Nanoose Bay, Vancouver Island, Canada

Vancouver Island suffers far less from the temperature extremes experienced in most other regions of Canada.  It also has forests, farming, gorgeous scenery and a large coastline that is absolutely fabulous. It is little wonder that it is a favourite place for Canadians to retire to.

Our good friends Ron (Exchange Teacher 1981) and Linda live near the South East coast of the island, giving us easy access to the many places to visit.  I will explain the photos as way of describing our adventures.

Sailing is a big part of Ron and Linda’s lives, and we have been fortunate to share several days on the boat.  Sailing amongst some of the dozens of islands along the coast, we took turns at the helm before taking shelter for the night at the small cove pictured. Also shown is a picture of us sharing a meal of crabs. The other boating picture is the local marina.

The Goats On the Roof is the name of a tourist shopping market (for reasons apparent in the photo) on the way to some of the oldest remaining rain forest along the eastern coast at Cathedral Grove.

Further south we visited a wooden trestle( railway bridge) recently renovated to be part of a hiking trail crossing Canada. At 44m and 188m long it is one of the largest wooden trestle in the world.

On our return journey we called into Chemeinus, now well known for the many murals decorating buildings in the township. Most depict such things as historical events, industries, and significant people and events that relate to this coastal town.

Yesterday we had a day out with Betty Anne (Exchange Teacher, 1995) and Doug who live in the nearby town of Nanaimo. The picture of Betty Anne and Kaye was taken near a local beach. Typically beaches do not have the nice clean white sand that we are so used to, and most are also littered with wooden logs that have broken free of the barges that tow them in large numbers to the local mills. 

Deer are common all around the island, and while they are cute critters, not everybody appreciates the pruning that they do to their gardens.