This has been a more gentle day! After a wet night and early morning, we set off from the campsite a bit before 9.0am driving for about half an hour before we turned off to Smugglers Cove. A delightful twisty country road, through forest (of course!!) until we reached the cove at a dead end.
A local resident told us about a path we could take to get another view, a short walk up the lane then through some woodland. It came out in an even more secretive cove, we could just imagine smugglers using it!
There was a lot of frilly very pale lichen in this area....
We had quite a long wait, but once on board it was about 40minutes across to Saltery Bay, we then drove up the coast ( but you can't see it for most of the way because of the trees!) to Powell River where we had reserved a place at the Willingdon Beach campsite. A delightful spot right on the shore, just what I needed after many days of forest sites.
So, that's all for now!!
Then we were off across the ocean once again, this time the distance was almost 40km and it took one hour and twenty minutes. The ferry was much older than the previous ones, with not much space to sit outside, however Michael went outside while I stayed in and read the paper on my IPad.
Approaching Vancouver Island
Looking back towards the mainland
Total km today 142 plus the ferry
It was growing/existing abundantly on rocks and mossy places for a few miles as we drove out and up the coast.
After a food shopping and coffee stop at Madeira Park at Pender Harbour, we drove up to Earls Cove, the ferry terminal. A much more relaxed affair than Horsehoe Bay, and we discovered we did not have to pay as our Horsehoe Bay fare covered this one!
This scenery so reminds me of Norway, except there are more trees here.
After an enjoyable beer (my first this holiday) sitting in the sunshine, taking in the view, we walked along the coastal path into the town, a matter of a few minutes.
We needed some money, I had tried in Madeira Park only to have access denied twice, then we tried again at the Bank of Montreal in Powell River, still no joy for either Michael or me using our Visa debit cards. A very helpful member of staff tried to assist us, but said that they didn't do Visa only MasterCard, and that debit cards were only just being introduced! Eventually M used his MasterCard credit card, but we were still flummoxed. So, after wandering around this lower area of Powell River we hiked up the steep hill to the Scotia Bank the bank lady had told us about. Hey presto, that ATM had a Visa sign on it as well as Cirrus, Link etc, and it worked!! I was almost in despair, as to phone my bank would cost £1a minute!! I couldn't understand the problems as my card had been accepted in the ferry and to top up my phone, and I had'nt received a fraud alert text.
We are now just sitting here with a drink enjoying the first decent sunset of the holiday.
Tuesday 20th September
We woke to a lovely morning, calm sea, ferries and trawlers plying the water. Unfortunately I didn't get out of bed early enough to photograph the pink morning light, but it was still nice when I did!
After breakfast we saw a couple of sea otters , one came very close to the shore, I got a picture, but it's not very good!
We packed up at a leisurely pace and left the site at about 9.30am. Our ferry wasn't until 11.50, but we drove the five or so minutes to the terminal, paid the fare and parked up. We had a walk into town and found a place called Basecamp for a very good coffee and Internet. Once we had caught up on everything we walked a little further up the main street, looking a a bakers, to no avail. I did find a very nice shoe shop, but I restrained myself!!!!
Back to the ferry, passing the marina where I took a photo for Ann-Marie and Mick, but it's rather a long way for them to sail here!!
Leaving Powell River......by the way does anyone else remember learning about this place in geography? It was one of the worlds largest suppliers of paper at one time, providing paper for 1in 25 newspapers. Apparently it supplies quality paper now.
The ferry arrived 10km from Comox on the west coast about half way up the island. We drove south for about an hour, along the old main road which hugged the coast, so we had some lovely views across bays and along the shore. At one point I was very surprised to see several white tailed deer mowing someone's lawn, very close to the shore! After this we turned west onto Highway 4, towards Port Alberni. On the way we stopped to look at Cathedral Grove. This is an area of huge trees, some 800yrs old, some dating from 350 years ago when there was a large fire. It was phenomenal!!! Real rain forest, trees covered in moss, epiphytes hanging down and ferns galore, all with the sun shining through the canopy. Hope these pics will give you an idea.
We the drove on through Port Alberni (sorry Frank, we didn't stop at your Steam Punk Cafe, maybe on the way back!) to look for a campsite at Sproat Lake Provincial Park. We found the turning ok, but then decided to explore further down the road where a marina and RV park was advertised. 6km later down a proper country lane we came to the Central Lake "Resort". The lake looked beautiful, but we weren't so sure about the RV park, so turned round and came back to Sproat Lake, where we are parked in the trees, with no sign of a lake! A real contrast from yesterday! However it is fine for the night.
Tomorrow we are going to the Pacific Rim National Park and are booked in at the Parks Canada site at Long Beach for two nights. We know we will be in the trees, but there is good access to the beach, which, I understand, is wild. Ucluelet and Tofino will be the main ports of call.....and I would like to go I a boat trip.....
Wildlife: sea otters, gulls, loony, white tailed deer.
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