What Do You Need To Bring/What is provided
You need to provide your food,
including condiments, and personal items, such as toothbrushes, shampoo,
and other toiletries. Please provide your own towels. You
can wash and dry them before packing them to go home. There is a
DVD player and CD Stereo so feel free to bring DVDs, CDs, Tapes, and
XBox games.
Bedding
is provided for the main beds (we supply bedding for all of the
bedrooms, if you want to use a couch as a bed, even one that has a pull
out bed, you must supply any beddng). We try to provide propane for the
BBQ, paper towels, Kleenex, toilet paper, hand soap, basic spices (salt
& pepper), dish soap, laundry soap but to guarantee that you have
some you may want to bring your own. Please bring your own shampoo
and bath soap.
While
there are no super centres on the island there are decent grocery
stores, and other types of stores in Mindemoya, and Gore Bay, both about 20 minutes from the property.
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
Eagle View Cottage: In January 2004, this
two
storey lakefront cottage
(approx 1200 sq ft in size) was completed on
the property, well removed from the original cottage. There are cedar/pine trees,
and over 300 feet between the two cottages keeping them both private.
This cottage has 4 bedrooms and one of the bedrooms has bunk beds (in
total there are two queen beds,
one double bed and a twin bunk bed - plus a couple of futon couches/beds).
This cottage has a fire place. Two of the bedrooms and one
bathroom is on the 2nd level. This cottage is about 70 feet
from the water and has a better water view than the original cottage.
This cottage has about 300 feet of shoreline. The rest of the Frequently Asked Questions may be specific to the
Original Cottage.
Original Cottage (White Pine Vista Cottage): Original cottage consists
of a prefabricated 16 feet x 74 feet structure that was delivered to the
location in June of 2002 and then an addition was added in the same year. This
cottage is over 1200 sq ft in size. This cottage does not have a
fire place. This cottage is one level, no stairs inside the
cottage other than one
step to get in to and out of the cottage. This cottage is about 200' from the
lake, you can see the water from the kitchen through a screening of
trees.
Which Cottage should you choose: Take a look
at the photo galleries to help you decide.
Pluses about the Eagle View cottage: The new
cottage has a gas fire place, a high speed Internet connection, and an extra bedroom. It is closer
to the water (better view of lake from inside the cottage) and the dock that goes with that
cottage. We will consider pets at this cottage
(especially small ones). This cottage has a chain in the deeper
part of the water about 30 feet off the end of the doc. You
can attach a boat to the chain and then use the provided canoe to
get to and from your boat.
Pluses about the White Pine Vista cottage:
If someone in your group can't handle stairs then this is the
cottage for you since there are no stairs other than one small step to get in
to the cottage The master bedroom has its own very large ensuite bathroom.
This cottage does not allow pets in two of the bedrooms. The
water at the White Pine Vista dock is deeper and can easily handle
most fishing boats, plus there is a boat lift to bring an average side fishing boat
out of the water at night time.
Non Smoking: Both cottages are non smoking. You can
smoke outside, and in the storage room of the Original Cottage.
Weather: On the right hand side of the
screen near the top of the page is weather information for Gore Bay
(which is the closest town to the cottages which reports weather - just
under 15 minutes away). You can also select Sudbury and Tobermory
to see what the weather will be like depending if you take the ferry or
the bridge on to Manitoulin Island. If you select the "click for
forecast" link it opens a Weather Network window where you can find long
range forecasts and seasonal weather information on the area.
Fire Pit: Both cottages
have a fire pit which can be used as long as there is not a fire ban for
the area. We provide some firewood, enough to have a nice bonfire
every night, not enough to be burning it 24 hours a day for 7 days a
week. If you run out of the firewood we provide with the rental
more can be purchased at a reasonable price.
