ISLAND FOR SALE
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Update June 1, 2007
As to be expected this property has stirred up quite some interest - and in fact the place would long have been sold, were it not that upon closing the deal in fall 2005 it was found that our buildings were on crown land! To all of our surprise we became aware of how drastically the river had changed its course over the last 90 years. That long ago that survey was done which the government was relying upon on where crown land boundaries would be.
So there was no other way, we had to resurvey the place and apply for reaccreation. As per now the process hasn't come to an end, still we are waiting for the surveyor general's final decision. Altough the situation is very obvious, for some strange reason they still aren't happy enough with what their research has brought to light. The oldest aerial picture they could obtain dates back to 1939, showing pretty much the sitiation as is today, however they still seem to search for older aerial pictures.
We had to put our lives on hold... hanging in there, still meant to enjoy the magnificent beauty of this place... However we sure hope that these officials will make their minds within the next little while, so we can move on to new shores.
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For eight years my partner and myself lived in Little Slocan Valley, on an island within the river,
a most wonderful and exceptional place in the Southern interior of British Columbia, Canada.
Now life wants us to move on, to some unknown shores.
You might want to know why one would
leave something so cherished behind. There are quite many reasons to this
big decision. The main one being that I’m away too much; traveling,
not having the necessary time to care for the place. Then we are in the process
of going our own separate paths. For my part, I would like to go South and
start writing a book. And Roshani, although having enjoyed the place in all
its aspects, was starting to feel a bit isolated. Last but not least, we both
look forward again socializing more, meeting with all kinds of different folks.
When we were leaving Switzerland eight years ago we were in search of more
privacy, looking for a place where we could experience communion with nature.
Yes, we still very much are enjoying the silence, the unobstructed view of
stars at night, being surrounded by wild nature, living admits an eclectic
range of wildlife, in attunement with the constantly changing river, and most
particularly, enjoying the most exquisite drinking water we have ever tasted
in our life.
According to Feng Shui, this property has very exquisite energies. The two river arms guarantee for a delicate and well-balanced flow of Chi. We access our place crossing the old river channel, which was the river's main flow path until 1984. Back then, 21 years ago, Little Slocan River changed its course. During a late and powerful spring run-off a totally new channel was created. The old channel is very much Yin, whereas the new one carries strong Yang energies.
Then, it happens that the lower part of Little Slocan Valley stretches from West to East. It so happens that the Eastern horizon is at its lowest where the Sun rises in winter - and Full Moon in summer.
Then the shape of the surrounding
mountains is yet another indication for a pleasant and harmonious flow. The
elongated mountain in the East has the shape of a Dragon, whereas the towering
peak of Mount Wilton (Frog Peak) carries the energy of a Tiger - two most
benevolant and protective energies which Feng Shui qualifies as very auspicious.
Where is this paradise?
The Little Slocan River rises from the Valhalla Provincial Park, one of the
most beautiful and virgin wilderness reserves within beautiful British Columbia.
The Valhalla mountain range not only is a heaven for hiking and mountain climbing.
It is a wilderness refuge for many rare species, for Grizzly bears in particular.
Just a few miles downstream from where we live, Little Slocan river merges with the main Slocan River. Besides this valley's natural beauty and outstanding richness in minerals and gemstones, it has a long history of welcoming all kinds of political fugitives, be it Dukebhors who fled from the Zsar’s regime, or draftdogers migrating from the US during the seventies.
Many intelligent and highly artistic
people living in this valley.
Yes indeed, it’s a most exceptional place. 33 acres of various kind
of forest and bushland, moss and grassland. Rivershores in abundance, sandy
beaches and - the best swimming hole far and wide! To call it swimming hole
actually is a vast understatement, its area in the river is bigger then an
Olympic size pool, the waters deep, calm and lake-like; inviting one to swim
and indulge the clear and pure water for hours... Don't miss the attached
slideshow!
Some of the details:
35 minutes drive from Nelson BC, located in the beautiful Slocan Valley, this
is an island within Little Slocan River. The property is what’s called
a ‘District Lot’, a little square on the map, a quarter mile each
side. A District Lot - by definition is 40 acres big. However, approximately
7 acres are covered by the two river arms of Little Slocan River, therefore
being ‘Crown Land’). So the property’s actual size is more
like 33 acres, which equalizes 13,2 ha or 1320 a.
