West

It is the classical trip to the western Canada: Flight to Vancouver, a visit of the wild coast of Vancouver Island followed by a round trip through the national parks of the Rocky Mountains. Many tourists also take the ferryboat through the Inside Passage to Prince Rupert and approach the parks from the north. We chose the southern route through the valleys of Fraser and Thompson River. Rather non-classical, our trip ends in Calgary.

We spend three days in Vancouver, the only big city on the west coast of Canada. Then we take the ferry to Vancouver Island and visit Victoria, the “British” capital of British Columbia. It is here at the Mile Zero Marker where the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH), with 7,000 kilometers the third longest road connection in the world, begins. We continue northwards via the Kinsol Tresle (a huge wooden bridge construction) and the cities of Duncan (city of totems) and Chemainus (city of murals).

At Parksville the only main road to the west coast turns off; at Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park two magnificent waterfalls are waiting for us. The road – a dead end – finally ends in Tofino in the Pacific Rim National Park. Here, the Pacific Ocean rages at Long Beach where hundreds of tree trunks pile up on the beach. Our way back follows the same road; this time we stop at MacMillan Provincial Park where we admire an 800 years old Douglas fir at Cathedral Grove. The last night before going back to the mainland we spend in Nanaimo, the second largest city on the island.