This summer season, our household traded metropolis commutes and laptops for a ship trip throughout Georgian Bay—and for 4 days, we turned lighthouse keepers on Flowerpot Island.
It wasn’t only a trip. It was an opportunity to stay in a historic place, assist protect it, and expertise it in a approach few folks ever get to.
And right here’s the shock: Flowerpot Island isn’t the one place the place you are able to do this. Visitor lighthouse keeper applications run throughout Canada—from Porphyry Point on Lake Superior, to Cape Spear in Newfoundland, and to distant lighthouses alongside British Columbia’s coast.
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A uncommon probability to ‘work’ on trip
Our journey started with a 45-minute boat trip from Tobermory, adopted by a hike via the woods carrying all the pieces we’d want: meals, clothes, and sleeping baggage. With no electrical energy on the island, solely a propane range and a photo voltaic charging jack, we have been really off the grid.
In change, we stayed in a country cabin and spent our days serving to with the tuck store, greeting guests, sharing the island’s historical past, and caring for the grounds with mild gardening and maintenance.
(Saphia Khambalia) Flowerpot Island Ontario household
Saphia and her household on Flowerpot Island.
At occasions it was arduous work, however it was rewarding to know we have been holding a Canadian landmark alive. At one level, rain poured simply as a cruise ship arrived, bringing tons of of tourists—it was chaotic however exhilarating.
Heather Keast, a volunteer with the Associates of the Bruce District Parks Affiliation who helped begin the host program, defined: “The host program began as a approach to look after the island, and it’s grown into an opportunity for folks to expertise its magnificence and historical past firsthand. In any case these years, it’s extremely fulfilling to assist protect this place whereas sharing it with guests.”
A landmark with deep roots
Standing on the lighthouse website, we imagined what life right here was like greater than a century in the past. The unique Flowerpot Island lighthouse, inbuilt 1897, guided ships via storms till it was dismantled within the Nineteen Sixties. For many years, generations of keepers and their households lived right here, braving Georgian Bay’s wild climate lengthy earlier than GPS and radar made their jobs out of date.
(Saphia Khambalia) Flowerpot Island Ontario
The present mild tower at Flowerpot Island.
In the present day, an automatic mild tower and the restored keeper’s residence nonetheless welcomes guests, together with trails, shipwreck views, and the island’s well-known “flowerpot” rock pillars.
Keast added: “Flowerpot Island is such a particular place. Being a bunch provides you the prospect to see it in a approach most individuals by no means do—from quiet mornings on the flowerpots to sunsets on the porch of the keeper’s residence.”
The island’s historical past and ongoing restoration make it clear why the Visitor Lighthouse Keeper program is so wanted.
A program in excessive demand
The program began in the early 2000s as a approach for volunteers to help restoration efforts whereas sharing the island with guests. In the present day, it’s extraordinarily widespread, with a waitlist stretching throughout Ontario and abroad.
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(Saphia Khambalia) Saphia and her household on Flowerpot Island
Saphia and her household on Flowerpot Island.
“We get extra functions than we will deal with,” famous Invoice Caulfeild-Browne, Chairman of the Board for the Associates of the Bruce District Parks Affiliation. “The charge for the keep and boat trip is modest, about what you’d pay for an in a single day tenting journey, and the expertise is priceless.”
Stars, storms, and silence
The actual magic got here at evening. When the final boat stuffed with vacationers pulled away, the island turned virtually silent. As lighthouse keepers, we had Flowerpot Island almost to ourselves—only a handful of campers scattered far sufficient away that we hardly ever noticed them. It felt like stepping again in time.
One morning, I woke earlier than dawn to observe the sunshine contact the well-known flowerpots—an unforgettable quiet second.
(Saphia Khambalia) Flowerpot Island Georgian Bay Ontario Sundown
(Saphia Khambalia)
On our final night, our household lingered on the porch of the keeper’s residence, watching the solar dip into Georgian Bay. “Palms down among the finest journeys of our lives,” I assumed, seeing the water’s colors change and realizing we’d lived the island’s historical past, even when only for a couple of days.
With no mild air pollution, the sky exploded with stars. Some nights we stood below a superb full moon, different nights we watched storms sweep throughout the bay. It was a aspect of Georgian Bay that felt each uncooked and deeply peaceable.
Greater than only a trip
For us, this wasn’t only a summer season spotlight—it was an expertise we’ll carry for years.
Being a lighthouse keeper on Flowerpot Island was a real bucket listing journey, however it was additionally one thing greater: a reminder that journey might be about extra than simply escape. By means of applications like this, on a regular basis folks might help protect historic gems, maintain tales alive, and go them on to the following era.
And that, for us, made all of the distinction.
Should you’re fascinated by changing into a lighthouse keeper, remember to apply early and attain out to the organizations that run these applications to study extra.
