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Winter 2015

Canada

Houseboat Holiday in the Thousand Islands

It was our first experience on a houseboat. We had an amazing time, and it is a great way to see the Thousand Islands in Ontario.

We rented a houseboat this summer. The houseboat is located about 2 miles west of Gananoque, which is about 2 hours from Ottawa.

When we arrived, the staff was very friendly and helpful and showed us around the boat.

The boats are definitely not new, an older vintage, but still in good shape. Every part worked. On the boat, we had a bathroom, storage space, a small kitchen with all dishes, a fridge, and a freezer. We were able to cook good meals with the oven. In addition, a barbecue was provided.

Also, which was surprising, 2 double beds and 2 single bunks were transformed into the table and sitting place. They supply all the blankets and sheets if needed.

That is all we needed for a wonderful holiday.

Two of our friends also joined us, and it make our trip more interesting and fun.

We received the instruction from the team, they gave us a full rundown of operating the boat. They recommend downloading the Navionics boating app as following charts and sight is challenging.

Here it started our adventure.

To drive a houseboat was difficult; it does not maneuver very easily. Sometimes the water was choppy, and we moved from one side to another, and it was a little bit scary.

Also, it was difficult to dock the boat, especially 3 boats together. We wanted to put our boats together with our friends’. It took us about 2 hours just to find a good space to dock. But after docking the boats, the adults could relax while the children had fun. We really enjoy this time together.

Also, we had an incident on our first day.

The Navionics boating app was working with a delay and our boat ran aground. However, our friends helped us to draw out the boat.

Even small incidents did not ruin the luxurious quality of time with family and friends. The kids absolutely loved it and were in the water whenever they wanted. We did lots of swimming, fishing, eating and drinking.

We are sure to come back, but next time we would like to explore the Quebec side.

*all the pictures were taken by the student