Sunday August 2nd
Rhona, Angus and I headed off on the Wild Pacific trail early this morning: great sea views, with mist rolling through wooded offshore islands, black sand beaches covered with driftwood and weirdly weathered trees arching and snaking inland. With bear, elk and avalanche warnings now commonplace, today’s roadsigns cheerfully informed us that we were in a Tsunami zone. People come here precisely to watch the savage winter storms and this coastline has seen more shipwrecks than you’ve had hot dinners. A beautiful start to the day!
Fortified by cinnamon and raisin toast with – you’ve guessed – maple syrup, we headed off through the Pacific Rim National Park to Tofino, home to whale watchers, surfers and more souvenir shops than Carnaby Street. The weather changed by the minute – threads of mist pouring off the sea and bringing a cold chill one minute, sun pouring in to burn off the mist and reveal beautiful wooded islands in the bay the next. We spent a very pleasant time wandering the shore, eating fish and chips, visiting art galleries and doing some essential souvenir shopping.
On our return we stopped off at the Tofino Botanical Gardens, a splendid mix with everything from vegetable gardens, gazebos and frog ponds; birdhides overlooking mudflats and boardwalks through the rainforest.
