Thanksgiving in Tofino

Tue Oct 11th

Heading to Horseshoe Bay for the second ferry to Nanaimo

You may have seen the videos of dogs on skateboards. Jack, being a fan of the water, decided to try surfing, albeit in the shallow surf. Undeterred when knocked off into the water, he was straight back on.

We spent the long Thanksgiving weekend in Tofino, the surfing capital of BC. Two ferries and 200km made it a day’s travel to get there, and back. Canada is big.

The route from Gibsons via the two ferries to Nanaimo, then across by road to Tofino

There is no direct ferry from the Coast to Van Island. Van Island and the Coast are supplied and serviced from mainland BC, which acts as a hub, mainly because there is no commercial freight demand between the Coast and Van Island. Personal travel is not sufficient to economically sustain a direct service, according to a BC Ferries crew member I spoke to. So the 'hub and spoke' arrangement is an hour’s wait for a 40 minute crossing followed by an hour’s wait for a two-hour crossing. Nearly 5 hours to travel 40km. We can see Nanaimo from our deck. The seaplane is not viable with Jack in tow, but the 20 min seaplane flight from Sechelt makes it an attractive proposition. Nick, Lizzie and Seb were a few hours behind us. They only had one ferry.

Sunrise over Bowen Island

The ferry crossings are scenically beautiful. Binoculars are an essential travel accessory. It is the first
time we have seen where we live from the Salish Sea, albeit from a distance. BC Ferries have been getting a lot of bad press post Covid. Crew shortages, breakdowns, delays in unloading and loading on busy days. We were lucky both the outbound and return journeys ran to time. The only oddity of the journey is the need to exit the ferry terminal out onto the highway and re-enter through the ticket kiosks.

If the ferry crossing is beautiful; getting out of Nanaimo on Hwy 19 to the cross-island Hwy 4 is tedious. Numerous traffic lights that turn red before you get to them, uninspiring retail malls line the route with only the distant mountains breaking the monotony.

Winter tires warning despite 25c

Hwy 4 is the only road of any size to get to the west coast of Vancouver Island. There are minor roads that head up from Victoria to Port Renfrew, but beyond that you have to go back to Port Alberni in the middle of the island if you want to get to Tofino. At some point we plan to head back and explore the lower west coast and maybe Victoria, the capital of BC.

As we neared the middle of the island and the road passed through the mountains the signs warn that winter tires or snow chains are mandatory Oct 1st to March 31st. It was 25c! Temperatures remain above average and it’s now 100 days without significant rain.

The weekend was a mixture of the beach, surfing and forest walks. I am not a beach person, usually getting bored after about 2 minutes, but with Seb, Jack and the surfing, it was quite active. We were staying in a loft apartment on Chesterman Beach - 1.7k of sand with small islands off shore and bays where the island wraps around the water.

By day two I’d succumbed to Nick’s badgering and rented a wetsuit to try surfing. A first. It goes without saying there are no images of me standing on a board riding a huge roller with the wave cresting above my head, let alone one of me surfing through the bore of a wave. Trying to stay on it horizontally was enough of a challenge. It was good fun though and I would have another go.

Jack was equally keen to try it. If the paddle board is on the water, he is usually on it before we are. He had to try the surf board. Dragged out 10m or so, he was gently pushed in on the broken waves and only came off when the fin or skeg caught the sandy beach and he carried on with the momentum. Undeterred he was scrabbling back on for another go, much to the amusement of local surfers.

Sunday evening we watched the sun go down with a beach fire, BBQ and smores. Although warm during the day, once the sun had dipped over the horizon the fire was needed. More pics below.

Sunset on Chesterman Beach

On the way back we decided to take a leisurely drive and stop off for some trails on route, exploring Little Qualicum Falls and Cathedral Grove.

We’d planned to stop off for lunch at the ‘Goats on the Roof’ Old Country Market where we’d had breakfast the last time we headed to Van Island 5 years ago. It's named, unsurprisngly, after the goats on the roof, live ones. Jack was underwhelmed! It was heaving. The joys of traveling on a public holiday.

Some friends of Nick and Lizzie's swung by while we were getting the fire and BBQ going and joined us for a drink. Half an hour later another couple pitched up. Nick knew him from his university ski club days when Nick was at Southampton and said friend was at Leeds. They met up in Canada through a big coincidence - they own the flat opposite Nick and Lizzie's loft apartment in their Whistler Creekside lodge and then this time bumped into them in Tofino. Small world!

A visit to a local town would not be complete without a trip to the local brewery. Grandma decided it would be good to introduce young Seb to the aromas of the local hops from her flight of beers. He was impressed.

He was keen to get his mouth around the glass and succeeded in chewing the rim, the contents being kept a safe distance away. He's still on milk for heaven's sake!

A second or two later with eyes averted he made a grab for the glass spilling the contents over him, Grandma and the table. Probably the first (but not the last) time he'll go home smelling of beer. Will Grandma ever be trusted again?!

While in Tofino town itself we wandered around the old part of town. It has the quaint 'Northern Exposure' feel to some of the old buildings and harbour areas.

Jack remains an amazing traveller. He has got used the ferries, adapts to strange accommodation and seems to enjoy exploring as much as we do. It would be fascinating to know what he is thinking.

Not too proud to accept help!