Saturday 14th cont'd

Disembarking was relatively easy and the satnav got us headed towards Port Alberni on the 19. Unfortunately, just as traffic seemed to be thinning out a bit, everything ground to a halt. We crept for about 25 minutes before, inexplicably, everything freed up again.

We decided to pull off and get a cup of tea so we came off at Qualicum Beach instead of turning west onto the 4. Went into the first cafe that we saw and had a cup of tea and then got some cash from a bank and returned to the 4.

We stopped at Cameron Lake - another very large body of water. A few miles further on we stopped at Cathedral Grove - a section of forest containing some very large Douglas Firs, mostly over 300 years old, with the largest one reputedly 800 years old.

Carried on into Alberni which is much bigger than we expected. The Best Western seems to be on the outskirts next to a very large industrial plant. We think it might be a power station but can’t be certain.

Having checked in and sorted ourselves out we were going to head to a local fish restaurant that has good reviews on Trip Advisor. Instead we decided to have a very quick look at the Harbour Quay area. This looked as if it might be interesting but most of the shops were already closed, but in fact we discovered a very nice restaurant - The Starboard Grill - and had an extremely nice meal.

On the way home the satnav found us Quality Foods where we bought some fruit and a pastry for breakfast, as it’s not provided at this BW.

Sunday 15th June

Didn’t wake until 7.35am. Bed comfortable and room completely silent. Breakfast in room and Skyped Tracey. We were actually able to use video as the connection is one of the fastest we’ve had the whole holiday. Les did a quick check and it downloaded at 50MB/s and uploaded at 5MB/s. Talked to Niamh about her film audition. Tracey was in the background cooking dinner as Jamie & Claire were there watching football with Rick.

It had obviously rained overnight as the car park etc was wet but by the time we got up it had stopped and was drying and we were able to pack the car without having to shelter.

The route starts by taking you along Sproat Lake, which is very long. Stopped for a photo opportunity. Just as we arrived the rain changed from light drizzle to heavy. This made photographs look very dull and it was too heavy to stay out in it.

Beyond the lake we started to follow the Taylor River. We were obviously not seeing in full flood as there were wide gravel banks etc. At one point we stopped at a viewpoint where the river comes down over a series of cascades. It was doing this relatively slowly and because of the level of water there were some quiet spots. There was a young couple who were drying themselves and putting clothes back on after obviously swimming in the river. They looked normal but must be completely mad.

We knew that there were no towns on the road until we got to Ucluelet, so we’d resigned ourselves to not having a coffee stop. We had however seen various signs for a zip wire. When we got to the zip wire there was simply a very small sign by the roadside but it showed drinks so we drove in. The whole thing seemed to be a very low key affair. Place looks as if it might have had its origins in a logging camp. There was an open barn under which a couple of shipping containers had been put which acted as storage and ‘offices’ for the zip wire. There was also a small coffee place about the size of a large garden shed. However the man (and his young son) running it were very pleasant and we had a very nice coffee and cake each.

There was no seating so we strolled out onto the old timber bridge across the river gorge. The zip wire starts up the valley, runs under the bridge and finishes just beyond it. The width and weight of the bridge add to the idea that there was a logging operation here - far stronger and wider than you’d need for simple access. We started talking to a local couple while we watched a group come down the zip wire. Show off young girl of about 10 came down upside down.  Interestingly the Canadian couple were local, ie from Port Alberni, but they confirmed that we would have to return via Port Alberni and Nanaimo. The roads that we’d seen on the map that would’ve avoided this are, they told us, old logging roads which were dirt tracks, only accessible with highly specialised 4x4s.

The weather got slightly better as we headed on down but the road wasn’t very good. Very windy and at one stage under reconstruction. At our first look out over Lake Kennedy there were actually wild raspberries growing at the roadside. Unfortunately not quite ripe yet.

We’d assumed that we would actually go through Ucluelet but in fact the road branches to Tofino a few km before. At the junction there is a Pacific Rim NP Visitor Centre. We went in briefly and looked at information. We asked where we could get a sandwich locally and we were told there was a place 300m up the road. This turned out to be a little bit quirky. It consists of a surf shop (the Pacific Rim NP is a great surfing coast) and a cafe - the Wya Point Surf Shop Cafe. The cafe is very simple with no indoor seating and run entirely by one lady who cooks everything to order.

