Chapter 9 – Vancouver Island
The time finally came for us to go and explore the island off the coast of Vancouver hence the name Vancouver Island. Dan was psyched to offer us a lift down to Horseshoe bay which is nearly an hour and 15 minute drive on a good day. It was a good day as we got down there at 9am almost 1 hour and 30 minutes early for our ferry. Not much to say about the next part as we waited and waited and eventually saw our ferry arrive and dock in before we were able to go grab some seats in the rear for some great views of the islands along the way. As per usual, the great Vancouver weather had shown up to offer us some delightful cloudy and rainy views. Not to worry as we were onto our next exciting adventure on the island and had been promised a few sunny days. The ferry experience was really cool and really boring at the same time. We couldn’t see any whales, dolphins or other crazy cool sea creatures yet we were able to see the beautiful ocean and the amazing forest bound islands all along the ferry’s path. 2 hours later and we were in Nanaimo on the Island about 1 hour away from our new home but with time to explore this great area for a while. So that is exactly what we did heading into the city centre and to the waterfront where the many different shopping centers are found.
There wasn’t much to do in Nanaimo as it is a rather small yet spread out area and with our bus leaving from a specific part, we didn’t want to wander to far off the beaten path and then miss it. So we stayed near the harbour which gave Nanaimo a very Durban bluff feel. And as happens in Durban, the weather shifted from dreary to sunny in a short time and then very quickly we caught ourselves in a huge down pour which had us drenched for 30 minutes before the sun began to appear again. Let’s just say that we were happy to board our bus and begin the travel south towards Cowichan Valley. We were very blessed to have accomadation set up with some family friends who very welcoming and so easy to get on with that we settled right in and had the most amazing experience on the Island.
So for those who have a picture of the island as I did – of this tiny place that you could probably walk around in a day and explore every nook and cranny – this was not that type of Island. In fact, if you could walk around this island in 2 months I would be impressed. It is huge and we had no idea how we could get around and go to all the fancy cool places that were being suggested to us. Basically, we had to sit down and decide where we could go in the next 5 days realistically and still spend enough time in the area to enjoy the experience. It turned out that the small area we were in had an abundance and variety of activities which we were interested in doing and didn’t have to far to travel. We also had some great hosts who made it part of the mission and adventure to help transport us around from one beautiful area to the next.
So Saturday began with a short drive up the side of their mountain – back yard – to a forest area blooming with these huge mixture of trees that cocooned the whole area into a shady pleasant hiking trail (mountain biking for sure). After a short hike where we were able to see far beyond and around the entire down town we headed back through the wooded grove and then north towards a small town called Chemanius. Chemanius is a small town which has been recognized for its local heritage and is now known as the mural town on the Island. Murals on every wall depicting the history and heritage of this small town. Our stay was short but the adventure had to continue as we began to circle inland towards the beautifully magnificent Lake Cowichan. This huge lake – smaller than the Okanagon but as beautiful if not more - was but a short drive from our hosts house. If Ang and I had our own means of transport and were going to be on the Island for longer than the 5 day limit this period, this would have been the ideal campers paradise with multiple opportunities and loads of untouched mysteries to uncover. As it was, we only had a short time to visit and so our adventure for the day had to continue with our trip to Cow Bay. At the time, it was starting to get dark as dusk set in but it made the waterfront of Cow Bay shine illuminating this tranquil setting into a magical and stunning sight for our already over awed eyes.
Sunday was a more modest day where we met the entire family who came up to visit for lunch and we had a joyous time getting to know the kids. Afterwards though, we did manage to experience some more of this Cowichan Valley’s unending beauty when we were escorted to Maple and Genoa Bay for some delightful sunset settings before going on a short hike to see the amazing Cowichan River thundering down through the valley. We had to keep this day short as we were planning a full day in Victoria and needed our beauty sleep for the early rise. Monday came and we hitched a bus ride at 6:30am all the way down to Victoria arriving just outside the museum and IMAX theatre where we had been blessed by our hosts with complimentary tickets for both at 9am. So doing a little exploring before the museum opened, we finally entered and went to watch our IMAX treat on Whales – absolutely breathtaking depiction of the migrating cycles of various gigantic sea beasts. As we didn’t want to spend all day in the museum, we raced through the 2 levels in record time seeing absolutely every nook and cranny and only spending 2 hours. Incredible!! This was one of the best museums I have ever been into and it depicted so many cultural variations and the different time gaps that have influenced and built up Victoria.
