I thought that maybe Vancouver Island was bigger than Tasmania but turns out that Tasmania is the world's 26th largest island where as Vancouver Island is the world's 43rd largest island. While Tasmania may be bigger Vancouver Island is just as beautiful and is very similar with beautiful mountains that roll right up to the coast. Vancouver Island is known for having very high rainfall levels therefore the forests are big, green, mossy and nutrient rich (which is why the whales hang out in the coastal waters of the forests).
Not only is it so beautiful but all the towns and cities seem to go at a slightly slower pace, which I loved. Victoria was beautiful and definitely has an 'old world' feel. I loved the harbor and these amazing houses on the water, so cute!
It was hard to believe that we were so close to the states as life there didn't feel very 'American' at all.
While in Victoria with the Moose tour we also took in the night life in Victoria (which isn't much, but still very fun) which included dinner at a Caribbean restaurant, live music and some dancing. As part of this night out, our tour guide took us to an interesting bar where the floor was covered in peanuts, the tables lined with business cards. the walls lined with foreign currency and notes from travelers and from the ceiling hung many bra's of all different colours. It was quite a sight, and while we choose not to leave our bras (even though it guaranteed a free t-shirt and a free drink) we left a note on the wall to mark out visit.
Out of the city once again we stayed in the small coastal town of Tofino. Incredibly beautiful and the hostel there is amazing, right on the water! During the day we headed out on a whale watching tour and trip to the natural hot springs. Not only were the views of the ocean, coast line and small islands spectacular but we were fortunate to see many grey whales and one humpback whale. I had never seen whales so close before so it was a great experience. We were also lucky enough to see many sea lions lazing on the rocks and a few sea otters chilling out in the water.
The hot springs were definitely a highlight. I loved that they were so natural and un-commercialised, even though this meant they were a little difficult to get to and a little uncomfortable to sit in. The water from the spring comes out of the ground at 50 degrees Celsius and flows over the rocks into the pools where water comes in from the ocean and cools them down by a few degrees. So beautiful and very refreshing!
While we were out for the day our tour guide Chris went out fishing, we were so lucky in that he caught several Salmon that we were able to cook up for dinner. I ate some both raw and cooked and it was by the far the best I've ever tasted. I guess thats what happens when it's caught only two hours earlier. I could have eaten the whole fish! Yum!
The small towns on Vancouver Island have an interesting way of drawing in tourist and definitely get points for creativity. One town, in its efforts to draw a crowd, decided it would be a great idea to cover the roof's of their buildings with grass and put goats of their roofs. Another town built the world's largest hockey stick and another town hired several artists to paint massive murals on any unused wall or surface in the town. I personally like the 'goats on the roof' idea and will have no hesitations in suggesting it to the Boort development committee if the the town ever starts to struggle.
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