Victoria Island - Sunshine Coast and onto Whistler

BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Day 27 - Thursday 6th June - Wasilla to Anchorage  to Vancouver

We got the hotel shuttle back to the airport this morning, and collected our rental car....... asked if there was a Jeep available as we had enjoyed driving around in one in Alaska, and they found us one - a proper looking Jeep - bright yellow! We won’t lose it anywhere.

Then we set off for the ferry port - Tsawwassen - and arrived there about 10:30. We had reserved a Crossing at 1 pm not knowing how long it would take us to get the car and then get there. So when checking in and saying we were early - didn’t need to check in until 12 for our ferry, we were asked if we wanted to get the 11 o’clock one which was about to start boarding - so that was brilliant.

The one and a half hour crossing was great - after the first half hour it was weaving down the coast between small islands - very picturesque. It was quite windy, but stayed dry, although there were a lot of dark clouds around. Although we were the last car on, we were off quite quickly, at Swartz Bay, and soon found a pull in with an information booth in, so we popped in to get a map and suggestions.

We were just outside the small town of Sidney, and the lady suggested we visited, which we did. It was small, but pretty, with its own version of the Sidney Opera House! We had a stroll around and some lunch,  before going on.  We followed the main road down this peninsula for a while, and then branched off on to the more scenic coast road, which was very pretty. We stopped a few times to admire the view, lots of large driftwood washed up on the shore, large tree trunks, bleached and twisted - very interesting shapes.

As we got nearer to Victoria, the coast road was closed due to a bike race going on, and we had to cut in a bit, but soon were at our hotel, right on the harbour front. After dinner, sat outside admiring the view, we went for a walk around - to Fisherman’s Wharf. We sussed out where we need to go for our trip tomorrow evening, and enjoyed the evening sun on the water. There is a combination of working boats, pleasure boats, eateries, gift shops and private dwellings, all moored to floating docks - very unusual and a unique feature. The shops, homes and businesses were a real mixture of styles and materials making it a great place to look around.

Vancouver Island is promising to be a great next step on our journey.

No of Miles Driven - 56

No of steps walked today.... 12822

Day 29 - Saturday 8th June - Victoria

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Cutting back in from the coast we went through a very affluent area , large houses, a lot from the Victorian era, many now turned into apartments. The whole of Victoria is well maintained, lots of flowers. Apparently it is also well known as a honeymoon destination and a retirement place.... so the way to remember is Flower beds, newly weds and the nearly dead’s!

When we returned to the start we decided an ice cream was in order, so visited a place called Marble Slab Ice cream. Wow! What a selection, of flavours, toppings and cones. Once you had chosen your flavour/s it was scooped onto the marble slab, any toppings added, and mixed, before putting into your cone or tub.

Then it was time for a bit of a wander around the inner harbour, and some gift shopping..... Rachel chose her birthday present from us. Then we returned to our hotel for a drink and to collect more clothes for this evening. We had booked a Whale watching and Sunset Cruise trip. We walked over to Fisherman’s Wharf, booked in and got our Boarding Passes, which we had been told yesterday to do early and then we would get discount at the food outlets there. So we went to Barbs Fish and Chip stall, which had been recommended and had dinner. It was very nice... fresh fish.

With still over an hour to kill before our trip, we sat in the Park there for a bit. I went and took some photos of the Sears Catalogue homes that had been pointed out to us this morning. There is a row of 4 of these houses. Sears catalogue homes were sold in the early 1900s, a kit form house with everything you needed to build your house. Thousands were sold in North America during this time.

Then it was time for the trip. We were with Eagle tours..... there are lots of different companies here offering trips out. We had a short talk to tell us what we could potentially see..... various different whales, porpoises and seals. Well, we saw a family of killer whales.... 5 in total, and followed them for quite a long time. It was fantastic and we had some great views of them. No other wildlife, except some birds in the distance. But there was a great sunset as well, and it was a lovely trip, if somewhat chilly!  We were out for nearly 3 hours, and ended up in American waters, with views of Mount Baker, and quite a lot of the Washington State coastline. A lovely end to the day.

