Tuesday, July 23. 2019
On a cool morning with a blue sky and a few fluffy, white clouds, we set out to begin the second half of the Trent Severn Waterway (TSW). If all went well, we’d cross Buckhorn Lake to Pigeon Lake to Bobcaygeon (pronounced “Bob”+ “cajun”) Lock 33, the oldest lock on the waterway, go up five feet, cross Sturgeon Lake and finish a total of 33 miles to tie up at the top side of the Fenelon Falls Lock 34.
The sun was shining on us as we crossed Buckhorn Lake and then went through Pigeon Lake north to Bobcaygeon. The swing-bridge opened (it had potted flowers here and there along the railing, very pretty) so we could enter the 165 year old lock – though, of course, it has been update since then. It was here that we entered the city of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario. Incorporated in 2001, it was created by the amalgamation of all of the municipalities in the former Victoria County, which included the largest city of Lindsay, plus Bobcaygeon, Fenelon Falls, four other smaller incorporated communities, and 10 townships.
Fun Facts about Kawartha Lakes
- Kawartha means "bright waters and happy lands." We’re pleased to say that this seems to be an accurate description! It is was changed by tourism promoters from the word "Ka-wa-tha" (from "Ka-wa-tae-gum-maug" or Gaa-waategamaag), which was coined in 1895 by Martha Whetung of the Curve Lake First Nation. (Encyclopedia Britanica says it's Ojibway Indian word meaning ”shining waters.”)
- Kawartha Lakes is made up of 1,128 islands.
- Kawartha Lakes has more than 250 lakes and rivers, connected by the TSW, and is known as the Houseboat Capital of Ontario.
- The Kawartha Dairy, founded in 1937, is still “100% Canadian and 100% family owned.” Milk was originally delivered to homes by horse, and to island cottages by boat! It is well known for its high quality products and especially the ice cream. (We can personally attest to that!)
The Bobcaygeon Lock 33 separates Pigeon Lake from Sturgeon Lake, which we crossed to reach Fenelon Falls Lock 34. Well, as usual, plans are meant to be changed and when we arrived at Fenelon Falls, we learned that the top side of the lock (which had power hook-ups) was full, so we tied up on the lower side of the lock without power. We had plenty of time to walk around town, find some interesting stores and locate a place to eat dinner later on.
It turned out that the lower lock wall gave us a beautiful view of the falls and a nice place to relax. While relaxing, we were provided with a comedy of errors show! Many houseboat rentals on the TSW were driven by people who had no idea how to handle them. Approaching the lock, tying up to wait for the lock, untying and proceeding into the lock and grabbing a cable to hold the boat in place were challenges that they had to have done numerous times to reach this spot, yet they still bumped, banged and crashed around. It was quite humorous for us – not so much for them. We heard quite a few frustrated “conversations” shouted between drivers and crew at opposite ends of the boats telling each other what they thought they should and shouldn’t be doing. It’s no wonder the rental companies put wood beams along the sides of the boats for scraping along rocks, concrete walls, other boats… We even saw one turn 90 degrees across the channel, then almost again in the lock. The lock gates closed before it was straightened out, but they must have done so eventually because 20 minutes later the lock had gone full circle (raised and lowered boats) and not one was stuck in there.
It was all fun until we heard (and felt) a loud bang on our boat and saw a rental houseboat trying to pull in front of us to tie up for the night. We went out and looked around and saw that we were fine while they were still trying to get close enough to the wall to secure their boat. A quick wave and “it’s OK” from us and we thought it was over. A few hours later, a gentleman (the grandpa on the houseboat) knocked on the boat and handed Sue a bottle of wine apologizing for bumping into us. She said “Thank you, it’s not necessary, everything is fine” but he insisted that we take the wine. Later Brian spoke with him and he said that he felt terrible and it was just the right thing to do when you bump into someone else’s boat. We think if he had a more knowledgeable crew, he probably would not have bumped us. Apparently, just like in the US, almost anyone can rent a boat and try to drive it whether they know what they are doing or not.
All-in-all, it was a pleasant day that ended with delicious Kawartha Dairy Ice Cream from the local shop … yum!
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/kawartha-lakes-ont