Outside there’s a log fire burning inside a circular brick wall. The fire is surrounded by large driftwood logs which act as seats and there are also picnic tables painted bright green and pink. There’s also loud music playing. Not much vegetarian food available - Anne had a veggie dog and Les had a grilled cheese sandwich. Wherever we sat the smoke followed us. We were also entertained by three dogs and an odd couple, possibly ageing hippies. The elderly and quite large lady immediately started dancing to the music in a strange way (Anne thought she might be high on something!)

Carried on through the NP towards Tofino. Made one stop at Florencia Bay. Lots of surfers arriving while we were there.

After we set off again we were slightly disturbed to see warning signs for wave levels. We’d read that Port Alberni is reckoned to be highly susceptible to tsunami and it seems this whole coast of the island is prepared. We actually saw Tsunami Evacuation Route signs just like the hurricane evacuation signs we’d seen on the US east coast.

Got to the hotel just after 2pm and they were happy to check us in despite the formal time being 4pm. The whole setting is beautiful. A pseudo wooden building right on the beach with every room looking out to the sea across very well kept grounds. Interestingly there’s actually a leaflet in the hotel in 4 different languages telling you exactly what to do and where to go in the event of a tsunami alert - I think this is a first for us.

Settled in very quickly and went for a walk down onto the beach. Les had changed into shorts and sandals so that he could stand in the Pacific Ocean. When we actually got down there it was very windy and quite cold. Les managed to stand in the water while Anne took a photograph and while it wasn’t bitterly cold you certainly wouldn’t have wanted to go in without a wet suit. Walked back round to the front of the hotel where we saw a 200 year old Indian freight canoe that had been recovered locally. These are carved from a single Douglas Fir.

Back up to the room to put camera batteries on charge and for Les to clean his feet and put trousers back on. We drove into Tofino itself - about 2km further on from the hotel. We parked and walked around the town. Lots of work going on. The main street (which is actually Campbell St - Main St is not the main street) is being smartened up with lots of planting, etc. As we finished our walk round we came across the Co-op Grocery store. We’d already seen the Co-op Gas Station and Co-op Hardware Store. We went in out of interest and found it was actually the best grocery store we’ve found this visit. We were able to buy self-serve fresh fruit for the morning, some salads from a salad bar and Anne took a chance and bought some Pacific Sole fillets to cook in the microwave. We took all this back to the hotel and also put some of our beers in the fridge.

We then sat on the balcony admiring the view for a while before downloading the photos. Put them in the Dropbox but don’t hold out much hope as connection seems very poor.

Went back into town at about 6.30pm and went back to Co-op - bought some coated potato wedges and some hot chicken for Les and returned to hotel. Managed to cook Anne’s sole in the microwave and had a really enjoyable meal sitting watching the sun go down. Sat down to write this after we’d washed up and cleared away and saw that the tide has actually gone out noticeably. The actual tidal reach can’t be very much as the beach is almost as flat as Studland but the water’s edge has only receded about 30 yds. We can see a line of breakers in the distance beyond the islands and headlands. We suspect there must be some reefs or sandbars out there.

When we looked out a little later the sun was going down just out of view of our balcony. Obviously there was a good view from the beach as lots of people were out walking on the beach and there were a few photographers with tripods. We saw one lady take a chair out onto the lawn so she could sit and watch the sunset. Another group had lit a fire to keep warm while they watched - it was chilly and very windy.

The internet had been painfully slow and the connection kept breaking. We wanted to download the Telegraph to do the crossword but it seemed to take an age.  When it finished downloading (according to the app) there was only part of the paper there - no news section - must write and complain about this when we get home.

Monday 16th

Up around 7.30am, breakfast of fruit and pasty in room. Views from the room were stunning in the morning sunshine. Packed and checked out. Took the opportunity to take more pictures of the Indian Canoe in better light.

Drove back towards Tofino to fill up the car before setting off. Half of today was retracing our journey of the last two days back through Ucluelet and Port Alberni to Nanaimo. Thought about going into Radar Hill park site for the view but we would’ve had to have spent $14 on passes for this one stop, so carried on.

At one point we came across a police patrol car with its lights flashing and the patrolman standing next to it. We thought he was trying to catch a stray dog on the road but as we went past we realised (too late for the camera) that it was a wolf. This was our only wildlife of the day apart from various bald-headed and golden eagles which appear fleetingly overhead and which you can never photograph from the car.

