my new home Victoria

Getting Here

It takes approximately an hour and a half to travel from the Vancouver ferry terminal to Vancouver Island, at the southern tip of which, is the beautiful city of Victoria.

The ferries are fast and pretty nice inside with lots of food choices and you can walk around or go outside and enjoy the view going through the smaller islands.

Fig2. B.C. Ferries

Click here to see more pictures inside the
ferry and from the deck of the ferry.

Fig1. ferry routes

For less than $50 you drive your car right onto the ferry, park it and go to the upper decks for the rest of the ride. Just before you reach your destination, there is an announcement and you return to your car while the ferry docks. Then you drive off and it's all easy as pie.

April 2001 Trip to Vancouver

Click here to see some great shots of the Vancouver Coastline from our visit to Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium, where the resident killer whale, Bjossa soaked us but good. Here's a picture of our hair styles, courtesy of Bjossa, an Icelandic orca who was shipped to Sea World in San Diego the week after we got to see her, after 21 years in Vancouver. So we felt lucky to get to see her at all. Now the aquarium that started it all, back in the 1960's will carry on without any more captive whales. Oh the times, how they are a-changing.

Getting Here Faster

Another good way to get to the island is to fly in on one of Harbour Air's float planes. They land right on the water and taxi into the downtown district's famed Inner Harbour.

Another air alternative is to travel via helijet aboard one of their helicopters.

Of course there is a "normal" airport too, but
that's too boring to give details on... isn't it?

Hiking around the lsland...
East Sooke Park Hike

My first island hike - fairly easy and relaxed hike toward the ocean from cliffs above and then going down to the shore and crossing over the frigid waters to a very small islet via a tree trunk or log that was wedged between the shore and the islet.

Fig3. East Sooke Park shoreline

Fig4. East Sooke Park signage

Collected some rocks, quite a few white ones, from the shoreline and marveled at the moss covered giant cedars and other ancient vegetation on the hike.

Rustic facilities and well cared-for trails on this relaxed and easy hike.

GoldStream Hike

There is a lot to do and see around GoldStream Provincial Park. It's a major salmon spawning ground, major eagle sanctuary, lots of hiking in all directions, hiking up Finlayson Mountain and Niagra Falls Hike which leads to this trestle bridge pictured.

We walked across this and as it was my first time walking across a train trestle, naturally I heard a train (typical newbie imagination) faintly in the not-too-far-off distance, and that was scary as the trestle is too long to run off of in time to beat a train and very high. Calculated estimates based on number of seconds for a rock to hit the stream (5.5) at the bottom put the trestle's height at approximately 375 feet.

The trails are steep but in good condition, making this hike fairly difficult but well worth the effort.

Fig5. train trestle in Goldstream area

The trestle sure reminded me of the movie "Stand By Me" a lot and it was exciting, scary and fun to be on it and experience that. Of course AFTER you know who told me the train had already gone through for the day, I wasn't nearly as nervous.

Lots of moss-covered ancient trees, some over 500 years old, a nice visitor center that even offered a telescope for viewing eagles.