Vancouver Island
For the May long weekend 2016 we decided to check out Vancouver Island. To allow us a longer stay and more exploring Sarah would fly there as it's a 12 hour trip from home which would use up at least 2 days of the short break. So I set out early to drive to the island and hike a section of the West Coast Trail before Sarahs arrival.
I left on Sunday evening (May 15th) when the roads would be empty and drove for 7 hours to reach scenic highway 99 in British Columbia. Taking highway 99 is a longer route than necessary but I've used highway 5 so often I fancied a change of scenery, once I was on highway 99 I pulled over on a gravel roadside parking area and took a few shots of the night sky before reclining the seat in my truck and taking a rock solid 5 hour sleep.
I left on Sunday evening (May 15th) when the roads would be empty and drove for 7 hours to reach scenic highway 99 in British Columbia. Taking highway 99 is a longer route than necessary but I've used highway 5 so often I fancied a change of scenery, once I was on highway 99 I pulled over on a gravel roadside parking area and took a few shots of the night sky before reclining the seat in my truck and taking a rock solid 5 hour sleep.
Though northern highway 99 did look wonderfully scenic when I awoke most of it was closed in with low cloud, so I made the remaining 4 hour journey to Horseshoe Bay without further photos. I missed the 08:30 ferry by minutes so killed time having breakfast in the small town whilst waiting for the 10:30 sailing when I boarded 'The Queen of Oak Bay' for the 2 hour crossing to Vancouver Island.
Once on the island it was just a one hour journey to the town of Port Alberni and my hotel for the evening. Luckily I was able to check in early and get an hour of sleep before showering and heading out for dinner and a look around the town. Port Alberni is often referred to as the 'Heart of Vancouver Island', it is a deep port located at the end of Vancouver Islands longest inlet. The Alberni inlet spans 40 kms from the Pacific Ocean on the west of the island to the port itself located centrally in the town. The town represents a perfect cross section of island life with the ocean, mountains, rivers, lakes and forests all in one place. yet somehow is largely overlooked by tourists who flock to the island in huge numbers.
On tuesday May 17th I rose early and set out toward Bamfield to reach one of the three access points for the 'West Coast Trail' to make a hike I was really looking forward to. The route to Pacific Rim National Park from Port Alberni is a long, winding, narrow logging road full of debris and potholes so I should not have been surprised when I got a puncture after 20 minutes, luckily the tyre pressure monitor noticed it early and I was able to dash back to Port Alberni.
I googled 'tyre place' and went to the first one that came up, 'Kal Tire' was the perfect antidote to my crappy start to the day because they repaired my puncture without any bullshit or attempts to sell me new tyres and then refused any payment saying 'have a good time on the island', my day had improved dramatically.
I returned to that miserable road to Pacific Rim National Park where I was eventually able to make a nice 22km hike to Pachena Point Lighthouse through some wonderful oceanside forest, I've included a small gallery below but you can see the whole hike elsewhere on this site by clicking here.
I googled 'tyre place' and went to the first one that came up, 'Kal Tire' was the perfect antidote to my crappy start to the day because they repaired my puncture without any bullshit or attempts to sell me new tyres and then refused any payment saying 'have a good time on the island', my day had improved dramatically.
I returned to that miserable road to Pacific Rim National Park where I was eventually able to make a nice 22km hike to Pachena Point Lighthouse through some wonderful oceanside forest, I've included a small gallery below but you can see the whole hike elsewhere on this site by clicking here.
After my hike and a lovely fish and chip supper I had a sound sleep in the hotel before rising early on the 18th and setting off to collect Sarah from the airport. Though I had plenty of time I thought I would check out a few places along the way. I started with a walk on the beach at Rathtrevor Park on the east coast north of Nanaimo and then dropped in a several places as I headed south toward Victoria.
My main target for the day was Fort Rodd Hill which sits just west of Victoria, it wasn't the fort I wanted to see but the perfectly positioned Fisgard Lighthouse which was the first lighthouse on the west coast of Canada and has become a Canadian icon. Built in 1860 it stands prominently on rocks at the mouth of Esquimalt Harbour to guide vessels in and out. It's prominence makes it is a perfect target for photography, unfortunately being on a National Historic Site means I'm prevented from getting either sunrise or sunset shots owing to the opening hours of the site. I still really enjoyed the visit and worked the scene to make the best of the conditions and get some shots I'm happy with.
My main target for the day was Fort Rodd Hill which sits just west of Victoria, it wasn't the fort I wanted to see but the perfectly positioned Fisgard Lighthouse which was the first lighthouse on the west coast of Canada and has become a Canadian icon. Built in 1860 it stands prominently on rocks at the mouth of Esquimalt Harbour to guide vessels in and out. It's prominence makes it is a perfect target for photography, unfortunately being on a National Historic Site means I'm prevented from getting either sunrise or sunset shots owing to the opening hours of the site. I still really enjoyed the visit and worked the scene to make the best of the conditions and get some shots I'm happy with.
After visiting the lighthouse I drove up to the town of Sidney where the airport is located, Sarah arrived on time and we were soon together on the harbour walkway in Sidney looking for dinner. We had a hotel booked there for the first night as Sarah was arriving in the evening but we still had time to see the harbour, marina and pier close by.