Cottage Phone#: The
White Pine Vista cottage phone# is (705) 377-5933, the Eagle View
cottage phone# is (705) 377-7773. The phones makes local calls
only. The phones will receive long distance calls but will not make
them. 1(800) numbers can be dialed, so Bell Calling card customers
can make long distance calls, same with other calling cards that involve
dialing a 1(800)# first. Cell reception is usually fairly good inside the
cottage, at least for Bell Mobility, and Telus customers.
Keys: Keys to the cottage
can be picked up next door at 692 Perivale Rd West. Keys must be
picked up before 7:00 PM. When you pick up the keys the neighbour
(Bob) can answer any last minute questions you may have about the
property or the area. While on the island you can contact the
neighbours (Bob or Janet) who have the keys at (705) 377-5128
Satellite: The satellite is a Bell Express
Vu with 9 packages enabled. This means you get a fair number of
sports channels and most movie, regular and specialty networks channels.
Radio stations on the island are limited but the channel numbers above
900 on the
satellite dish receive a number of various styles of music. Plus
there is a tape and CD player available.
Internet: Eagle
View cottage has high speed internet through a wireless router on the
Amtelecom Network (small teleco provider). We do not guarantee
uptime as it is provided by a 3rd party; however, uptime over the last
year has been around 99%. You will need a wireless network on your
laptop or you may connect directly to the router using an RJ-45 cable if
your laptop has that type of connect. Please bring your own
network cable if you do not have wireless access. The SMTP server
is mail.amtelecom.net. I try to leave an RJ-45 cable at the
cottage but sometimes it disappears. To contact Amtelecom support:
Web:
http://www.amtelecom.ca/kb.asp
Phone# for support (local call from the cottage):
705-377-5353
The White Pine Vista cottage does not have a
high speed Internet connection. You can use a service such as
Bell’s dial up service, if you are signed up for it, and determine the
closest access number. The closest access point used to be out of
Sudbury, so it was a long distance call, but I haven’t checked in a
while. It is possible to configure things to call out, using the
cottage phone line and a calling card, to a dial up service such as Bell
Canada.
For any Internet use from either cottage you are
pretty much on your own as we won't help to configure your computer to
connect to the network. However, things should "just work" if you
have your computer set to use a DHCP server to obtain your IP address.
Guests: You are allowed
guests to visit and stay over. However, if there are a lot of
guests and/or they stay over for more than one night and you exceed 6
people then there may be a charge. I don't want to nickel and dime
people but we've found that if there are over 6 people staying in the
cottage the wear and tear on the cottage goes up greatly, thus the extra
charge. While you are up at the cottage the neighbour Bob can let
you know if there will be an extra charge, and what it would be
(generally it is $70.00/person/week over 6 people).
Swimming/Shoreline: The shoreline is
limestone, which means it is good for swimming unless you require sand,
in which case the closest sandy beach is 20 minutes away. There
are a number of photos of the cottage shoreline in the
summer photo
gallery that give you an idea of what the shoreline is like.
Both cottages have fairly easy access to the dock from the appropriate
cottage. The lake does get very deep in areas but those areas tend
to be at least 50+ feet away from shore. You may want to wear
something on your feet (sandals, old
running shoes, water shoes, etc., but it isn't necessary). The
lake is north of the cottages. There are a number of families with
small children that repeated enjoy swimming at both cottages every year.
White Pine
Vista -- There is a 40
foot long dock. The water gets deeper
gradually and is typically about 7 to 8 feet deep at the far end of the
dock. The laneway ends right down at the dock area.
Eagle View -- The dock is about 20' long at this cottage. The water is
about 2 feet to 4 feet deep at the
immediate area around this dock.
Lake: The lake is quite large. It
would likely take about an hour to drive around it. The cottage is
in a small fairly secluded bay at the south west end of the lake.
Boats: The cottages each come with a fairly
sturdy canoe (and a couple adult size life jackets - plus an Ontario
safety kit - bail bucket, whistle, etc., was purchased for both canoes). A number of the neighbours will rent boats. You may
want to contact Bob Oswald at (705) 377-5128 to arrange for a fishing
boat, or other type of boat.
