Thurs. 24th September ’26
After the stressful day of travelling yesterday the plan is to take it easy and explore the town of Tofino as we had been told by more than one source that this is a great place. Our hotel is just south of town on a lovely beach but isolated from everywhere. We started with the harbour, once Dave had mastered the parking App, and discovered that Tofino Air was a thing, albeit a small thing. Still, it is always fascinating to watch a seaplane come in. The gift shop was actually full of decent items (not tat) and the pie shop was a definite find so we had lunch sorted.
Looking at options for a walk we quite fancied a water taxi to Meares Island so we could walk the Big Tree Trail – and because it’s a water taxi! We got to the jetty shown on Google for the water taxi only to find it deserted – but with a phone number to ring. Astonishingly, that worked and three minutes later a small boat arrived, and we were on our way.
The skipper of the taxi was a cheerful and knowledgeable chap and gave us a bit of a tour on our 10 minute taxi ride. First up was an enormous bald eagle nest that had been in use for years and he had seen 27 fledglings born and fly away. Next up was a house on the water used as a recording studio, not a problem upsetting the neighbours as there are none! After a few instructions on the walk and what point to ring for a taxi back we were left on a small jetty. Dave had downloaded the route on AllTrails but the route was also marked with orange ribbons tied to trees to confirm we were on the right route.
The first km was on a rickety Boardwalk winding it’s way through the enormous trees. Apparently, no trees have ever been felled in the forest by humans and some are thousands of years old. When they die and fall down they become a nursery for new trees to sprout from them. It was an incredible sight and as a lady coming towards us said, quite a humbling experience. We just had to stand in front of some of the trees to give an idea of their size.
We had to watch our footing on the Boardwalk as some were lose and others slippery. However once that ended the path was windy, over tree roots, around puddles and sometimes involved climbing over or under fallen trees. Progress was not quick but the trees were all just amazing. It was 4.4 km and took us 2 ½ hours including a lunch stop.
It was a circular walk and the taxi was waiting for us when we got back to the jetty, just as he promised. We had not paid anything yet so he had a vested interest!! We saw less than half a dozen people on the island and it was a great find, just the sort of walk we love, especially sitting on a tree trunk eating a slice of home cooked chicken pie. As we had promised ourselves an easy day we headed back to the hotel and into the hot tub. The forecast had been rain today but we were very lucky and did not get any rain except for a few drops in the hot tub.
After 500 words and a very successful morning you may think we were done, but no. At the far end of the little peninsula is Ucluelet with Amphitrite Point and a lighthouse which looked a promising place for sunset. It was worth the 30-minute drive and we enjoyed the walk around the tip to the lighthouse. It is a stubby little lighthouse to survive the harsh conditions at the point but much needed by the shipping. On the drive back to our hotel we did discuss whether we should have stayed in Ucluelet instead of Tin Wis just south of Tofino. In hindsight, I think we should have as where we were in neither place or the other and so limited in our choice of restaurants and sights to see. It would also have saved 30 minutes driving tomorrow as we will be heading back towards Ucluelet.