dare2go

Vancouver Island


Continuation from < Page 1 < !

We decided to rest on Thursday, except for a short drive to look for an RV service place and a chiropractor. The RV place - Fennell's RV Repair - was easy to find as he advertised on the RV Park information sheet. We had broken the handle on our freezer (by the way, did I ever tell you all how good our fridge is? The freezer keeps ice-cream beautifully, and those of you who know of my addiction will understand my pleasure at discovering that I can carry ice-cream with me!). Back to the story though: we were looking for a replacement handle, and hoped we would find someone who had one in stock. Unfortunately he didn't, but then he went into his workshop, and took one off a fridge that he had on consignment and put it on ours for us, and then ordered a new one for the fridge out the back. We really appreciated this because we have problems if we have to order parts - it either means we have to wait in a place until it comes in, or we need an address to have it sent to when it comes in. Either way is most inconvenient when you are travelling. So we were very thankful for the unexpected service rendered by this business.
On Friday we found a chiropractor, who had time for us and each had a very good adjustment. We found him because his office was right by the bus stop, and his approach was just the way we both liked it. We are always a bit tentative about trying a new one, but so far we have tried 3 on our trip and 2 of them were excellent. Not a bad average! After that we went for a drive along the south-west coast - according to the tourist info, that's the place to find nice beaches. Well, we stopped at one and walked down from the parking lot. It was quite a windy day and not particularly warm. The first thing we noticed was that there were pebbles everywhere and not a grain of sand in sight. Then we saw someone actually swimming - we had been told that the water temperature never rises above 12°C! Then we saw quite a few bikini clad sunbathers, lying on the pebbles. We stayed and looked a while, and then wandered back to the truck. Juergen commented that he was beginning to understand why they call Australia the lucky country! I think it was only partly a joke.
Saturday we went back into downtown Victoria and visited Beacon Hill Park. Unfortunately there has been a drought here and this beautifully laid out park, that would look amazing if it were green, is brown almost everywhere. One surprise was that there was a cricket match going on in the first part of the park we entered. It was actually a serious game, in whites and with a scoreboard on the pavilion. It seems the British influence goes further than architecture! We also saw the World's Tallest Totem Pole!
We had parked in Cook Street which we explored a little further after returning from the park. It is a very nice little community shopping area with all the things you need, including a very good bakery where we stopped and had lunch.
On Sunday it was time to move on again. Our goal was Cowichan Lake, but our first stop was another lake - Langford Lake! We had driven through Langford on Friday - it is a satellite town of Victoria. It's quite strange to see street signs and business names with your name on them. So when I discovered on the map that there was a Langford Lake, I was determined to see it. Unfortunately, most of the water's edge seems to be taken up by private residences, but I eventually found a way in and managed to photograph it - I am happy to report that my lake is a very attractive lake!
The highway which follows the east coast is a very scenic drive. There are lots of ocean and island views to be had, but unfortunately, not so many places to stop and admire them. It had also rained overnight and was still very overcast and cloudy on the drive to Cowichan Lake. The Provincial Park (Canada has Provinces rather than states, so they are not state parks!) at Gordon Bay had space for us, so we settled in amongst some very tall trees and took an afternoon nap. It was quite cold outside and not very inviting to do anything else. This Park charges $22 for a site with no power or water. There are pit toilets close to where we stayed and a long walk to a block with flush toilets and showers, in which you constantly have to push a button to get water - it then flows for 5-10 seconds before you have to push it again. This is supposed to save water - I think it has the opposite effect. We have come across showers like this before, but they would usually run for a minute or maybe longer - this was a bit ridiculous!
This morning it was very cold under the trees until we left at about 9.30. We drove first to the lake - we didn't think we should leave until we'd seen it. It is a very beautiful and peaceful lake at that time of the morning and we spent some time sitting in the full sun at the water's edge thawing out! After stopping at the local organic herb and vegetable roadside stall, we drove on along the coast road until we arrived at Chermainus. This was once a logging town which has reinvented itself by painting the town with historical murals and becoming a tourist town.
Our next destination of interest is Tofino on the west coast, but today wasn't long enough to reach there and from all accounts, it is impossible at this time of year to find a campsite anywhere on that piece of coastline. So we drove in that direction and stopped at a simple RV Park out in the countryside, a few kms outside Port Alberni. It's called Arrowvale RV Park, and has the feel of a farm. Unlike so much of this island, it's not crowded and the people staying here seem to be relaxed and down to earth. And only $23 for water and power and free showers! We look forward to a peaceful night.