No of Miles Driven 0

No of steps walked today.... 20234

Day 30 - Sunday 9th June - Victoria - Port Renfrew -

Lake Cowichan 

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We started this morning returning to the coast road that we couldn’t do on our way down on Friday, but we did on the bus tour yesterday. We stopped off at the very tall Totem Pole....the highest free standing Pole. 

Then it was out of Victoria, over the swing bridge, and out along the coast. We had enquired about a Fort yesterday at the Visitor Centre, and went off to visit it. I don’t think it was necessarily the one we were thinking of, but it was a good visit. This was the Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse. The Fort had guarded Victoria from 1878 until 1956. There was extra displays and a re-enactment group there for the D Day commemorations. We didn’t really have time to look at everything they had on offer, but it was very interesting. The lighthouse was the first lighthouse in Canada. It used to be on an island and in the 50s a causeway was built to connect it to the mainland.

Then we moved along the coast on a bit of a windy road, with glimpses of the sea between the trees. We were travelling on the Pacific Marine Circle Route. There were lots of places you could get down to beaches and campsites, but we kept going for quite a while, and finally stopped at Jordan River. There was a nice old bloke ‘guarding’ the parking lot..... apparently a Park Ranger so Phil and Rach are telling me! He definitely wanted to chat! The good advice he gave us was that we shouldn’t try the path down to the beach in our sandals... so we all dutifully put our trainers on which was a good job as the path was quite rough and bumpy. We walked down to the beach, lots of beached trees, stones and then sand. It was very pretty.

Then we made our way onto Port Renfrew, which was the end of the coastal road. We had a little look around, an ice cream and then it was onto find Avatar Grove. This was an up and back, very rough road. We were in a very old, very tree covered area, and at Avatar Grove there was a ‘board walk‘ to see the Gnarliest Tree. This was an interesting trek.... lots of steps, some very high, and lots of tree roots to negotiate. We eventually found this huge tree... very gnarly! After 100 steep steps I stopped counting, but there were lots more. I think the highest one went from ground level to above my knee height!

Then we continued up the road, now paved to Lake Cowichan, where we were booked for the night. This road went through lots of forested areas, some had been cut and the yellow broom had sprung up, looking lovely in the evening sunshine.

By the time we arrived at Lake Cowichan, and found our accommodation it was definitely time to check in and get something to eat..... we’ll have a look at the Lake tomorrow.

Luckily our accommodation did a great meal, so we managed to celebrate Rach’s birthday.

No of Miles Driven - 128

No of steps walked today.... 11522

Day 31 - Monday 10th June - Lake Cowichan to Courtney

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We started today going to have a look at Lake Cowichan, having arrived too late last night to do so. It is a beautiful place, so peaceful and still, although I’m sure yesterday afternoon there were probably more people around! The water was looking lovely, and we walked out on a floating pontoon to admire the views.

Then it was onto Duncan, the City of Totems. We followed the Yellow Footsteps for the trail around town, to see all the different Totem Poles on display. There was an informative plaque for each, telling the story of the pole as well as info about the person who carved it. This kept us busy for the rest of the morning and we found a very busy, organic community produce cafe for some lunch.

On our way out of Duncan we stopped at the Visitor Centre, next to the B C Forest Discovery Centre, but decided we didn’t have time to explore it properly - may have to come back sometime! Then it was on the smaller coastal scenic road up to Crofton, where there is a board walk along the waters edge - although with the tide out, there wasn’t any water!

Next was Chemainus, whose claim to fame is Murals. We didn’t follow the Yellow footsteps here.... just stopped off for some of the lovely Murals, not all. We also looked out over the bay with a large working Timber mill, lots of trees floating in the water, and lots of wood in the yard. By this time it was about 4 pm, and although we didn’t have far to go today, we had only gone about 30 or so Miles, so we thought we’d better get a bit of a move on! There had just been so many great places to see.

So, it was off up the main Highway for a bit, and then after a while we branched off onto the more scenic coastal route. However, like a lot of these roads, although we were very close to the coast, a lot of the time , with houses and trees, you only got glimpses of the sea. But those that you did get were lovely. It was all so calm, and with lots of small islands nearby, lots to look at. We reached Courtenay and soon found our accommodation for the night.

