Off to the Island...

After our brief, yet restful, stopover in Kelowna we headed down to the lower mainland then over to Vancouver Island.







I love this island.  I love the fact that it is not connected to the main part of the country by bridge.   I love the fact that it's capital city (Victoria) is full of character and history and small enough to negotiate with ease. I love the fact that the island has some amazing coastline and beaches, some rocky, some sandy, some rocky and sandy.  It is also home to a diverse range of wildlife from adorable sea otters and orcas to mountain lions and bears.  Not that we saw many in the wild!!  I think they all went on summer holiday elsewhere.


So what did we do on the Island that we loved?











1.  We caught the ferry and listened to a naturalist speaking about the fascinating lives of sea and river otters.

2.  We played in the crystal clear waters of the Sooke Potholes.  The boys had a blast skimming stones and slipping down a natural  rock slide.

3.  We visited the unbelievably beautiful Butchart Gardens.  This was to be one of Mel's favourite places on her Canadian tour. 

4.  We picnicked on the grounds of the Parliament building.

5.  We watched some very talented buskers down by the waterfront.

6.  Mel jammed on an outdoor piano in the centre of the city!

                     

 

7.  We took a mini ferry to Fisherman's Wharf then wandered around the docks.

8.  We played on the beach at Parksville and looked at snow capped mountains in the distance.

           

9.  We viewed black bears, eagles, owls, falcons, hawks and learnt about the high intellect of ravens at the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre.

 10. We marvelled at the artistry involved in building sand sculptures at the Parksville Sand sculpting competition.  We got to vote for our favourite which was impossibly difficult given the high standard of all the entries.

We could have spent a far greater amount of time on the Island however the time for Mel to return to Australia (and a well earned rest!!) came all too quickly.

We returned to Vancouver to say our farewells and then begin the next chapter of our epic summer vacation.  We hope Mel enjoyed her whirlwind time with us - and that she will relive her first ever holiday abroad over and over again with much joy.

 No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. Lin Yutang