Sun. 20th September ‘26
Whilst this trip (definitely not a holiday) has been full-on, we haven’t had many absolute deadlines. The closest we’ve had have been governed by the rising and setting of the sun (thinking of you Moraine Lake). Today we have a ferry to catch and so we need to be at the Horseshoe Bay ferry port, just north of Vancouver, by around 12:30 for our 1:25pm ferry over to Vancouver Island where we’ll spend the last week of our stint in Western Canada.
Claude says that if we make a prompt start, we have time for one or perhaps two stops on the way to the port. We try our best, but there is always something to do on the blog or some admin to catch up on and it is 9:30 by the time we are ready to checkout. It turns out not to have been early enough a start.
The ‘train wreck in the forest’ is an obvious stop, especially as it is described as “seven boxcars from a 1956 derailment, dragged into the forest and now covered in vivid graffiti art, reached via a suspension bridge over the Cheakamus River. Quirky and very photogenic.” All well and good but it is a 30min hike out from the car park and that is before we start playing taking photos. Our photo club has an Urbex (Urban Exploration) challenge coming up next month – and other than being in the middle of the forest, this fits the bill perfectly!
There is lots of fun to be had trying to get a meaningful composition either of the brightly graffitied trains or juxtaposing trains and the forest or nearby stream. For a time we have the place almost to ourselves, but then a tour group of kids arrive and they immediately start climbing on roofs and doing selfies. Clearly a hint that we should be moving on! We had hoped to be able to visit either Mamquam Falls (2.3km walk) or Shannon Falls (1km) but time has got away from us, especially as we need to fill up with petrol.
As we get closer to Vancouver, the traffic starts to build and we are just not able to make up time. Even our plan to stop at a bakery for some lunch provisions has to go out of the window. Missing our ferry would not be a good idea. On a more positive note, we are driving down the north side of the Vancouver peninsula and as we go past Squamish, we are reminded of our seaplane ride on our first full day. My, that seems like some time ago.
I’ve heard that life in the army consists of a lot of “hurry up and wait”. Well, ferries are like that too. After our somewhat stressful drive to Horseshoe Bay, we are in good time for check in, but then immediately join a multi-lane queue of cars where we sit and wait. And wait. Whilst the check-in and waiting for the ferry is familiar from our Brittany Ferry trips to Spain, BC Ferries cuts it much closer. Just 10 minutes prior to departure time, we drive on to the ferry. It is only a 1hr40 crossing to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and the only excitement is when the captain announces over the tannoy that there may be humpback whales visible off the port side. I draw the straw to break out my long lens and go investigate, but not a sign. We are hoping to see whales whilst we are on the island. Fingers crossed.
We have a week here on the island. Everyone we have spoken to about it says that it is a real highlight of any trip. Our starting point is Campbell River about 2/3rds of the way up the east coast and as far north as we are planning (have the time) to go. Here we are hoping to see salmon leaping and bears – and preferably both together – but we shall see. The first job is the hour and a half drive up from Nanaimo and we are quite tired by the time that we get to our Airbnb apartment. With one of our two days here taken up with a much-anticipated grizzly bear viewing tour, we don’t have time to linger though, we need to be up and sightseeing.
Along with waterfalls, one of the sights that we have found fascinating as we have travelled are cemeteries (again, have a search in the blog). They often have much to tell about local customs and practice. Near the apartment is a cemetery dedicated to First Nation people and it contains a strange mix indigenous and Christian symbols – totem poles and crosses standing side by side. Photos have to be taken especially as golden hour approaches!
We are tired after the drive, but we are also hungry and don’t want to have to work out how to cook anything in a strange kitchen. So, after catching our breath, it is up and out, down to the harbour to see how sunset looks – as per Claude’s instructions for the day (he is such a slave-driver!). What we find is a full harbour with both commercial fishing boats and leisure craft with the still water in the harbour catching some of the colour in the sky as the sun sets. Not a bad end to the day after the stress of driving.