In January 2013 I moved to Vancouver, Canada and I lived there for two years.  In that time various trips to Vancouver Island were had.

One of the towns that BC Ferries sail to is Nanaimo which is a pretty small  but bonny town.  From there I took a short boat trip to Newcastle Island which had no shortage of wildlife including raccoons, bald eagles, deer and wood peckers!

Over on the west coast Ucluelet and Tofino have to be visited.  The drive over there is beautiful with lots of mountain views and lakes to visit.  Also the massive trees at Cathedral Grove are just magnificent. The beaches between Ucluelet and Tofino aver very well known for surfing and I had my very first lesson here which I absolutely loved and I actually managed to stand up very briefly which I was pretty chuffed about.  Surfing is definitely on my re-to do list!  Tofino itself is a lovely little tourist town in a picturesque setting.

Victoria, the capital of BC, is a fun little city to explore and the BC legislature building is pretty stunning although the way it is lit up at night is not to my taste.  The beaches north of Victoria on the east coast are worth checking out too.  They don’t compare to their western island counterparts but worth a visit all the same.