Orcas, stunning sunsets and beautiful evenings with friends… Is there anything that sounds better to you? That’s exactly how our last four days went.
Let’s begin with Thursday. We met early for our pickup, got to know the other people that joined the trip to Vancouver Island and started our tour. After a short break at the grocery store – where we bought the necessary goods for breakfast and lunch – we took the Ferry to Vancouver Island and enjoyed the good weather on the deck and played ‘cards against humanity’. The 1.30h ferry ride passed by so fast and we started our journey to Tofino. On our way to Tofino we stopped at three different locations. We went for a hike, saw a waterfall, enjoyed our lunch in the sun and went swimming! Well, not everyone went swimming cause the water was freezing cold, but at least it was refreshing. As soon as we arrived in Tofino we went to a small restaurant and grabbed dinner. At the Hostel we moved into our rooms and went to the pier to watch the sunset 🌅. You would never believe what we saw there! It was an Orca family swimming really close to the pier right into the sunset, that was just unbelievable and truly magical. Afterwards we came together in a nice bar and had great conversations before just falling into our beds after this long and exciting day.
On Friday we had some free time and we were able to book different tours like whale watching, bear watching, kayaking or surfing lessons. All of us booked one of those tours and really enjoyed it. In the evening we met at a restaurant where we started telling all the stories of our eventful day. Back at the hostel we played a few rounds of pool and some card games with the group to top off the second amazing day on the Island.
Saturday morning started early when we headed to Victoria. On the way we made some stops. One of them was Cathedral Grove Rainforest where we saw an 800 year old tree. We also visited the village of Combs with heritage constructions, gift and antique shops. Fun Fact: In the village of Combs goats live on the roofs. At the last stop on our bus ride to Victoria we were at a lake where we jumped into the clear refreshing water. Arriving at the Hostel we ate dinner and strolled through the city. Some of the group went to a bar, the others went back to the hostel for some awesome chats and card games.
The next morning started with a short optional bus tour through Victoria with our guide. The guide gave a lot of interesting historical facts about the city and places to go for our free time in the morning and noon. We definitely used our spare time by visiting the parliament of B.C., Beacon Hill Park (there are a lot of animals e.g. turtles, ducks, deers, squirrels and peacocks) and Chinatown. In Chinatown we ate something and watched the lions parade of a local group with traditional clothing and dances. In the afternoon we headed back to the bus and drove the ferry. At 8 p.m. we arrived in Vancouver and everybody started their way home.
It was such a beautiful weekend. We’re still impressed by the stunning things we were able to see. What did you do on your weekend? Tell us about it next Pub Night 🎉. We hope it was as great as ours.
Cheers,
Anna & Chiara 🙂
our stuff into the cars. 3 cars with 5 people each and then all the camping gear, you can imagine how packed the cars were. We actually had to play Tetris with all the stuff we had to take with us. At around 11am we were finally able to hit the road. It took us a while to get to Vargas Island, but after two car rides, a ferry ride and a trip with a water taxi we finally managed to get to the Island. The sun started to set, and we had to hurry a little bit to build the tents and to get the fire started and then it was time for our first dinner on Vargas Island. We ate burgers, which were really tasty and after that we made some S’mores as you have to when you are going camping. 
It started off Friday morning at Horseshoe Bay from where we took the ferry to Vancouver Island. After a short snack (or better schnack) break, we headed to Nanaimo located on the other side of the island. Even though it rained pretty hard when we arrived in Tofino, everyone was ready and excited for the adventure. So, we packed all our gear for the next two days on a small water taxi boat and after a 15-minute ride, we reached our destination: Vargas Island!
of creative ways. Good side effect of this workout was that we didn’t have to worry about firewood for the night anymore. After lunch, it was time to explore the island. We left our home beach, hoping we could find a hiking trail. What seemed like a trail, made us end up at a cabin that looked like a horror movie scene. We continued our way along some animal traps, under fallen trees and over stones and reached some beautiful spots. After all photo shoots were done, we returned to our basecamp. The sun was out, so we played some games at the beach and the bravest ones of us even went swimming! Later on, we could spot some sea lions passing by our coast. Burgers and potatoes were on the menu for dinner, so we enjoyed those and the beautiful view.
ready to introduce us to the world of surfing! During a three-hour lesson, we learned how to get on the board and catch the best waves. At the end, some even managed to stand on the board like they never did anything else before. It was really fun! After this exhausting morning, we enjoyed lunch in Tofino and evaluated the weekend. Everyone’s favorite moment? Difficult to say, because there were so many good ones. Then, it was already time to head back to Nanaimo, where we took the ferry back to Vancouver.
INTERNeX Canada 