alder Road to the Ecological Park; boardwalk trails lead across marshes created when a creek was dammed to supply fresh water to the cannery, great for birdwatching. There's an RV campsite here, with 14 fully serviced sites. Return to the shore road (west of the ferry it is Front Street) and continue west past the pretty white-gingerbread Christ Church that opened Christmas Day in 1892. Around the bay, the road ends at 'Yalis and the U'Mista Cultural Centre (and museum; Bere Point Campsite Big L ake R o ad MALCOLM ISLAND Mitchel Rough Bay l Bay Road SOINTULA Mitchell Bay Kaleva Bay Pulteney Point Lighthouse Donegal Head RY FER HADDINGTON ISLAND FE RR Y 'YALIS 'YA 'YAL S CORMORANT ISLAND FERRY PORT MCNEILL 19 ALERT BAY PEARSE ISLANDS VA N CO U V E R ISLAND and, later, at the salmon cannery. But when an Anglican missionary arrived to build a church and school, many 'Namgis relocated and established a new village, 'Yalis, near the mission. When Huson's lease expired, the government set aside the First Nations Reserve. The ferry arrives at Alert Bay village, where fishing sheds, old packing plants and net lofts are linked by a cedar boardwalk stretching around the bay to 'Yalis. Turn right along Fir Street and drive through the village, past the visitor centre in the old firehall, the museum and gift shop (250-974-5721) and see caption, page 16), where the towering brick hulk of St. Michael's residential school stands abandoned (though the basement houses local carvers); nearby is the traditional 'Namgis Big House, with its painted facade and eagle-topped totem. Don't miss: the world's second-tallest totem pole, almost 53 metres tall, nearby; the new cemetery, for more Northwest Coast carving; and, back in Alert Bay, an hour at the vintage, six-lane, five-pin bowling alley for a change of pace. Good eats: Pass'nThyme Inn (250-974-2670); deli at the Shoprite supermarket. Good sleeps: On the Beach (alertbayaccommodations.com); Alert Bay Lodge, B&B (alertbaylodge.com). Y Member coastal travel, including maps, TripTiks and savings: bcaa.com/thewestcoast WESTWORLD >> S P R I N G 2 0 1 2 17 1/26/12 2:48:12 PM

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