A Houseboat Vacation. Aug, 2018

Canada is famous for its many stunning lakes. For our vacation, we set out to explore the Kawartha Lakes aboard a houseboat. The Kawartha Lakes are located just a couple of hours’ drive from Toronto. The Trent–Severn Waterway runs through the lakes, connecting two of the Great Lakes — Lake Ontario and Lake Huron. The shores of the Kawarthas are dotted with cottages, yacht clubs, and campgrounds. The area is a paradise for anglers and nature lovers alike. This was our first vacation of this kind, and it left us with so many wonderful memories! Come aboard our houseboat, and let’s set off together on an adventure! 

Of all the houseboat companies to choose from, we decided to go with Egan Houseboats. Our houseboat wasn’t very large — it could accommodate 6–8 people. It wasn’t cheap, but it was affordable for us. Here are the houseboats waiting for their guests. Inside, you’ll find everything you need to spend your vacation in relative comfort

Day 1

We brought all our food with us. The houseboat had a reasonably spacious refrigerator, a gas stove, and, of course, a barbecue — because how else would we cook the fish we caught?)) Bed linens also took up some of our luggage space, along with various games, swimming gear, fishing rods, and all sorts of other essentials.

Before setting off, the men who would be our captains took a short introductory course on how to operate the boat and the basic safety rules. We were given two possible routes to choose from. One was more civilized, with opportunities to stop and explore small towns along the way, while the other was much more remote and surrounded by nature. We chose the second option.

And so, it was time to set off. The captain took his rightful place at the helm, and we headed out in search of adventure… And there turned out to be quite a few of them!)))

For our first night, we decided to spend the night among the reeds. Because, well, how romantic is that?))) Other houseboats had anchored nearby as well. As you would expect, we dropped our anchor and went to sleep.

Early in the morning, we heard some suspicious gurgling noises outside. It turned out that our boat had been carried away by the current and was peacefully drifting off on its own toward the unknown. One of our fishing rods disappeared too. Apparently, we must have caught a really big fish!)) As we soon discovered, an anchor isn’t always a guarantee that you’ll stay put.))

We navigated the lakes with the help of a map that showed all the routes in detail, along with water depths, stops, locks, and even the best fishing spots

Day 2

We weren’t the only ones up so early... We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the cottages that appeared here and there along the shoreline

A few hours later, we arrived at our destination. It was a marina in the town of Buckhorn, where boats and yachts can dock. These places are usually located near locks. You can keep using your boat as your home base, while going ashore to explore the town, do some shopping, or grab a bite at a local restaurant.

That option wasn’t for us. Our refrigerator was already packed with food. The only thing we were missing was some fresh fish. And it didn’t take long to find some — they practically jumped onto the hooks every minute!

We released the little ones, while the medium-sized fish were cleaned and fried 

We could have lunch and then relax with an exciting game. By the way, I highly recommend downloading the Intellect Battle app. We simply couldn’t stop playing! Everyone played at the same time, each on their own phone, competing against one another 

Houseboats from other companies were docking near us. A little waterslide would have been nice too... Private yachts and boats were also coming in and out.

As darkness fell, we gathered around the fire. And, of course, it was the classic campfire scene with marshmallows and laughter 

Day 3

A quiet vacation morning and our breakfast. That day, we decided to head into more remote and wild areas. To get there, we had to pass through two locks.

Locks are structures that allow boats to travel from one body of water to another when the two have different water levels. Here we are, standing above one of those locks

That day, our older son joined us. Once again, we had the wind in our faces and our little captains taking turns at the helm 

Beautiful scenery and a bright, sunny day 

It was time for a swim. We stopped in the middle of the lake, and everyone who wanted to jumped into the water straight from the boat 

It was time to find a place to spend the night. We passed by numerous inhabited and uninhabited islands until we spotted one that caught our eye. A sign informed us that the island was privately owned and asked visitors not to litter. But surely we could dock there, right?

Of course, we ended up docking on the rocks. The men had to pull the boat off the rocks, and once we finally managed to get it moving, we discovered that the anchor, which had been lowered about 10 meters down, had apparently gotten caught on something and stubbornly refused to come back up. The men tried diving down to free it, but nothing worked, so we had to call the rescue service. While we were talking to them on the phone, our friends’ daughter dived into the water and, with one graceful movement of her hand — in a way that only a woman could apparently manage — freed the stubborn anchor. Hooray! We were saved!))

The girls decided to swim around the island. And on our starboard side, another uninhabited island seemed to be smiling at us. Of course, it was “uninhabited” only at that particular moment, since it clearly belonged to someone. But I think the owners didn’t mind us taking advantage of their hospitality.

And there was the flag, just to make sure no one got confused about which country it was in

And here’s our houseboat, gently docked by the shore, with all of us enjoying the moment. Time to do some fishing! 

And it was time to bbq — after all, lunchtime was just around the corner. We explored the entire island, discovering several cozy spots as well as a perfect place for our evening campfire 

We went to bed late, wanting to enjoy the peacefulness for as long as possible.

Day 4

The next morning, it was time to start our journey back. Once again, we had to wait at the lock. And then it was time to head out, “across rivers and seas.” We couldn’t resist taking pictures of these beautiful cottages along the way

And just like that, our lake vacation came to an end. We all loved this kind of getaway and hope to do it again next year.

Wishing you plenty of sunny days and many new adventures!