Friday, 4 August 2006, Linda Lake, Sunshine Coast, BC
We left Vancouver Island yesterday, so before we get into the rest of British Colombia I will finish describing our time there. We spent a pleasant evening at the Arrowvale Park with some Canadians from BC. They were very friendly and we chatted late into the night.
On Tuesday morning we set out for the Pacific Rim - Vancouver Island's West Coast - and saw our second bear. Well Juergen saw it, right beside the road as if waiting to cross, and I missed it - but I think we can still count it as our second bear! As we had been told that campsites, especially in Tofino and the Pacific Rim National Park were impossible to get, we drove first to Ucluelet, which is at the south end of the area, hoping that it would yield something. We found what looked like the ideal site, right on the water's edge overlooking the marina. It looked so beautiful. We then drove on north to Tofino. We had read that Tofino was a sometime hippy haven turned tourist destination. It is still a very pleasant town to visit and walk around in. We were most impressed by a skate park, built of concrete, which had a polished look about it. There were a lot of kids using it continuously, and it brought back to me the number of kids in Byron, Mullum and Brunswick who have been crying out for such a place.
On the way back from Tofino we stopped to check out the Pacific Rim NP - well the beach part of it anyway. There are about 22 km of beach in the park, the main part named Long Beach. It is a favourite spot for surfers, whale watchers and storm watchers - all in the appropriate season. Once again we were struck by the enormous amount of driftwood, and also the size of the individual pieces. And the beach has sand! But not the white sand we are used to, more a grey, dirty looking sand that sticks to everything. Somehow it seems to be impossible to satisfy an Australian when it comes to beaches in other countries...
It was getting late in the day, so we decided to return to the southern portion of the Park in the morning. We drove back to Ucluelet and had dinner at a lovely restaurant in an old house - Matterson House Restaurant. We both ate Wild Salmon, caught in BC. After eating wild salmon a few times here, I'm not sure that I can go back to eating the farmed Atlantic salmon we usually get at home! (In the supermarkets in the States, it is even labelled as containing artificial colour!)
The idyllic setting for our campsite turned into our worst nightmare! A fishing boat had come into the wharf and had its motor running on fairly high revs - I'm not sure why. We assumed it would be turned off at any moment, as it was after 8.00 in the evening. We went to bed at about 10.00 - it was still running. We made an attempt to go to sleep at about 11.00 - it was still running. It ran all night and was still running when we left the place at about 9.30 the next morning. Needless to say, not the best night's sleep we've had - in fact, close to the worst.
But we went back to the Park before driving on, despite being very tired and not too enthusiastic about anything. We visited the Wickaninnish Interpretive Centre, which was most interesting, in terms of detailling wildlife found in the ocean in this area and also a history of the Native Americans who live there. We also got another view of Long Beach, with even more driftwood than on the northern end.
We then drove back across the island and reached Qualicum bay. A very quiet seaside area on the east coast again. We found an unpretentious RV Park and Campground [Cedar Grove Tent & RV Park] run by a Dutch couple, with nice shady sites and bathrooms which were clean and functional, if a little basic. (Unfortunately, by the time I went for a shower the next morning the hot water was finished.) We slept the afternoon away and early again that night. This meant that we were up early to drive to Comox, do some shopping and catch the 3.15 ferry from there back to the mainland at Powell River.