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Published: June 22nd 2009
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Nanimo to Tofino
Nice drive towards Tofino Hello Everyone!
Sorry that the blog has not been updated recently. It has certainly been a busy and eventful week. I finished up my French program on the 19th of June (which, I am proud to say that I have passed) and then Dad and I headed for Tofino. We started out with a quick grocery shop to pick up some things for our hostel stay in Tofino as we knew that the prices would likely be inflated given the smaller town. Then we caught the ferry and had a great hour and a half ride to Nanimo. From here we had a really exciting car ride up valleys and through mountains for about 5 hours until we reached our final destination in Tofino at a hostel.
On the drive we stopped just before Port Alberni and were able to walk a 45 minute trail through "Cathedral Grove" - this was a fantastic spot for viewing some of the most amazing Cedar's and Douglas's Fir's. These trees were MASSIVE...we have tried our best to capture some pictures showing the perspective but it is one of those things I think that you really need to be there to
soak it all in. This was a really great stop and glad that we did it (so much so that in fact we stopped by for a second visit on our way home).
Finally, in Tofino we were able to set up in our bunkbed (I was on the top, dad on the bottom and two random guys in the other 2 bunks across from us - brought me right back to residence days again) and get some snacks before we hit the hay. The next morning we set out bright and early for my favourite part of the trip so far - WHALE WATCHING!!!! It was absoultely incredible. The zodiac boat that were were on was such a blast, dad and I sat in the front so we took the greatest amount of hits from the swells of water (which were roughly 6-8 feet) and flew around quite a bit. It was a blast! We were very fortunate as we saw 2 humpback whales together and got mighty close during some points (within 30-45 feet) and also saw a group of grey whales in the distance. All in all an AMAZING trip, I have decided that I
am going to have to fly in once a year at least to see these creatures - they really are my favourite.
Later that day we did a scenic drive out to another area to see the Pacific Rim National Park and walk along the beach (Longshore beach). This was a lovely beach with an incredible amount of sand and surfers! It was very windy on this beach but very exciting to see the culture of the surf, which is really really popular around here. After this we did a walk around at another trail and finished off the night with a bag of dill pickle chips and a 9pm spaghetti dinner (cooking in a hostel of 65 people is not friendly).
This morning we headed off bright and early to Uculet (about a 45 minute drive maybe from Tofino) where we saw 3 deer on the side of the road just grazing on grass. They were not afraid of us and we were able to watch them for a few minutes. Really neat to see them so close and in their natural habitat. We saw an amazing coastline here in Uculet as well as several
Cathedral Grove
These were monsters! lots that were up for sale for property (Jos, let's look into these 😉 ). This was a beautiful place.
Lastly, we arrived in Victoria about 7 hours later where we were very fortunate and grateful to have Jos's sister lend us her apartment for the evening. I was able to head down and see her for a bit at her work and then she came by after work. Dad and I watched a movie and ate more spaghetti. He is sleeping now as I type all of this - tomorrow we are planning on meeting up with Alana and then doing another coastal tour! Oh yay!
I hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying all that there is! This trip has opened my eyes to some of the things in this world that I am grateful for and appreciative of as well as those things that I could be more aware of in the lovely Ontario!
With love to all!!
Kerri & Ken!
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