Day 17: From Victoria to Nanaimo
September 25, 2012
We got lucky again. We drove from Victoria to Nanaimo today and are staying in the nicest little B&B you could imagine.
View over Victoria
This morning we started by driving through downtown Victoria once more and onto the scenic drive which goes around the south shore. Along the drive were some of the most beautiful neighborhood roads we’ve ever seen, and we made regular stops to look into side roads. At one viewpoint we stopped to look down on some of the nice houses (photo above). That’s when Katrin spotted three deer on the hills just below from us. They didn’t seem to mind us or the nearby roads, and were hopping through the gardens and back alleys of the houses below. Simply amazing. We drove through these nice neighborhoods for a while before we left Victoria on the Trans-Canada Highway.
Wildlife in Victoria
On the way to Nanaimo, we made a stop at Cowichan River Provincial Park. We hiked a short nice trail (Skutz Falls Trail) along the river, which was steep and interesting and took us across the river on an old railway bridge with an amazing view of the valley down below. On the way back we didn’t hike the actual trail but walked along the abandoned railroad track.
Bridge over the Cowichan River
For the rest of the way we only stopped once, to look at some RVs for sale, since Katrin had never seen one from the inside. While looking for our lovely B&B place (Island View Bed and Breakfast in Nanaimo), we saw more deer right next to the road. And on the way back from dinner we saw even more of them, a mere meter next to the road, which is really quite dangerous when its dark. The place we’re staying at is lovely: There is a huge garden right in front of our window, and we have the whole floor to ourselves (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, patio). The woman who runs the B&B was working in the garden the whole day, and we spent some time talking shop with her about various gardening techniques. The place we’ll be staying at tomorrow (near Tofino) got some great reviews as well, but for now, this is the next best thing to staying at your own house ;)
View from the garden back towards our house (hint: you can’t see it)
