TVO’s Tripping: The Muskoka Lakes
Although I had never visited Muskoka, as an Ontarian, I knew Muskoka by its reputation- the so-called playground of the wealthy. So, I wasn’t sure if the region was right for our TVOntario series, Tripping. We tend to like locations that are quiet and off the beaten track. But we decided to go to Muskoka for a scout. What we found was that headlines don’t always reflect the entire story. And, oh, what stories there are in this region.
Muskoka is a place that has wealth, but it is also historic, generational and even untouched and wild in some areas. The land here was given away for free less than two hundred years ago. And many of those first settlers have descendants on that same land.
We visited the full breath of the region with local, Stan Hunter, who has been restoring and building boats in the area for most of his life. In the last few years, the sixty something has converted numerous beautiful and locally built wooden boats from gasoline to electricity. For the documentary, we are aboard his locally built Duke Playmate exploring the three main Muskoka lakes. Stan knew every nook and cranny of the lakes.
He took us to unique boathouses, cottages built by the architect who designed Massey Hall, old working farms and abandoned tuberculosis centres. He took us on a peaceful journey with white tailed deer, a bird sanctuary, families frolicking on their docks, and he filled us with stories of generational families, a high-profile kidnapping with a character named “Three Fingered Abe”, a quaint boat only church, groceries delivered by boat and even a plunge underwater to watch small mouth bass in their environment.
We travelled back in time to witness the tragic sinking of a steamship and dove underwater again to see her perfectly intact remains. And, yes, Muskoka has those immense cottages, but it also has the rugged Canadian Shield’s soaring cliffs and the abundant softwoods of the region.
Starting this summer, it is possible to board the newly repowered electric yacht, Wanda III, for a two-hour cruise on Lake Muskoka. She is over one hundred-years-old and was once owned by the Eaton family. She is as elegant today as she was in her prime. But now the ninety-foot yacht is clean and quiet. Muskoka is full of many wonderful things, and, like many well-known parts of the world, this district should not be defined by a hyper headline but by the entire story of the region.
If you cannot get to Muskoka, our documentary, Tripping The Muskoka Lakes, is a wonderful way to take a 3-hour boat ride on the three main Lakes: Muskoka, Rosseau and Joseph. You’ll be in the passenger seat of Stan’s sleek, electrified wooden boat listening to the gentle sounds of the lake without commercial interruptions and reading over 200 little pop-up boards that give you a little factoid to compliment what you are seeing. For instance, when you see a white-tailed deer, you will learn that the horns of male deer grow more than two centimetres a day, about the width of a quarter. You’ll also learn where the Muskoka chair came from.
The documentary is available on YouTube in stunning 4K with 5.1 audio.
Read other articles by Mitch Azaria:
10 Questions with Mitch Azaria, the Executive Producer of Good Earth Productions Inc