We’re about 3 miles (4.7 km) away from the main highway 6A, which connects
the Castlegar/Nelson area with Nakusp and the Arrow Lakes. This means there’s
almost no traffic noise. We even are several hundred meters away from the
local backroad. Yes we are very hidden, the access road to our property passess
through our neighbors land (very lovely people). There’s an official
easement, guaranteeing the access to our place. The land is within the ‘Agricultural
Land Reserve” (ALR) – meaning property taxes are very low - and
also, the land is NOT subdividable.
You can’t see any neighboring buildings from our property. Also, there
aren’t any street lights nowhere – you really get the feeling
as if you were totally away from civilization.
Most of the island (of which more the ¾ is within our property) is
densely forested with a rich variety of many different species (mainly Western
Red Cedar, Birch, Pine, Fir, Yew, Cottonwood and Alder). However, the layer
of organic matter is overall thin, there isn’t much of good soil for
gardening around. In order to build gardens we brought quite a few truckloads
of good topsoil in. Our garden’s present size is about 400 square meters
or 0.1 acre. It’s fully fenced and equipped with an irrigation system
fed by a well and powered by a small gasoline pump. This is necessary because
of the typically arid climate, often producing marvelous hot summer weather
with almost no rainfall between July and late September. Talking of climate
– it’s still very balanced here, with four distinct seasons. Spring
usually is mixed: intense rainy periods interspersed with lots of warm and
sunny days – a hot and dry summer with a few thunder showers, often
extending far into fall. Then some rainfalls as fall progresses, and the first
snow usually by early December, building up to two or three feet of snowcover
which usually is gone by the end of March.
We don't have any serious problems
with mosquitos. Yes there are some in late spring and early summer, but by
far not as many as in the main Slocan Valley. Despite the extensive amount
of water, they aren't too bad. It is because the flowing water that they can't
breed all that well.
Buildings
When we bought the place eight years ago, the only access to it was a tiny
foot-bridge. To properly develop the place wewere lucky to find a 60-foot
bridge which we had properly installed by a contractor. We also had to bring
in power and phone lines, which turned out being another major investment.
Because of all these extra expenses our budget for building a house was getting
quite small, so we bought a lovely mobile home, 14 feet wide and 68 feet long
(4.20 x 20.4 m). It still is a very beautiful unit, with real oak paneling,
an open fire place and a woodstove for heating. Last year a new roof was put
on, with a slight overhang to better protect the building, also keeping the
fully insulated skirting around it dry.
One other initial development we
engaged in was installing a large septic field, designed to absorb the waste
water of four houses.
Three years ago we built an A-frame (13 x 11 feet), a sweet little cabin with
a loft and a root-cellar - which has been my own private little refuge since.
I designed it based on sacred geometry. The angle of the roof (and many other
angles as well) is a septile, one seventh of a full circle - the same angle
as found in the Great Pyramids.
The year prior to building it, we
had a friend over, milling some of our cedar trees. So the A-frame is mainly
built with wood from our place. Power and phone all are laid underground,
so one never will have to cut back trees for keeping the power lines free.
Last year we added a strawbale building, designed as storage shed and workshop
–, 18 x 28 foot big with a big attached protected outdoor work space
and a big wood-storage space for all the firewood. We are just about finishing
this multi-purpose building, putting an adobe coat on it, topping it up with
a very new material called ‘stonehemp’. This building –
although designed as storage shed or workshop (and featured with a powerful
woodstove) could easily be redesigned into a home. Its nine-foot ceiling could
allow for an extended loft in order to enlarge the living area. Water could
be brought in from the close-by mobile home and the main pipe feeding the
septic field (large enough for four houses) runs right underneath this new
building.
Then there’s a small cabin which could be developed into a sauna, and
on the other side of the bridge there's a double carport – a simple
yet durable adobe-covered strawbale structure.
The very first dwelling we had put up on our land (still being there in place)
was an 18-foot Sioux teepi, located in the open space close to the gardens
and the Eastern beach.
Resort and retreat
When buying this place and moving here our original vision was to build a
commune of likeminded individuals. For whatever reason we weren’t successful
in accomplishing this dream. It wasn't meant to happen yet, we didn't find
the right people (or we weren't the right people either). However, we know,
this place has all the potentials for a resort or retreat. We took the first
initial steps of its development. We strongly hope that whomever buys this
place might share similar visions and will continue working in their best
effort, making this unique place available to people who’d like to come
for a visit or a temporary stay, in order to reconnect with all-powerful nature,
to recharge their soul and empower their spirit.
Proposed high-speed Internet
Telus, the local telephone company announced that the entire Slocan Valley
will be equipped with broadband high-speed Internet connections by end of
2006.
Soon to be listed
When obstacles have cleared, we are going to list this property with a local
Real estate agency.
Our asking price: under re-evaluation