On the morning of the 19th we had breakfast before setting out to Nanaimo for our next stopover, there is a route on the east coast that would take about 90 minutes but where's the fun in that. We took a 4.5 hour route along the south and west coasts then across the centre of the island. We stopped off at so many places it's hard to remember them all but our first stop was in Spirit Bay where we bought a coffee and watched a little seal who was hoping for a handout as we stood close to a fish cleaning station, I guess that was normally a good spot for him. Later we stopped in at Sheringham Point Lighthouse where we found delicious fresh raspberries on the hike to the point, then French Beach Provincial Park with it's huge driftwood deposits all along the beach. Our last stop was at Juan de Fuca - China Beach before we went on to Port Renfrew and turned inland and crossed to Nanaimo where we had a fantastic chinese meal in the Iron Wok for dinner.
After our dinner at the Iron Wok we took a drive north of Departure Bay to Neck Point Park where we hiked the trail there, then dropped back to Pipers Lagoon Park and ended a lovely day by hiking a trail there and then watching the sun go down from a large driftwood seat on the beach.
We were up and about in good time on the morning of the 20th ready to make the next leg of our trip, this time we were heading west again on highway 4 through Port Alberni to Ucluelet where we would be stopping for two nights in an oceanside B&B. To break up the journey we stopped off in Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park and hiked around the two waterfalls there then continued on to MacMillan Provincial Park where we walked the Cathedral Grove Trail to see the giant cedar tress there.
The drive to Ucluelet is made on a busy highway that is heavy with tourist traffic and the rise and fall of the mountain road does nothing to facilitate speed for those hundreds of RV's making their way to the coast, but it is worth every minute of the drive. Ucluelet is as close to North Cornwall as we have seen out here in North America. Coastal rocks filled with pools which in turn are filled with all kinds of life are a genuine joy, and to sit watching the sunset from the rocks on the shore is something we have missed from home.
We walked around the lovely little town and then made for the shore where we spent the evening chasing rockpool critters and finally watching the sunset until darkness had fully set in, then we made our way back over the rocks in moonlight and returned to the B&B.
We walked around the lovely little town and then made for the shore where we spent the evening chasing rockpool critters and finally watching the sunset until darkness had fully set in, then we made our way back over the rocks in moonlight and returned to the B&B.
May 21st saw us heading north along the peninsula to Tofino just 30 km away. Much is made of Tofino by tour companies, tourist info places and people in general but to be honest we both much preferred Ucluelet. Tofino is nice, but has very limited parking, and limited access to the ocean compared to Ucluelet. We walked around the town and a small market and had lunch in a restaurant on the water before deciding we preferred Ucluelet and should go back there for our last afternoon in the area. On the way back we stopped off at a couple of beaches and watched a few surfers braving the cool water until the sea haar rolled in making the decision to return to Ucluelet and easy one.
As we got back to Ucluelet we decided to go and hike the Wild Pacific Trail which was something we had wanted to do anyway but thought we wouldn't have enough time. I'm so glad we made the time, it's only an 8 km hike in total but it provides access to some wonderful scenery along the way and great wildlife viewing too. After the trail we returned to Amphitrite Point and sat watching the ocean, we saw whales, a sea otter, a sea lion with a huge fish, eagles and rockpool critters, it was a great way to spend our last evening in Ucluelet.
Our last place to visit on this trip was Campbell River located about half way along the island on the east coast, the ocean here is forced through a very tight space and the resulting currents are incredible, we saw boats revving like crazy just to stand still when the tide hit it's peak. We drove there on May 22nd, on the way there from Ucluelet we stopped off in Seal Bay Nature Park where the seals refused to play ball, though we did see them from distance they quickly scurried into the sea as we approached. In Campbell River we had another beautiful sunny day and walked by the water for quite a while, a fish and chip supper from the harbour and ice cream from the pier made sure we didn't starve and Sarah got sunburn on her neck as a memento of the final day.
On May 23rd we made the long drive from Campbell River back to Sidney where I saw Sarah off on the plane, then due to ferry constraints (everyone trying to return to the mainland following the long weekend) I drove back around to Nanaimo and stayed over for one more night.
In the morning I caught the early ferry (The Queen of Alberni) from Duke Point to Tsawwassen on the Canada/US border and then made the long drive home in one go via the usual TransCanada + highway 5 combination. I was back home in a little over 12 hours including 2 hours on the ferry so it was a good journey back. All in all this was a wonderful holiday perhaps being close to the sea was the key to it but I would like to return and do a little ocean kayaking from Ucluelet or just watch the whales go by as the sun sets.
In the morning I caught the early ferry (The Queen of Alberni) from Duke Point to Tsawwassen on the Canada/US border and then made the long drive home in one go via the usual TransCanada + highway 5 combination. I was back home in a little over 12 hours including 2 hours on the ferry so it was a good journey back. All in all this was a wonderful holiday perhaps being close to the sea was the key to it but I would like to return and do a little ocean kayaking from Ucluelet or just watch the whales go by as the sun sets.