Having come all the way down to see Victoria meant we had to eventually go exploring the town which we did by hitting the main shopping district which really gives you a great understanding of the city itself. Having been shopped out and with our return ride due at 3:30, we scurried off to the Victoria art gallery and Craigdarrough castle. Since the castle was a little out of our price range and the art gallery decided that Monday’s were great to be closed on, this little detour didn’t do much for our pockets but gave us a pretty cool idea of Victoria. The time came and we were picked up and whisked off on a beautiful scenic drive along the coast by our hosts who really wanted to give us the full spectrum of our short visit. As it turns out, this was the coolest thing as we saw the coastal point of Victoria from a view point that gave us a 360 degree view from the ocean to inland to even getting pictures of downtown Victoria. As usual, our magical experience had to end and even though it had been a short spent time in Victoria, it had been a great experience and a place we could definitely wish to see in our future.
Our final day spent on the Island was our 2 year anniversary and as a result we decided to go for a long walk over the mountain and down to find Maple Bay. At one point during this hike we both felt really silly thinking we could manage a walk of this magnitude yet the view we got when we finally came over and down the mountain to Maple Bay was mind-blowing. To think that just 20 minutes or so by car in any direction could place you at the sea or in a forest or by a lake or on the river – WOW!!! It was a special place to spend our 2nd anniversary and it didn’t end because we also wanted to go and explore down town to see all the totems and do a little shopping for momentos. Unfortunately, we had to say farewell the following morning as our stay on the Island had quickly come to an end but our time there was a real blessing for us. So back on the greyhound we climbed and then we ran to try and catch our early ferry missing it by possibly 10 minutes as we waved goodbye to it and then spent close to 2 hours waiting for our next ferry ride with absolutely no shops or things to do on an absolutely beautiful sunny day.
We finally caught our ferry and rode in to Vancouver by transit before trying to catch the sky train only to find out that the bus driver hadn’t given us a 3 zone pass and so we couldn’t take the sky train. Thankfully God had a plan and sent a lovely angel to our rescue in the form of a sky train attendant officer who kindly heard our story and quickly wrote us a boarding pass even providing us with an extra 30 minutes so we could make it all the way to Langley without having to pay any extra. We are truly experiencing God’s gracious hand on this amazing trip. To hear more, wait until our next posting coming soon.
The time finally came for us to go and explore the island off the coast of Vancouver hence the name Vancouver Island. Dan was psyched to offer us a lift down to Horseshoe bay which is nearly an hour and 15 minute drive on a good day. It was a good day as we got down there at 9am almost 1 hour and 30 minutes early for our ferry. Not much to say about the next part as we waited and waited and eventually saw our ferry arrive and dock in before we were able to go grab some seats in the rear for some great views of the islands along the way. As per usual, the great Vancouver weather had shown up to offer us some delightful cloudy and rainy views. Not to worry as we were onto our next exciting adventure on the island and had been promised a few sunny days. The ferry experience was really cool and really boring at the same time. We couldn’t see any whales, dolphins or other crazy cool sea creatures yet we were able to see the beautiful ocean and the amazing forest bound islands all along the ferry’s path. 2 hours later and we were in Nanaimo on the Island about 1 hour away from our new home but with time to explore this great area for a while. So that is exactly what we did heading into the city centre and to the waterfront where the many different shopping centers are found.
There wasn’t much to do in Nanaimo as it is a rather small yet spread out area and with our bus leaving from a specific part, we didn’t want to wander to far off the beaten path and then miss it. So we stayed near the harbour which gave Nanaimo a very Durban bluff feel. And as happens in Durban, the weather shifted from dreary to sunny in a short time and then very quickly we caught ourselves in a huge down pour which had us drenched for 30 minutes before the sun began to appear again. Let’s just say that we were happy to board our bus and begin the travel south towards Cowichan Valley. We were very blessed to have accomadation set up with some family friends who very welcoming and so easy to get on with that we settled right in and had the most amazing experience on the Island.
So for those who have a picture of the island as I did – of this tiny place that you could probably walk around in a day and explore every nook and cranny – this was not that type of Island. In fact, if you could walk around this island in 2 months I would be impressed. It is huge and we had no idea how we could get around and go to all the fancy cool places that were being suggested to us. Basically, we had to sit down and decide where we could go in the next 5 days realistically and still spend enough time in the area to enjoy the experience. It turned out that the small area we were in had an abundance and variety of activities which we were interested in doing and didn’t have to far to travel. We also had some great hosts who made it part of the mission and adventure to help transport us around from one beautiful area to the next.