No of Miles Driven 141

No of steps walked today.... 9968

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So, if you’re all getting fed up reading our blog and looking at the photos, don’t worry - we are now officially half way through! Today is the mid point of our trip..... but we hope to see and experience lots more.

We set off in good time to catch our first ferry of the day at Comox, Little River across to Powell River, back on the mainland. We checked in and watched the ferry coming across, on a beautiful sunny, calm day. We had reserved our place, but still needed to check in about an hour before the sailing, although this doesn’t actually close until about 5 minutes before, if there is room.

Once boarded we went up on the sun deck and enjoyed the crossing, back to what is known as the Sunshine Coast, a section of the mainland only accessible by air or sea.

Once there, we made our way down the Coastal Highway..pretty much the only road, except for some dead end ones going off for housing. We were aiming for Saltery Bay, for the next ferry across to Earls Cove. We got there thinking the ferry was at about 1pm, but it wasn’t until 2:30.... so we retraced our steps a bit, for a sandwich and sat by the sea at Saltery Bay Recreational Park. Rach and I decided to have a paddle.....  Not a good idea when the rocks that were the beach were very hot and spiky as well as the fact they kept moving when you stood on them. The water, what little we stepped in was very warm though.

Back to the ferry terminal, and we waited for the next ferry to come in, before setting off again, an extremely pretty ride. The road down, although close to the coast, didn’t give lots of opportunity for views, but what we did get were stunning. The next section down was similar, with a few more communities along the way. We stopped off a few times to admire the coastal scenery.

At Sechelt, the largest of the towns, we were parked up looking out to sea, and spotted an Eagle soaring above the water. We think it then dived down and caught something, and the next thing we knew it was flying pretty much over the top of us.....but I wasn’t quick enough with the camera!

Not much further and we were at Gibsons, where we are staying tonight. We had decided to stay here, rather than get the third ferry all in one day. So tomorrow it’s the last ferry to Horseshoe Bay and then onto Whistler.

No of Miles Driven - 92

No of steps walked today.... 6413

So we decided last night that we would try for the earlier ferry this morning, than the one we had booked on....... this worked for us in Vancouver and we were hopeful it would again. Which it did....so we were on the 8:40 from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay, instead of 10:55. This meant we would have a lot longer to explore the Sea to Sky route up to Whistler.

Off the ferry... a 40 minute one this time, and most of the traffic turned down to Vancouver, and not the way we were going. This road hugs the Howe Sound on one side and the mountains on the other. It was widened and upgraded for the 2010 Winter Olympics and is a really lovely route.

Our first stop was at the Britannia Mine Museum. This was a Copper Mine, in operation from 1904 to 1974. When it first opened there was no road accessing it, only boat, and the town of Britannia Beach built up around it as well as a community up on the mountain. There are 270km of tunnels into the mountain. When it closed in 1974, it wasn’t long before a museum was opened on the site.

The tour was very interesting, and we were there quite some time. We watched a short film to start with, and then had a wander around  the exhibits. Next it was our time slot for a rail ride into the mountain....not very far. Our guide then talked about conditions for the miners when it was started, and then how things improved as time went on. She even had a working air drill to show us how noisy conditions were.

The tour continued back down past the Core Sheds and to their new part of the Museum. Mill No 3, a huge building built onto the side of the mountain, and was the crushing and sorting ‘shed’ for all the rock brought out of the Mine, is still intact and with lots of the equipment still there. The new part is a very clever film telling you what happened in the Mill and with some  of the areas actually moving... a very long, steep conveyor. It was very cleverly done, and interesting, as this part is quite different to anything we’ve seen before.

Moving on from there, we soon reached Shannon Falls. We managed to park and walked out to the viewing point for the Falls. At 1100foot drop they are the third highest waterfall in BC. From here we walked onto the Sea to Sky Gondola through the wooded trail, which was lovely.

