A German Gem in the Chilcotin

Sometimes I think that Canada should have been settled first by Germans. They seem so at home in our vast wilderness, often seeking the remotest rivers and lakes to paddle or the farthest mountains to hike. They’re enchanted by our big open spaces and embrace the hardships that come with outdoor adventures, even the mosquitoes.

But don’t call Bernward and Gisela Kalbhenn romantics. The German couple moved to Kleena Kleene in BC’s Chilcotin region after long and successful careers in their home country. He was an engineer, she was a chef. They had a nice house on a big lot in Bonn, with a swimming pool in the backyard.

But they gave it all up to move to Canada. They bought a log home on a lake about half way between Bella Coola on BC’s Central Coast and Williams Lake in the Interior. They turned their home into a lodge, added a couple cabins over the years and sent word back to Germany that the Clearwater Lake Lodge and Resort was open for business.

Sixteen years later the lodge continues to woo Germans and just about every other European nationality. Word of mouth – along with some stories in the European press and a gorgeous coffeetable book on ‘Kanada’ – have put the Lodge on the map of Europeans visiting BC.

But Canadians? We’ve got some catching up to do. Some know about the place – we heard about it from friends in Victoria – but on the September week-end my Dad and I visited, we were the only Canadians there.

It was great in a way – felt like we had taken a trip to Germany when we joined a table of four Germans and two Swiss for dinner the first night. Gisela’s old-fashioned, everything-made-from-scratch cooking enhanced that feeling as we dined on pine mushroom soup (made from local mushrooms) followed by a roast leg of lamb, potatoes and a basket of hearty German bread.

From the lodge, you can’t see all the variety of things to do here, but Bernward will help you plan some excursions, whether it’s hiking in the nearby mountains, horseback riding or flying with a bush pilot in a float plane to see near-by glaciers, spectacular Hunlen Falls (third tallest waterfall in Canada) or the stunning Rainbow Mountains in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park.

The floatplane trips are so popular with guests that Bernward keeps a floatplane busy every day in summer. It was the perfect way for my 86-year old father and I to see a lot of territory, without a lot of physical exertion.

Of course, you can easily spend your days hanging out at the lodge; canoeing, swimming, fishing or reading on the dock are all enticing. Bernward and Gisela get out canoeing every chance they get (that’s them in the photo).

Soon after Bernward and Gisela moved here, they received a letter from their former neighbour in Germany. She was wondering whether they missed their swimming pool. “I sent her a photo of the lake,” laughs Bernward, recalling his response, “and I said, ‘this is our pool’!”