Doug and Kerry Hudson on Vancouver Island, British Columbia

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After our stay in Vancouver, we took the ferry across the Strait of Georgia to Vancouver Island. Our ferry weaved its way between the tiny Southern Gulf Islands, on a gloriously clear day. There wasn't a cloud to be seen. We sat on deck for the entire journey of one and a half hours. Despite the bright sunshine we found it very cold. We were determined not to go inside however, because the views were spectacular.

We stayed in Victoria first, the capital city of British Columbia. We found Victoria to be a picturesque and very clean city, in a lovely setting. Our hotel, The Hotel Douglas on Douglas Street, was a bit shabby although we were safe enough. We saw a lot of homeless people and drunks in the area, so we wouldn't recommend this hotel if you ever go there, even though they really tried hard for us.

Victoria harbour is flanked on one side by the Parliament Buildings and on the other side by the Empress Hotel. Both buildings are fine examples of Victorian Architecture. There were many other examples of the British Influence in Victoria. For example, we could have had High Tea at the Empress, but it would have cost us a hefty $33 each. We decided we would have a hotdog instead! Just as tasty, we are sure.

We had hoped to see the Commonwealth Pool while we were in Victoria, but unfortunately we didn't have time. This was the pool where England won gold, silver and bronze in the 1994 Commonwealth Games for the 200m Breaststroke. It had been a proud moment for Doug to see the St Georges flag in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. The swimmers were Nick Gillingham, James Parrack, and Adrian Moorhouse.

On our last morning in Victoria we took a killer whale watching tour. Unfortunately we didn't see a single killer whale. However, we did see a lot of dolphin, or Dall's porpoise to be precise. They were black and white like killer whales, but only about six foot long. Our ride on the Zodiac was awesome; when the guide went to full throttle it was like going into hyperspace! Despite our huge breakfast, luckily we weren't sick. We had eaten at a place called De Dutch Pannekoek House. Kerry had a big pancake with maple syrup, and Doug had the Boer's Breakfast, which included a pancake and lots of meat products too.

After Victoria, we drove to Tofino, a town on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It is commonly acknowledged as the most beautiful part of the island, and it forms the northern tip of the Pacific Rim National Park. It certainly lived up to its reputation. We arrived there after a five hour drive along a twisty road around mountains, past pristine lakes and through pine forests. There was one lake that was so still it was like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the snow-capped mountain behind it. Our accommodation was a little cottage at MacKenzie Beach Resort, a brief walk from the open Pacific ocean. The silence was delicious after all the cities we had just experienced.

We spent the following eight days in Tofino, walking and exploring the beaches and forests of the Pacific Rim National Park. One day we went to Meares Island. We were taken there by a sea-dog called Hugh in his little yellow boat "Salty". On the way, we saw a river otter in the sea, munching on a shellfish of some kind. Hugh dropped us off at the trailhead and left us, promising to return within the hour. On no, stranded! We followed the trail into the island, through the lush vegetation of the temperate rainforest. We saw trees that are estimated to be at least 1500 years old. They were massive, at least 60 feet wide. They were not as big as the giant sequoias we were to see later in Yosemite National Park, but we were very impressed nevertheless. True to his word, Hugh returned to collect us and bring us safely back to Tofino.

The Wickaninnish Trail from South Beach to Florencia Bay was our most challenging walk. It was also our longest at 2.5km each way. What made it so special? Well, the absolute wilderness surrounding us and the possibility of turning a corner and coming face to face with a bear or a cougar. We saw no other human life along the way. The track was rugged and muddy in parts. A section which ran through the 'Bog' was boardwalked. Some sections of the boardwalk dated back to the Corduroy Road which was the original road in the early 1900's; they would take two days to get from Tofino to Ucluelet, a distance we drove in forty minutes. Along the way we saw lots of wildlife, including five garter snakes. They were fairly small in size and harmless, but a snake is a snake is a snake, and very exciting to see. He didn't know it, but seven months later in South Africa, Doug would come face-to-face with an altogether more deadly snake. We also saw a Douglas Squirrel, and a Bald Eagle watching us from a tree in a heavily forested bit of the trail. We were relieved to arrive at Florencia Bay and were greeted with a spectacular view. Florencia Bay is also known as 'wreck bay' as there is supposedly a shipwreck which no one has ever found, by the way. We didn't see any bears - thank goodness!

The Schooner Cove trail was about 1.5km each way and an absolute gem. Objectively it was probably the prettiest trail we walked. The trail was completely boardwalked, and meandered through rainforest, down and up stream valleys and over streams on wooden bridges. The vegetation was lush. Some of the trees were massive, and estimated to be at least 1000 years old. The trail emerged at Schooner Cove, a crescent of sandy beach flanked by rocky outcrops and turquoise ocean, a real jewel. When we walked along this beach, we saw an osprey flying along the water's edge looking for fish. We watched it for ages waiting to see if it would plunge into the sea and take a fish, but it eventually disappeared from sight beyond some trees.

After our failure to spot killer whales from Victoria, we repeated the attempt from Jamie's Whaling Station. This was our number one highlight from Tofino. We had woken up to a splendid day of bright sunshine and not a stir of breeze. If ever we were going to spot whales, this would be our best chance. We arrived at Jamie's in time to get on the 9:30 boat, a Zodiac named Devilfish skippered by our guide Jeremy. After a very thorough briefing, once clear of the harbour we powered away from Tofino and south along the coast. It was interesting to spot all the beaches we had seen from our walks: we passed Tonquin Park beach, then Mackenzie Beach. As we passed Chesterman Beach and got to Cox Bay, we saw a spume of water vapour shoot six foot into the air, just off to our left: our first whale! In fact, it turned out to be two whales, a female gray whale and her year-old offspring. The young whale was about 10 metres long, and the mother was about 14 metres long, probably weighing in at around 20 tons. Massive, yet we had almost driven straight past. No wonder we hadn't been able to spot one from shore. The young whale was very inquisitive, and popped his head out to get a better view of us. Following this success, Jeremy powered us into deeper water further from shore in the hope of seeing a humpback whale. No humpbacks but we did see a Minke whale. This one was very dark and like a stretch-dolphin. We then returned closer to shore, and saw steller sea-lions basking on a great rock off Long Beach. They were huge, and became agitated and started barking when a bald eagle settled on the rock. Jeremy then returned us safely back to the station to a welcome cup of hot chocolate. However, the ride back was very bumpy as we rode waves and jumped six feet into the air off the end, to come crashing down again. It was an absolutely thrilling ride, even though Doug's bladder took a pounding. He felt every bounce.

To summarise, our stay on Vancouver Island was very special. We enjoyed the outdoor life immensely. There was also a real sense of community here amongst the locals, something rare and precious these days. We left Vancouver Island for Whistler, where they had recently received some very unseasonal weather: snow. From there we were able to explore the rest of British Columbia.

World Trip >> Canada >> Vancouver Island

Last updated: Sunday August 27, 2006