Up the Gondola, and it was actually hotter at the top of the mountain than down the bottom.... a scorching 30+ degree C. At the top there is a 100 m Suspension Bridge spanning a ravine, that was great to go over.

There are also a lot of trails, and we walked out to a lookout ....over Howe Sound and the mountains. Also looking out over ‘The Stawamus Chief’ a very large granite dome some 700m high. It was very hot, but we certainly had some fantastic views.

Moving on from here we continued up the Highway, and eventually came to Whistler...... a very large skiing centre. We will be exploring around here for the next two days.

No of Miles Driven - 76

No of steps walked today.... 16560

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We started today dropping Rachel off for her 2 hour, Western style horse ride. She had booked this a long time ago and was very excited to be doing it. This was a little way out of Whistler, back on the Sea to Sky Highway, and Phil and I went to see Brandywine Falls. This waterfall was quite different to the one we saw yesterday.....perched on the edge of a volcanic escarpment. We then walked onto an overlook of Daisy Lake, and also could see the mountain - Black Tusk.

Rachel really enjoyed her ride on the mountain, and actually ended up as a one to one ride, which I’m sure made it even better. We collected her again at 12, and grab a sandwich on our way back to Whistler. We had a wander around the main Village area, and seeing where the Olympic Medal presentations took place in 2010.

We then retraced our steps a bit along the Sea to Sky Highway, and went towards the Olympic Park. Unfortunately this was closed, as the winter season has ended and the summer season doesn’t start until nearly the end of June. So we managed to see a couple of signs for the entrance but couldn’t go any further.

But, the highlight of the day was on our way out there we saw a Black Bear, just beside the road. It totally ignored us and continued to wander along the verge eating, only about 20 yards away. It was really great.

On our way back we stopped off at Alexander Falls, different again to the other two, in the way the Falls were formed. Then we stopped by Alta Lake, one of many lakes in the area, and full of families having fun..... kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming, etc. There are certainly a lot of outdoor activities to take part in around here. And also a lot of bikes!

Then, as Rach wanted to do some shopping, Phil dropped us off in Whistler Village for a while, and then came back and joined us for dinner.

No of Miles Driven - 80

No of steps walked today.... 13198

Day 35 - Friday 14th June - Whistler

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What a fabulous day on the mountains! We left our Air B and B and walked down to the Blackcomb Gondola for about 10, when they started running for the day. We had pre booked our tickets for the Peak to Peak....so, there are two main mountains in Whistler - Blackcomb and Whistler - each with their own gondola going up, but also linked by a gondola at the top! It was awesome!

So, first was the Blackcomb gondola, a 30 minute gondola ride! When we got out at the top, we caught a shuttle bus, that took us back down a short way and around the back of the mountain, where we got on an open chair lift up to 7th Heaven. This is the only extra lift still running at this time, because of summer skiing on this part of the mountain. We were there quite early, and it was really quiet at the top, but looking over the ridge onto the glacier there was loads of activity going on....skiing and snow boarding, jump practice and someone backflipping onto an airbag!

We looked around for a while, and Phil started chatting to a bloke, who explained about the set up....he was an electrician there, so told us if we got stuck on the lifts we could blame him! During the morning up there the clouds came in over the mountains tops a few times, but later they cleared and we had glorious views.

Back down again, and back on the shuttle. Our ticket allowed us to do the Peak to Peak as many times as we wanted....so we went across and back before exploring the top of Blackcomb. This one takes 11 minutes each way.... for more facts and figures about this see the photos!

Once back we grabbed some lunch, then looked around the top of Blackcomb

Back across the Peak to Peak again we looked around the top of Whistler mountain. We were able to walk up the access road towards the top, and got to a stage where we were walking through snow walls that were taller than us. You could climb a lot further up and get much higher walls, but we didn’t!

Eventually, after a great time admiring the fantastic views we returned down to Whistler village on the gondola from Whistler mountain, another 30 minute ride, returning to the village about 5 pm. So, a full day on the mountains. We walked back up to our accommodation, stopping off for a drink and some dinner on the way.

No of Miles Driven - 0

No of steps walked today.... 12076