For people with their own boats I'm working on a boat
launch on the property but it isn't done yet. The closest public
boat launch is less than a 5 minute car/boat ride away. There is a
boat lift at the White Pine Vista cottage only that can handle most boats up to 18 feet in
length. If you are bringing a boat the White Pine Vista Cottage is
the better cottage for you as it has deeper water by the dock and
currently the only boat lift.
Boat Traffic: Volume of motor boat traffic
is fairly low. The cottage is on a fairly secluded bay. You will
usually see some fishing boats. I've never seen sea doos or jet
skis but they could show up. I have seen people intertubing, but rarely.
Allergies: For people with pollen allergies
the season on the island is usually a couple of weeks behind Southern
Ontario in the spring and a bit earlier in the fall. The property is heavily populated with cedar trees;
however, there are maple, birch, oak, beech, iron wood, etc., and
numerous kinds of ever green trees. The east end of the property
is an open area with various types of wild grass growing. The
areas around both cottages have lawn.
Hospitals: Mindemoya (about 20 minutes away)
has a small health centre (geared towards older patients). There
is a hospital (that can handle most usual things in Little Current
(about 45 minutes away).
Food: You must provide your own food.
We have tried to provide some of the basics (like salt and pepper) but
it just doesn't work well so we have stopped trying. We have taken
to suggesting that people bring some of the basic items like spices and
things they do not mind bringing up and taking back. There is
Buie's Grocery
(corner store) in Spring Bay for
the basics (a 5 to 10 minute drive south of the cottage, just west of
the south west corner of highway 542 and Perivale Road). You won't
find any mega grocery stores and may have trouble finding things like
fresh lobster. However, most needs can be met from the grocery
stores in Mindemoya (about 20 minutes from the cottage and not far out
of the way whether coming by bridge through Little Current or by ferry
through South Baymouth). Foodland in Mindemoya is just south of
the intersection of Highways 542, 551. We highly recommend you try
the local
Farquhar's Dairy
ice cream if you are in the mood for this country fresh treat.
They have an ice cream stand just beside the store, and other's across
the island (open in the warmer months). Alternatively you can get
groceries in Gore Bay at the Valu Mart right on the main road (if you
continue north after the 542 meets the 540) in to town, about 15 minutes
north of the cottages. A charming older town on the north shore of
Manitoulin Island.
What else is on the 55 acres?
Aside from the 2 cottages, which are private from each
other and Perivale Road there are trees (a lot of cedar, some mixed
forest) and open field (about 15 acres on the east of the property).
On the south side of Perivale Road, away from the cottages and the lake
there is another 10 acres of mainly limestone cliff.
Driving distances from cottage to Island towns:
How long of a drive to get to:
a)
Gore Bay -
about 15 minutes
b)
Kagawong -
25 minutes (the cottage is on pretty much the exact
opposite shoreline for the town of Kagawong)
c)
Little
Current – 45 minutes
d)
M'Cheeging -
15 minutes
e)
Mindemoya -
about 20 minutes
f)
South
Baymouth – about 50 minutes
The cottage is pretty much in the
centre of the island.
Trip Insurance questions? We
recommend you get some type of trip insurance. Any funds paid to
us (and likely your flights, etc) are non refundable. We see at
least one person a year who needs to cancel due to illness, or a family
emergency. Please get some type of insurance to cover off the
unforeseen events which do happen.
Here is a 3rd party link to various trip
insurance plans; however, you will need to verify with the insurance
company that the plan you pick covers all of your needs:
http://www.insuremytrip.com/, or
http://www.insurmytrip.ca
(for Canadians).
Inventory of major items -
Eagle View (4 bedroom cottage)
Inventory of major items -
White Pine Vista (3 bedroom cottage)
Please see the Rate page, and
Activities page for other common
questions.
| Manitoulin Island is the
largest fresh water island in the world. It is situated on
the northern edge of Lake Huron. Being part of the Niagara
Escarpment there are some spectacular hiking trails and scenic lookouts on the
island. |
 |
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