So Saturday began with a short drive up the side of their mountain – back yard – to a forest area blooming with these huge mixture of trees that cocooned the whole area into a shady pleasant hiking trail (mountain biking for sure). After a short hike where we were able to see far beyond and around the entire down town we headed back through the wooded grove and then north towards a small town called Chemanius. Chemanius is a small town which has been recognized for its local heritage and is now known as the mural town on the Island. Murals on every wall depicting the history and heritage of this small town. Our stay was short but the adventure had to continue as we began to circle inland towards the beautifully magnificent Lake Cowichan. This huge lake – smaller than the Okanagon but as beautiful if not more - was but a short drive from our hosts house. If Ang and I had our own means of transport and were going to be on the Island for longer than the 5 day limit this period, this would have been the ideal campers paradise with multiple opportunities and loads of untouched mysteries to uncover. As it was, we only had a short time to visit and so our adventure for the day had to continue with our trip to Cow Bay. At the time, it was starting to get dark as dusk set in but it made the waterfront of Cow Bay shine illuminating this tranquil setting into a magical and stunning sight for our already over awed eyes.
Sunday was a more modest day where we met the entire family who came up to visit for lunch and we had a joyous time getting to know the kids. Afterwards though, we did manage to experience some more of this Cowichan Valley’s unending beauty when we were escorted to Maple and Genoa Bay for some delightful sunset settings before going on a short hike to see the amazing Cowichan River thundering down through the valley. We had to keep this day short as we were planning a full day in Victoria and needed our beauty sleep for the early rise. Monday came and we hitched a bus ride at 6:30am all the way down to Victoria arriving just outside the museum and IMAX theatre where we had been blessed by our hosts with complimentary tickets for both at 9am. So doing a little exploring before the museum opened, we finally entered and went to watch our IMAX treat on Whales – absolutely breathtaking depiction of the migrating cycles of various gigantic sea beasts. As we didn’t want to spend all day in the museum, we raced through the 2 levels in record time seeing absolutely every nook and cranny and only spending 2 hours. Incredible!! This was one of the best museums I have ever been into and it depicted so many cultural variations and the different time gaps that have influenced and built up Victoria.
Having come all the way down to see Victoria meant we had to eventually go exploring the town which we did by hitting the main shopping district which really gives you a great understanding of the city itself. Having been shopped out and with our return ride due at 3:30, we scurried off to the Victoria art gallery and Craigdarrough castle. Since the castle was a little out of our price range and the art gallery decided that Monday’s were great to be closed on, this little detour didn’t do much for our pockets but gave us a pretty cool idea of Victoria. The time came and we were picked up and whisked off on a beautiful scenic drive along the coast by our hosts who really wanted to give us the full spectrum of our short visit. As it turns out, this was the coolest thing as we saw the coastal point of Victoria from a view point that gave us a 360 degree view from the ocean to inland to even getting pictures of downtown Victoria. As usual, our magical experience had to end and even though it had been a short spent time in Victoria, it had been a great experience and a place we could definitely wish to see in our future.
Our final day spent on the Island was our 2 year anniversary and as a result we decided to go for a long walk over the mountain and down to find Maple Bay. At one point during this hike we both felt really silly thinking we could manage a walk of this magnitude yet the view we got when we finally came over and down the mountain to Maple Bay was mind-blowing. To think that just 20 minutes or so by car in any direction could place you at the sea or in a forest or by a lake or on the river – WOW!!! It was a special place to spend our 2nd anniversary and it didn’t end because we also wanted to go and explore down town to see all the totems and do a little shopping for momentos. Unfortunately, we had to say farewell the following morning as our stay on the Island had quickly come to an end but our time there was a real blessing for us. So back on the greyhound we climbed and then we ran to try and catch our early ferry missing it by possibly 10 minutes as we waved goodbye to it and then spent close to 2 hours waiting for our next ferry ride with absolutely no shops or things to do on an absolutely beautiful sunny day.
We finally caught our ferry and rode in to Vancouver by transit before trying to catch the sky train only to find out that the bus driver hadn’t given us a 3 zone pass and so we couldn’t take the sky train. Thankfully God had a plan and sent a lovely angel to our rescue in the form of a sky train attendant officer who kindly heard our story and quickly wrote us a boarding pass even providing us with an extra 30 minutes so we could make it all the way to Langley without having to pay any extra. We are truly experiencing God’s gracious hand on this amazing trip. To hear more, wait until our next posting coming soon.
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