Vancouver Island

Started our visit to Vancouver Island by catching the ferry which leaves about 300 metres from our hotel but requires a 4km drive to get to the loading ramp???

From Horseshoe Bay

Landed at Nanaimo which was much bigger than we expected (83,000 population), then drove through farm land & rainforest across the island to Tofino on the west coast. Stopped for a walk in Cathedral Grove which is a magnificent stand of Douglas Fir - huge trees in a dark wet rainforest. Stopped at Port Alberni which is closer to the east coast than west coast but sits on a very long narrow inlet from the west. Also had a walk on Long Beach on the west coast - good, but not as good as Aussie beaches & was cold & windy - though some hardy souls were surfing (in wet suits). Tofino town is a busy & touristy little place.
Rained steadily all night & continued throughout the day - boy what a lot of rain! Toughed it out to go for a walk around Tofino & also took a beautiful walk through the rainforest at Ucluelet lighthouse with coats, hats, scarves & brollies - still beautiful.

Ucluelet Lighthouse Walk

Ucluelet Lighthouse Walk

Then drove back to Nanaimo - water gushing from mini waterfalls spouting from the cliffs all along the road. Arrived Nanaimo to clearing rain & met Anne's distant rellie Sonia & her husband David & son Adam with whom we are staying for 2 nights.
Went for a drive with Sonia, David & Adam to Pipers Lagoon Park in warm sunny weather then into the docks area of Nanaimo for lunch (yummy mussels) & a look at the older parts of town. Rain returned as we headed back home. Lots of cheerful talk over wines & beers.

Pipers Lagoon Park

Decided to head toward the north of the island & boy is it a big island (460 kms long & 80 kms wide, population over 760,000 & highest mtn 2,195 mtrs - similar to Mt Kosciusko). A pleasant drive through mountains & along the coast. Stopped at the quaint Telegraph Cove.

Telegraph Cove

Telegraph Cove

Then on to Port Hardy for the night. The town showed signs of 'end of season' with a number of places closed & all a bit quiet but a pretty place. Awoke to more rain which continued on & off all day - but not too cold. Checked out Port McNeill, Port Alice (beautiful spot), Sayward & Elk Falls near Campbell River (another suspension bridge which I nearly conquered?) before stopping for the night at Salmon Point.

Port Alice

At Sayward we watched the timber yard in action with all types of strange machines with arms & levers like praying mantis lifting, pulling & tying big logs together before dropping the bundles down a ramp into the inlet where strange little boats like dodgem cars manoeuvred the logs around. Kept us entertained for quite a while.

Sayward timber yard boat

Heading south for Victoria we stopped off at Chemainus which is world famous for its murals which were very good. A very quaint little town.

Chemainus icecream shop

Chemainus mural

Stopped for lunch at Goldstream Provincial Park which had some huge cedar trees. Next stop Craigcarrock Castle in Victoria, built by a wealthy coal baron in 1889 - a beautiful castle with great views over Victoria. Next we headed to the Governor's residence & gardens - really beautiful mix of formal & informal spaces over a wide area with sea views across Juan de Fuca Strait to the USA. Finally a walk through the very large Beacon Hill Park (a bit like a botanic gardens) to the harbour & 'olde towne' part of Victoria city. The harbour is really nice.

Legislative building in Victoria at night

Today we headed west to Sooke, a nice little town on the south coast. Some very pretty little inlets, beaches & forest made this another pleasant drive. Lunch at Point-no-Point restaurant looking across Juan de Fuca Strait to the Olympic Mtns in the USA.
Started our penultimate day with a drive around the beach suburbs of Victoria - some beautiful homes, gardens & settings. Next stop the famous Butchart Gardens. Despite no inherited green thumb (a hereditary glitch?), I had to be impressed with these stunning & beautiful gardens with many plants still flowering & others exhibiting fall colours - it was brilliant.

Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens

We then had a wander around the seaside town of Sidney before boarding our ferry back to the mainland in bright sunshine (the best weather since before we landed on the Island). A smooth crossing between the stunning islands in the Strait to our final night in Canada.
Had a brief look around the southern parts of Vancouver & the Fraser River mouth before heading to the airport for our long flight home - 2.5 hours to LA, 3 hour stopover, then 15 hours to Melbourne - joy.
So ends a truly amazing holiday! Mountains, rivers, lakes, glaciers, waterfalls, wildlife, beautiful forests, gardens, friendly people, trains, planes, boats, cars & amazing walks.

How can we top this for our next holiday?