Get to know our very friendly community and enjoy island life on Gambier Island, BC, Canada

Details

• 

  Description

  Living on Gambier Island is both relaxing and challenging. Gamiber is the largest island in Howe Sound, though mostly uninhabited (90+% of the island), and yet, it is only 45 min. by ferry from Horseshoe Bay in North Vancouver. This place is perfect for my husband and I after we left the hustle and bustle of the Fraser Valley nearly 9 years ago on a retirement adventure. We are still here enjoying the wonderfully quieter, gentler lifestyle of island living away from traffic and chaos of city life. There is a great balance of relaxation, physical work and time for play! The Summertime is very busy while the off seasons are quiet and chill.
  
  The natural rugged beauty of rocky beaches, forests and mountains offer trails to hike, beaches for swimming and boating adventures. The island is a bit remote as it is only accessible by boat, however we have a great little commuter passenger-only ferry that runs regularly to Langdale terminal (10 min. ride) where one can board the large ship/ferry back to Vancouver or hop on a bus to go into Gibsons or Sechelt, our nearest towns on the Sunshine Coast. We go across regularly, once or twice a week, to shop for our groceries and other necessities as our island does not have stores and shops on it. It requires lots of packing, loading and unloading which make for general little workouts.
  
  Our home is spacious and overlooks Gambier Harbour. We have two golden doodle dogs, two cats and a handful of chickens. We love gardening and have vegetable and flower beds plus a few fruit trees that we could use some help in maintaining.
  
  Having traveled a good bit internationally with work and occasionally hosting students from other countries, we love to meet people from around the globe and hear what life is like in their corner of the world. Sharing stories is a wonderful way to learn how different, yet similar life can be.
  
  For relaxation, we enjoy playing cards and board games and we also like cooking and crafting! There is a lot to do outdoors time there are always projects we are working on including cutting wood to fill the woodsheds for winter fires, building retaining walls with rock, gardening and all sorts of other things. We are currently learning about finding, or growing and harvesting natural healing plants. We are excited to find an abundance of plants here on our island and we are learning their purpose.

• 

  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
• 

  Interests

  

  Farming

  

  Pets

  

  Self development

  

  Charity work

  

  Writing

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  Animals

  

  Gardening

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Photography

  

  Plant care

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Art & design

  

  Nature
• 

  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Canadian culture is pretty easygoing for the most part and island lifestyle is even more so. We have a very friendly community and in small town style, we know most of the islanders and their families, During the late fall, winter and early spring, the island is pretty quiet with the full time locals and limited weekenders that venture out from the big city (Vancouver) yet, there is always some activity happening. Then mid spring, summer and early autumn, it gets busy! There are always people out and about walking or riding golf carts and quads.
  
  We have a community centre that holds events throughout the year but most every weekend in the summer.
  Our Island features a local Saturday Farmers Market at which we sell our baking and crafts. This is very well attended and for a few hours each Saturday, the roads are crowded with pedestrians, motor bikes, golf carts, and all sorts of other vehicles
  
  There is much to do and discover here on Gambier Island or even to take the foot-ferry over and hop a bus to explore Sunshine Coast.

• 

  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

• 

  Help

  We are looking for people who are in good physical condition and enjoy gardening, helping with yard/house maintenance which may include various tasks like weeding, trimming, cutting firewood, sanding and staining decks, window washing, power washing, gutter cleaning, etc. Also, we hope our guests will like animals as daily dog walking along our lovely gravel roads and paths will be helpful.
  "Lug it or Leave it" is a suitable saying for this place as we have no stores to shop at. This means we have to travel off island for supplies and to remove our garbage. We take trips into town once or twice a week and we'd appreciate help with the lifting and carrying heavier items such as heavy sacks of chicken/dog feed and groceries.
  We will work along side our guests or be close at hand,

• 

  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  French: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  Randy loves to brush up on his French Language that he hasn't used much since childhood.
• 

  Accommodation

  We have a three story home with a walk out basement suite that has lots of windows which provide plenty of natural light. This is a large private room that has a queen size bed, a single bed plus sectional couch and table with chairs and TV. The door to the outside is a shared entrance. There is a bathroom just outside the bedroom.
  
  For meals, we will have breakfast and lunch food available for self serve and we will enjoy our evening meals together. Fridays are typically Pizza nights as we often bake pizza for other islanders. For those who love to cook, we will invite our guests to share their culinary skills and cook a dinner meal for us all to enjoy, if they like.
  
  Our home is situated across the road from Gambier Harbour dock and beach and about a 15 minute walk (5 min drive) to New Brighton where we catch the foot ferry that takes us to and from the island. Our home is a on a hill and faces southward towards the water and dock.

• 

  What else ...

  We are a smoke free home and enjoy clean living and eating healthy food that we like growing and make ourselves.
  
  Our house rules are pretty simple...Treat others respectfully and please, No smoking or drugs. Only occasional alcohol, please.
  
  This is a great place for people who enjoy the outdoors and activities like hiking, swimming, kayaking, etc. There are lots of friendly folks here and a few other Workaway hosts too.

• 

  A little more information

  • 

    Internet access

  • 

    Limited internet access

  • 

    We have pets

  • 

    We are smokers

  • 

    Can host families

• 

  Can host digital nomads

  We have fairly decent internet here on the island and the service is improving all the time. There are many people who rely on their digital jobs and other services here on Gambier Island.

• 

  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

• 

  My animals / pets

  Carmella

Website Safety