We stopped again at the Zip Wire Centre, purely because it’s the only place for coffee between Ucluelet and Port Alberni. Had a long chat with the man running the coffee stall. He confirmed our guess that this was an old logging bridge and a logging operation. The logging company are not taking timber out at the moment (presumably they wait for it to regrow) and the zip wire is one of a number of initiatives to bring other activities to the area. The people running the zip wire already have plans to install more further up the mountain.  He also told us that one of the girls running the place was from Adelaide so we went and had a chat with her which made the coffee stop much longer than we’d intended.

Carried on through Port Alberni, and saw nicer bits than we’d seen on our actual stay. Stopped for lunch in a small roadside diner at Whiskey, just before Qualicum Beach. From here on we were on a new road. Nanaimo was much larger than we expected and it took an age to get past all the malls etc. We then went through a series of towns all equally spread out and having malls on the main road containing the usual suspects. It wasn’t at all what we’d been expecting. It was only when we got a little further south that we got back into the winding roads and passes, including the obligatory sections under reconstruction.

Suddenly we were on the outskirts of Victoria. We worried a little as there was a very large amount of traffic going the other way. We can only assume this was the afternoon rush hour even though it was only 3.30pm. Our worries about driving in Victoria were groundless as we were only a few hundred metres off the 1. In fact we had to go round three sides of a block to get to the hotel as there are a lot of one-way streets in the area.

Hotel (BW Plus Carlton Plaza) was usual standard. You have to pay for parking and it’s valet parking offsite which made it slightly awkward as we had remove everything we needed from the car instead of using the car as an additional cupboard as we do in most places. Not too much of a trial as we’ll need to do airport-style packing tomorrow night anyway.

Got sorted in the room and took a stroll towards the waterfront. Not terribly attractive at first sight. We could see a marina in the distance so we decided to walk towards that and then discovered the waterfront path. This was much better. After a short way we came across a place selling take-away fish & chips. It’s called Blue Fish Red Fish. It consists of a shipping container which has been converted. We guessed from the long queue that it had a good reputation. As we stood looking a lady told us how wonderful it was. The notice said that they only serve up to 7pm. It seemed a bit early at 5.30pm so we continued walking.

The next stretch along the waterfront was very lively. This was rebuilt some years ago and is now home to a range of stalls selling arts and crafts etc as well as having some local info. It faces onto the marina where there are all sorts of boats including some very smart ones.

We walked round to the far end and then, after a lemonade, went up to the road opposite their Provincial Legislature building and then back across the front of the very impressive Empress Hotel. Interestingly we noticed a carillon on the corner of Government St and Belleville St - the only one we’ve seen apart from Canberra.

We’d watched lots of seaplanes come and go as we walked. Frustratingly the actual point of take off and landing is just hidden from view, but certainly the seaplane dock seemed very active.

We walked back past this to the chippie. It was about 6.30 by now so we joined the longish queue. The operation is very slick and didn’t take us long to place our order and collect it - halibut and chips. We were less than 10 mins from the hotel so we asked them to wrap the food - they normal serve it in open cardboard trays. We popped it in the rucksack and walked back to the hotel and ate it with a couple of beers. On the walk back to the hotel we went down some streets we hadn’t been in before and realised that the whole area is very lively with restaurants and all sorts of shops.

After we’d eaten we went back out and had another brief walk round. Found two things of particular interest - an old-fashioned camera shop inside Market Place and a dry cleaners very close to the hotel. In Market Place we spotted a Vegan Restaurant that was still open so we went in, bought a sorbet to share (sold by weight) and bought a cup of fresh fruit for the morning.

Back to the hotel for the usual picture downloading and diary typing. Internet connection seems very good.

Tuesday 17th

Woke late at 8.10am, so got up more or less straight away. Anne went down to laundry to put washing on. Then had fruit breakfast. Les then put washing into dryer and went to dry cleaners with trousers while Anne dried hair. Came back and finished diary while washing was drying. Les then walked down to the camera shop in Market Place where the very helpful man was able to undo the UV filter on his lens, which has been stuck since Les’s fall in Seattle. Anne had a brief chat to Tracey.

We read in the news that Victoria suffered an earthquake yesterday, about 1.00pm. It was only about 2.3, and there was no damage, but at least we can say we’ve been in one (sort of).

We set off for The Butchart Gardens about 10.30am. We thought the satnav took us an interesting way since the last bit seemed to be on very minor roads. There didn’t seem to be any other way in however. When we entered we thought that the entry fee was a bit high for a garden but we slowly began to realise why. We started by having a quick coffee. The first major bit we went into was the Sunken Garden. This was the start of the whole gardens where Jennie Butchart began by trying to hide the view of her husband’s cement works across a disused quarry.

