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It's been a watery-old week one way and another. After leaving Victoria, I headed slightly north to the Goldstream Provincial Park, for my first night of
real camping. None of this electricity and water connected directly to the van. No, this was real outside living. Well, apart from the flush toilets and the hot showers in the washroom.
It was a bit of a wet old day when I arrived in Goldstream. Lots of low cloud in the trees. But by late afternoon it had brightened up, and the evening was sunny, if not altogether warm.
Friday (my birthday), I headed off up the east coast. I stopped briefly for a bit of a sunbathe in the East Sooke Regional Park, and then carried on up the Pacific Coast to French Beach Provincial Park. Another "proper" campsite - unfortunately this time without the flush toilets and hot showers. Spent the afternoon lazing on the beach.
Saturday, I headed further up the Pacific Coast, stopping at Mystic Beach & China Beach, and planning to overnight in Port Renfrew. However, the campsite that I was planning to use has shut down (even if its website is still active...), and the
Railway Bridge
Good old fashioned railway engineering - Goldstream Provincial Parkonly other choice in town wasn't entirely to my taste: the smoldering car wreck in the campsite somewhat put me off. So I headed off over the mountains to Lake Cowichan.
Lake Cowichan is the second largest lake on Vancouver Island (or so my guidebook tells me: it doesn't actually say what the largest lake is though). I spent three nights in the Lake Cowichan area. One night at Beaver Lake, one night at Gordon Bay, and one night at Lakeview. Lots of walks around the lake including a long one through the Cowichan River valley along the disused railway line.
Today, I left Lake Cowichan and headed east again, crossing back to the East Coast of Vancouver Island - quick detour via Cowichan Bay and Maple Bay, and I'm now in Osbourne Bay - just outside a town called Crofton. It's all very beautiful as long as I don't look north to the wood processing factory. Spending tonight here, and then heading off to Nanaimo tomorrow - Vancouver Island's second city - for a couple of days of luxury (of sorts)!
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