On Friday morning, 21 of us started the weekend with a drive to Horseshoe Bay north of Vancouver. There, we caught the ferry over to the island.
After a 1,5-hour ferry ride, we arrived in Nanaimo and drove to our first stop of the day, Coombs Market. With vendors and farmers selling their food there, it is the perfect opportunity to get local produce and product directly from their small shops. But the best part of the market were the goats, that roam around on the roofs of the stores and enjoy the great weather.
We continued our journey to the Little Qualicum Waterfalls where we had a quick stop to move our legs and take a few pictures.
The western coast on Vancouver Island is known for beautiful sandy beaches and is often called the „Hawaii of Canada“. Although it was a little foggy around the beach, it was very obvious how beautiful the landscape is. We stopped at Long Beach near Tofino where movies and TV shows like Twilight have been filmed.
In the late afternoon, we reached the campground where we set up our tents, got dinner, and enjoyed the rest of the evening at the beach under the stars.
The next morning started with whale watching for a few of us. In a boat we drove along the coast of Vancouver Island and saw many animals like otters, seals, and some whales. It was a really cool experience, and we had a lot of fun.
After a short lunch break, I walked over to Tonquin Beach where I hiked through the forest and enjoyed some quiet time in nature.
In the afternoon, some of us went surfing. We booked a surf lesson at a local surf shop and learned some new skills. It was a lot of fun and many of us were pretty successful in standing on the board and catching some waves.
Sunday morning, we packed up our camping gear and drove to the lighthouse in Ucluelet. Since it was pretty foggy in the morning, we could hear the foghorn. While the fog was slowly disappearing, we hiked along the coast for a bit and then looped back to the bus. The view of the ocean was incredible and the nature surrounding it was beautiful.
After a short lunch break at a taco stand, we departed the coast and made our way back to Nanaimo. On the way, we stopped at Cathedral Grove, which is a forest of over 800-year-old Douglas firs. Walking around those trees is pretty impressive and it’s incredible to see ancient trees survive and thrive for this long.
After a quick stop at a beach, we drove back to the ferry which transported us safely back to Vancouver.
All in all, the Tofino camping trip was pretty spectacular, and it was a great opportunity to explore Vancouver Island a little more. Although I was happy to sleep in my bed again on Sunday, the three days were a lot of fun and packed with many adventures. I can’t wait to go camping again next year.
Written by Kira Schreiter. Photos courtesy of ©Kira ©Elia
