Victoria to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island, May, 2015

Leaving Port Angeles

 

We wanted to travel up the east side of Vancouver Island to Port Hardy. Part of the interest was that Port Hardy was where you can catch a BC ferry to Bella Coola or Prince Rupert, but we will save that for the next trip. We caught the Coho from Port Angeles, and crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria.

Hurricane Ridge and PA in the low clouds.

Victoria Harbor

Chemanius, BC

 We drove to Chemainus, BC, for lunch, then on to Parkville, and stayed the first night at the Quality Inn. This place was under-rated as we had a quiet room with a view of the beach and the Straits of Georgia. Additionally, the food at their restaurant was very good.

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch at Go Go Sushi

                                                                                     

Parkville, BC

Straits of Georgia looking east to Texada Island

Texada Island and the mainland mountains.

Strathcona Provincial Park

Jane's grandparents had photos of Strathcona so we had to go there for a good look. The lodge is only at 1000 feet elevation, so hikes in that area are not too difficult.

Looking south at lakeside below the lodge at Strathcona.

Campbell River

The Spring Salmon were running. In the US, we call them King Salmon or Chinook.

Painters Lodge has charter boats for hire.

April Point

Painters Lodge was full, so they offered us a room at April Point, which is across Discovery Passage on Quadra Island. We took a free ride on their shuttle to April Point Lodge, and met some interesting locals people who were going to April Point for Happy Hour. So, after checking in, we joined Dennis and his wife for some drinks and chat. Dennis was born in Czechoslovakia and raced a CZ in motocross, so we had that in common! He complained about the USA and I complained about Canada, and we had a memorable time.

Shuttle to April Point

April Point thru the skipper's windshield.

April Point Lodge from Discovery Passage

Campbell River from April Point with Strathcona in the distance.

The big mountains in Strathcona Provincial Park.

Telegraph Cove

After a few days at April Point Lodge, we drove up to Port Hardy, and over to Coal Harbor, then went to Telegraph Cove to spend the night. Great spot - good food, and a quiet room for the night.

Our lodgings across the cove from the restaurant and the Whale Museum.

Looking NE out of Telegraph Cove toward the Broughton Archipelago.

Departure to the mainland

We spent out last night on Vancouver Island at the Quality Inn in Parksville, BC, then drove to the big BC ferry terminal at Swartz Bay. We picked this ferry because it goes thru Active Pass on it's way to Tsawwassen, BC, near Vancouver.

Onboard the BC Ferry looking northward into the Gulf Islands.

Active Pass wasn't very active that day.

Opps, spoke too soon! Another big BC ferry heads thru the narrow opening at Active Pass.

Home

It was a long drive back to the border at the Peace Arch, were we found 4 lanes of cars trying to pass thru Customs. Of course, we picked the wrong lane and got a very young and very zealous one. He opened every other cars trunk, and checked everyone's passports, and asked lots of questions, and it took us almost an hour to get thru. I watched the cars that were initially around us pass thru the other lines, and estimated that another 25 cars went thru that were ahead of us (in the other 3 lines). On top of the fact that the Customs sign at the fork in the road (that lets you decide if you want to try truck customs or car only customs) estimated the wait at 5 minutes for the car only and 10 minutes for the truck and car customs. I was peeved. But, I focused on the gasoline in my car's tank, as it was Canadian and didn't have any alcohol in it! We will certainly go back to Vancouver Island, as there were places we didn't get to, and April Point Lodge and Telegraph Cove were well worth returning to.