Tofino and Vancouver Island - my last hurrah

Hi all,

I guess it's been a wee while since I last wrote, and there's been a HELLUVA lot going on recently. You would've heard about my shoulder getting busted up and my arm stuck in a sling. It was with this predicament that I headed off for my final fling with Canada over on Vancouver Island, my 3rd visit to this awesome isle. I was booked on a 4-day backpacking trip with the Moose Travel Network, which encompassed a 20-seater bus driving and ferrying over to Nanaimo, crossing the island to Tofino for 2 nights, then a night in Victoria, and back again to Vancouver.

The 16 passengers were a mixed bunch as usual, a whole swag of Brits, 2 Japanese girls, 2 Kiwi girls, a Dutch bloke, a Portuguese girl, and myself, unusually, the only Australian on the bus - we normally dominate the numbers on these sort of trips! Oh, I shouldn't forget to mention the most popular passneger on the bus - Camel the Moose, a stuffed toy camel that had been our driver, Evan, since his first ever tour. He's there apparently, to make all of our photographs more interesting!! So Day 1 at 8am, we set off. I'd had to abandon my rucksack and opt for the more manageable small duffle bag as my luggage, my shoulder injury only 2 days old and still very sore.

As you'd expect I had to answer a million questions about what happened, and repeat the story a million times over as ever new person I met wanted to know "So, what happened to your arm??" After crossing the Georgia Straight thru the Gulf Islands in brilliant sunshine, albiet with incredibly strong winds, our drive to Tofino took in Little Qualicum Falls - a short but pretty hike to these waterfalls in a 440 hectare Provincial Park, where we also had lunch, and then a swim in Cameron Lake - a deepwater, glacier-fed lake filled with trout. Cameron Lake is very picturesque on calm days when reflections are mirrored in the water. I decided to give my shoulder a little bit of water therapy and joined 1/2 of our group for a swim in the chilly waters, just laying on my back and kicking my feet to move while slowly attempting to move my shoulder with moderate success. A short stop at Long Beach for a stroll along the sand and watch the surfers tackle the waves concluded our sight-seeing for the day before hitting Tofino just before sunset.

Tofino has legendary status amongst the travelling community. Whenever you meet other backpackers and swap travel tales in Canada, the inevitable question, after 'Have you been to Whistler?' is "Have you been to Tofino?". If you answer "No", then you'll get "Oh man, you've gotta go, that place is just awesome!!" I had that in mind when I was considering cancelling my trip when I did my shoulder in. I decided it would be too great a regret to not go, especially as it would be my "Goodbye Canada" trip.

The opportunity to go whale watching in the Juan De Fuca Strait, bear-watching, bathibg in natural hot-springs right beside the ocean shore on a Gulf Island, along with surfing, sea-kayaking, bungy-jumping is what lures the intrepid backpacker to this sleepy coastal town on the wind-swept western side of the Island.

With only one road in and out of town, it is also a fairly remote location that takes some level of dedication to get to. From April to September, Whale-watching is one of the main tourist industries here, as the Pacific Grey and Orca whales make their annual migration from the chilly waters of Alaska down the warmer climes of California. It is also located right beside the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, which encompasses a long and narrow strip of coast that has been battered by the sea for eons. Now obviously I wouldn't be doing any of the more strenuous activities, such as surfing or sea-kayaking, but that wasn't to say I would be entirely hamstrung. I followed a few of the group to Cox's Bay for a surfing session in the foggy early morning, and volunteered to be their official photographer from the shore.

Following that, I embarked on the Whale-watching/Hot Springs Cove double-shot, with some moderate viewing success. Our boat took us out into open ocean water, and eyes were peeled for the tell-tale signs of the plume of spray being shot up into the air, followed by a rise and dive of the body. In 2 hours we managed to spot one grey whale....slightly disappointing, altho there were plenty of sea lions, seals and otters playing about in the water and the rocks at the waters edge to keep us entertained. Some more water therapy for my shoulder came in the form of a gloriously relaxing natural hot-springs bath. a 2 mile boardwalk trek thru old-growth forest led to the waters edge of one of the Gulf Islands. Here, thermal hot springs fell in waterfalls over low cliffs into a series of pools, whose temperatures were regulated by the ebbing tide of the chilly Pacific Ocean waters. Soaking in these pools, and then treating myself to a hot, steamy, waterfall shower did wonders for the shoulder, giving it a tender, supple massage.

That evening back in Tofino, staring out from a pier, we soaked up a visual treat as the sun set behind the sillouette of an outlying island, after which our bellies had a treat of their own - spaghetti bolognese. Two nights and a day was not nearly long enough in Tofino, and it was with regret that we moved on, retracing our steps back towards Nanaimo, before moving along to Victoria. This was the third time I'd visited this city this year, and had seen most of what it had to offer, so I just tagged along with the others and played tour guide a bit.

Another visit to Big Bad John's pub in the evening after a fantastic Caribbean restaurant dinner, and then it was time to hit some clubs...until I saw just how packed they were, and given my shoulder was still slung, called it an early night and left the group to party hard.

Next day it was back to Vancouver, once again taking the extraordinary lengthy and pain-in-the-arse route via Schwarz Bay to Tsawassen, and then Vancouver. I swear to God, getting from Victoria to Vancouver should be a simple matter of a 45 minute ferry direct across the bay, but is in actuality a 4 hour slog.

So, back in Vancouver I said my goodbyes to most of the group, with a few of planning to meet up later that night for a few parting drinks.

Talk soon,

Tony