Vancouver Island is one of Canada’s largest islands located on the west coast and is best described as “where the rainforest meets the sea”.   It was named by Travel + Leisure magazine as one of the world’s top ten islands in 2014. With most of its incredibly diverse ecosystem being protected by parklands, the opportunities abound to explore nature! Our family spent a week here hiking old-growth forests, walking beaches filled with marine life waiting to be uncovered at low tide, and sea kayaking to uninhabited islands. My trip report follows:

August 2013-After flying into Vancouver International airport and obtaining a rental van, we had a short drive to the BC Ferry at Tsawwassen terminal for transportation to the island. Reservations were recommended during the busy summer months since we were bringing a car. The ferry ride was two hours to Nanaimo. There were multiple options on board for meals, a gift shop, nice seating indoors and beautiful views from the decks.

Once we departed the ferry, we drove across the middle of the island stopping for an hour at Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park. This park straddles Highway 4 and is home to ancient Douglas-fir trees dating back 800 years and over 9 meters in circumference. It was a great introduction to the magic of this island. We then drove to Ucluelet where we stayed in a rental home near the ocean.

Our first day was greeted by significant rain, not uncommon in a rainforest. We ventured out to the small but charming Ucluelet Aquarium to learn about the nearby marine life. The interpreters, exhibits and touch tanks introduced us to the underwater biodiversity that we would discover over the next few days.

Our favorite “road less traveled” excursion was exploring Meares Island. We hired a boat from Clayoquot Connections (booked through Jamie’s Whale Watching) to take us to the nearby island. Despite our apprehensions about the condition of the boat, the captain assured us it was sea worthy and he entertained us with his knowledge and personality for the short ride. He dropped us off at the dock to roam Meares promising to return in three hours. A boardwalk, made of hand cut red cedar boards and full of wear, moss and hidden stories, guided us into the center of the island. The huge trees estimated to be at least 1000 years old really made us feel like we had stepped into another world and time. After wandering the boardwalk we finished the loop on a narrow, overgrown, muddy two-hour trail. It was such an adventure to step over, under and through all the vegetation! We even walked to the shore for a snack and to admire the water views. Spotting a bald eagle on the boat ride home was the exclamation point to the trip. This was the best money spent of our whole week here! It was a much better value than whale watching. However, it is still worthwhile splurging on a whale watching tour if you never have done that. Coming alongside a whale and appreciating its huge size takes your breath away.

The best hike of the week was the Wild Pacific Trail, which was accessed near the town of Ucluelet. The trails were developed and maintained immaculately and the benches along the way provided for spectacular views. There were very few people on the trail, which made for a peaceful walk. We even encountered a bald eagle just twenty feet above us perched in a tree and watched it take flight. It was such an intimate wildlife encounter!

The preferred water adventure of the week was sea kayaking out of Tofino. We hired a private guide named Marc who was awesome. His knowledge of natural and human history and his ability to tailor the tour to our family’s level of expertise and interests made this a special day. His familiarity with the huge variant in summer tides of eleven feet allowed him to route our trip to maximize the experience. The four-hour tour included kayaking to an uninhabited island for hiking and time for lunch on the beach.

As the week drew to an end, we drifted away from Vancouver Island on the ferry to return to the airport. We were surrounded by images of harsh volcanic rock carved by thunderous ocean and bordered with magical rainforest as the mist rolled in. We were grateful for our time spent here…