This and the rest of the gardens are a riot of colour. They’re a recreation of formal Victorian gardens with masses an masses of summer bedding. Difficult to describe adequately but we both took loads of photos.

We’d walked round for about 3 hours, pausing only to share a sandwich and an apple juice, when, at the end of the Japanese Garden, we walked down to Butchart Cove. We saw that a boat trip was about to leave so we joined it. Great value. They use tiny electric boats so it’s virtually completely silent. There was only one other couple on our trip. The skipper was an ex-local fisherman and he was full of interesting information about the area and its history and its current use. It was interesting to learn that one of the coves adjacent to Butchart was one of many down the coast at close intervals where people can moor boats and camp without charge. They even have a small boat that goes around offering a free pump out service to discourage people from discharging into the sea. He was also pleased to show us a small jetty which is free for public use - again the government provide these almost everywhere.

We saw a seal very close to the boat and a jelly fish but couldn’t get decent pictures of either. The whole cruise took about 45 mins and was relaxing as well as showing us sights and teaching us things. There is a ghost village here which has been the subject of films. Everyone moved away, firstly because the cement works closed when the quarries ran out of suitable stone and, secondly because the coal fired power station closed when hydro schemes took over.

Back to the gardens and we finished looking round the Japanese garden and finally the Italian Garden before having ice cream/sorbet.

We took so may photos that we've added them in a separate gallery.

A quick look in the shop and we set off back to the hotel. Les made his main driving mistake of the holiday so far. There was shuttle working at some roadworks. After we went through there was no approaching traffic on the far side and Les pulled onto the left hand side of the road before seeing a couple of approaching cars and rapidly pulling back to the right.

Back at the hotel we put some of the slightly damp washing back through the dryer to finish it off and then walked down the Vegan restaurant to get another fruit cup for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Couldn’t quite decide what to do about eating. Would like to have had more fish from the take-away but didn’t fancy the walk having spent a long time on our feet. We remembered seeing a couple of tapas places on our walk round the area yesterday, so we had a quick look on the internet. We found one that we’d seen down Trounce Alley but we hadn’t walked past it. The menu looked ok so we walked down there. It was bigger than we imagined - two large units knocked together. It was quite busy and very lively. It turned out to be brilliant. We had a quick succession of really delicious dishes - olives, calamari, roasted aubergine with goats cheese and tomato & basil dressing, sardines and tostado - crisp corn bread with mushrooms and goats cheese. All with a couple of nice local beers. All in all probably the most enjoyable meal of the holiday so far.

Back to room and typed this up, The weather has been really good today. It was sunny when we set off and when we arrived. As we went round the first bit of the gardens one or two black clouds came over and we started to worry slightly. They cleared however and it stayed sunny for the rest of the day. Les actually put sunscreen on when we stopped for lunch. If it had rained there were free umbrellas for use in the gardens. We were able to walk to the restaurant and back in the evening without sweaters.

Wednesday 18th

Woke about 7.30am. Breakfast of fruit and ginger biscuit and then started packing. Les walked to the cleaners to get his trousers - due to a misunderstanding with the elderly Chinese gentleman the trousers had only been pressed and not cleaned.

Skyped Tracey and had a long chat with Niamh. Finally set off around 10.45. Traffic wasn’t too bad and we soon got onto the 17 heading for the ferry. About 15 to 20 mins short of the ferry we stopped at a White Spot restaurant for coffee. They don’t seem to do cakes so we each had a portion of apple pie - a bit large - we could easily have shared one.

Got to the ferry just after 12. Were at the front of the queue. Mooched around for a while looking at things for sale and watching various ferries arriving and departing. Went back and sat in the car and saw our own ferry come in and eventually saw the cars come off it. When we were called for loading we were the second car on and drove right to the front.

Left the car on deck 4 and walked up through deck 5. Saw that on this ferry the express cafe was open. As the weather was nice we went straight up to deck 7 - the upper of the two open decks (6 is for smokers). Found a sheltered spot with no wind and sat there watching. We sailed very promptly and we were surprised by the first bit of the journey where the boat threads its way on a tortuous route between the many islands. Shortly after we got out onto the open sea we spotted a group of whale watching boats stationary in the distance. Sure enough the captain came on the tannoy and said that there were orcas out there. We were in the best position possible for photographs and Les stood there with his telephoto trying to catch them. They were too far away for great photographs but we got enough to demonstrate that we did actually see them.