Two Ducks in Bear Country

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)

September 24, 2012

Today was dedicated to Victoria, BC. Victoria is not only the biggest city on Vancouver Island but also the capital city of British Columbia. This might seem a little odd, given that Vancouver is much bigger and actually located on the mainland. We had arrived here in the late afternoon yesterday, and today was to be our first day in downtown Victoria. After the heavy Chinese meal yesterday, we decided to leave the car at the hotel and walk into the city. Fortunately, this was possible along the 3km “Galloping Goose Trail” which is a very nice cycling and jogging route along Victoria’s inner harbor.

Chinatown and other strange encounters

As we passed onto the east shore (and into downtown) we basically stepped right into Chinatown. There were lots of cute Chinese shops (and people), and the whole dynamic on the street was in fact very Chinese, in contrast to the rest of the city. We continued along Government Road south, looking at the many shops along the way. At the Empress Hotel, we visited the tourist information to get some more tips about the rest of the island.

Inside the BC Parliament Building

After a short sandwich-and-soup pit-stop at a nearby Deli (thanks Daria) we went up to the BC Parliament Building. We only wanted to peek inside, expecting the kind of airportesque security we had encountered in the Ontario Parliament in Toronto in 2008. But since the legislature was not in session we could freely wander through the Parliament building and even peek into the legislative chamber. Quite impressive, and in general very British. There was a whole room dedicated to Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family in general, which I found to be a little over the top (and I’m not even a French-Canadian, just saying).

She reigns, but she does not rule

By this point we were already quite tired, Katrin managed to nap for a while on a bench right next to main street. We halfheartedly went down to Beacon Hill Park, but then decided to make our way back home. At the hotel we grabbed our books, a cup of joe from Tim and sat on a bench in Gorge Park looking over the inner harbor. When it got darked we went grocery-shopping and retired to our hotel room.

The Fairmont Empress Hotel

The next three nights on Vancouver Island are already planned as well, which is something we don’t usually do. We will spend the next night in Nanaimo (with lots of planned on the way there) and the two nights after that just outside Tofino on the western shore, next to the Pacific Rim National Park.

September 23, 2012

We made it to Vancouver Island. We left Kelowna really early (9:30), but hit a traffic jam just an hour outside the city. We saw clouds of black smoke rising behind a bend, and when the traffic started moving again, we saw the remains of an RV that completely burned to the ground. With that delay we kept pushing on towards Vancouver, which fortunately went very well for the rest of our journey. We drove through Hope, but it didn’t seem worth stopping for, so we just continued.

Limited vision ahead

The upside of our uninterrupted journey was that we still made the 3pm ferry from Tsawwassen Bay to Vancouver Island. This gave us some sun on the deck, warm enough to sit outside for most of the 90 min boat ride. The sight was not that great however, so not that many photos from our way to the island. Another reminder about things that changed in the last few years: There is free WiFi on the ferry on the way over! Simply amazing in my opinion.

Checking the islands and your e-mail at the same time

We arrived late in our hotel near Victoria, where we are staying for two nights. Since the nearest Japanse place had really bad reviews on the Internet, we went to a Chinese restaurant instead. Well, the food was definitely plenty, but it was not that great. Katrin did try her first (and probably last) root beer ;) Tonight we retired early, but tomorrow will be dedicated to exploring downtown Victoria. The weather is still great by the way, in fact we went outside in shirts and shorts at 9am today.

Yummy, Root Beer (before the first sip)

September 22, 2012

After much driving yesterday (and even more driving to be done tomorrow), we only had a short 45-min drive ahead of us this morning. It took us from Vernon to Kelowna, BC, the heart of the Bristish Columbia wine country. Yesterday I wrote about Vernon and that it was not that picturesque. After we left the valley around Vernon, we saw an immediate change in the countryside. Kelowna is situated at the Okanagan Lake, and surrounded by gentle hills on all sides. The scenery looked almost Mediterranean, with vineyards along the highway and countless signs pointing to fruit stands or even free fruit picking opportunities.

Impressions from Kelowna Wine Country

We started with two small wine tastings at a small and medium sized wineries. At one of the biggest (and coincidentally: organic) winery, we did a full tour, taking us through their whole production line and into their wine cellar, which is located in a 1/8 scale of the Egyptian pyramids. The tour was nice, though we got the impression that in order to make organic wine you have to be very alternative in every aspect of life. Unfortunately, we didn’t really like any of the wines we got to try. That is not to say they weren’t any good, but they were all overly sweet for our taste. Compared to the taste of the wine from Europe in general, and considering the steep prices for wine around here, we still prefer a nice French, Italian or German wine.

Cheers!

After checking into our accommodation for tonight, we headed to downtown Kelowna to fill up on gas and grab some dinner. We quickly settled on a very nice Thai place, a welcome change to the meat-heavy “restaurants” (which would be called fast-food places in Europe) of the last few days.

Me waiting for my food

Tomorrow we’ll head straight to Victoria. After the slow pace of the last few days, we decided to take this big leap and not spend another night on the way. We will definitely stop in Hope, BC though, don’t worry.

September 21, 2012

Today we had a slight miscalculation in distance. The guide-book praised the drive over Naskup as taking a whole day, yet we wound up in Vernon, BC, at about 4pm. That is including the two ferries we had to take along the way, and the hour we spent at a nice rest area. With all that time, we could have easily driven on towards Kelowna, but we had already booked the hotel in Vernon in advance.

On the way and passing the time

So tonight we’re staying here before heading into Kelowna tomorrow morning. Vernon is relatively unappealing, and even less so considering the heat and the low sun, with temperatures at dry 28 degrees even late at 5pm. Highway 97 goes straight through downtown Vernon, with all of the noise and pollution associated with a major street like it. There is not that much to do, and we just walked through the city, had a coffee and tried to pass some time before dinner. In summary, we don’t like Vernon very much and hope that Kelowna and the wine-country of the Okanagan will make up for it tomorrow.

Looking towards downtown Vernon, BC

Enjoy the photos, lots of funny ones of Katrin today. As you can see, we already finished our first jar of peanut butter and switched to Kraft’s crunchy peanut butter by now. So that’s what’s happening…