Exploring Tolfino's Rain Forests, Beach Walks, and Tidal Pools - Vancouver Island

Tofino, BC (52 degrees, misty rain, grey skies)

Garden walk leading to beach

Our most challenging road as fulltime RVers lied ahead as we traveled from Nanaimo to Tofino across Vancouver Island. We had read there was an 18 percent grade upon approaching Ucluelet, but it didn't prepare us for how narrow and windy the roads would be or that a huge mountain was on one side and a very large lake far below was on the other. John and Barry were amazing and I think they really enjoyed the challenge. I tried hard to keep my mouth shut and not scream. We arrived without a scratch and the boys had big smiles on their faces.

Tofino, our home for five days and was once a remote outpost and hippie town. Now it's a resort town with first class surfing, great restaurants, and is especially known for storm watching. It' must be quite an event to see huge waves crash ashore during winter storms. Here are a few photos taken from a Tolfino website. We have heard the waves can crash over the lighthouse.

Barry and Jann's site

Crystal Cove Resort and Campground is our new home. It's beautifully landscaped with full hook ups.  Sites are tight to get into but after tackling the road here it seemed like a piece of cake. 

Jimmy, Jann and me

This beautiful tree was next to Barry and Jann's site. We found out this "hobbit cave" is caused by the tree initially starting to grow on a fallen log. The new seedling starts to grow around the dead log (called a nurse tree) and eventually the fallen log rots and disappears and this "cave" is formed. Isn't nature amazing.

Our resort is beautifully landscaped and has it's own calm beach. We liked this place very much. The free Starbucks coffee in the morning sure was nice too.

Beach at resort

In the late afternoon on our only blue sky day we suddenly saw some islands enveloped in a huge fog bank. It was really breathtaking to watch and only lasted a little while. In our previous post our zodiac boat went by these islands.

Fog Bank

The next morning we drove out to the visitor center and got some information from a ranger about the Pacific Rim National Park.  It's a huge park with a very extensive trails system in Tofino and Ucluelet.  We decided to hike the Wild Pacific Trail and it starts at a lighthouse in Uclulet and runs along the coast and thru a rain forest (approximately 2 miles round trip). We saw some dramatic coastal scenery and our guidebook told us to be careful during a storm or you might be plucked off.  Wow! There can be some crazy surf here but it was pretty tame during our hike. 

Lighthouse in the distance

In the afternoon we chose the Rain Forest Trail. This took us within minutes into a quiet old growth forest filled with ferns, plants, and huge trees. The entire time you walked on an elevated boardwalk. It was magical but a little scary to navigate. At one point,  I missed a step and fell off. My fall was cushioned by a huge pile of soft ferns and leaves. It made for a soft landing and only my pride was injured. 

Tide pooling is my new favorite hobby and Barry found a great beach (South Chesterman) for us to explore, It was very easy to get close to all the action. The Sea Stars were huge and very colorful and we saw huge piles of mussels and lots of  unknown things. The anemones were seen in and out of the water and my favorite.

Slot Canyon (check out my awesome waders)

Razor Clam

John and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary while here.  I love him so much and some of our best years together have been as fulltime RVers. He is such a blessing in my life. 

So, we are now on our way traveling across Vancouver Island and back up the 18 percent grade.  Oh boy!  Then we will head north on the east side to Campbell River for a few days of relaxation and maybe some whale watching. Say a little prayer for us as we drive the tricky road again.  :)

My favorite picture of John

J  

Wild Ride - Zodiac Tofino Boat Tour

Tofino, BC (52 degrees, chilly, grey skies)

Steller Sea Lion

Traveling by a zodiac boat along over 70 miles of Tofino coastline was a thrill. Adventure Tofino offered a 7 hour trip which takes you by numerous tiny islands, abundant sea life, and even a remote hot springs. We loved it!

We dressed up like lobsters in these suits for the journey. They had life jackets built into them and kept us mostly warm and dry.  There were only six of us and our captain Tim. He was terrific and really tried his best to show and explain to us a  lot about the wildlife and the islands. 

We passed a lighthouse which is still manned due to the treacherous seas.  During the winter Tim said there is a zip line to transport supplies to them. The seas here can get very high.

We were delighted to see Tufted Puffins swimming

Check out this Harbor Seal 

Harbor Seal - what a cutie

Tim took us to an island which had a huge colony of Steller Seals.  These are the largest eared seals and are rather smelly but so cool to watch. Some of them were barking and carrying on quite loudly.

Seal Love

Only three times a month the tides cooperate and allow Tim to go back to a waterfall.  We lucked out and picked one of those days.

Boat dock at Hot Springs Cove

Our last stop was the Hot Springs Cove in Maquinna Marine Provincial Park. It's only accessible by boat and a very pretty place. After docking we hiked about 1 1/2 miles on a board walk through an old growth forest.

Boardwalk trail leading to hot springs

At the end of the hike was a natural hot spring with several soaking pools. It was a bit of challenge to get into them but it was worth the effort.

Barry enjoying a very hot "shower"

Jann and me

Map of our route (does not include waterfall sidetri

We went back a different way back to Tofino

Barry getting the perfect shot

It was a 5 star day!