The small town of Ucluelet is situated on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It is about a 3 hour drive from the ferry port at Nanaimo, and that combined with journey from Whistler to Vancouver and riding a ferry for 2 hours meant this was our longest journey between places yet. However, it was so much more than worth it because this place is beautiful. The word Ucluelet means “people of the safe harbour” in the indigenous Nuu-chah-nulth language, and you could definitely see why from the calm waters.
Day 1
This was a travelling day for us, so we didn’t really get to see much. The first leg of our journey was from Whistler to Horseshoe Bay in Vancouver to get onto the ferry. The journey out of the bay was really pretty, dad and I went up on top to get the best views which was really fun (if a little windy).
After the 2 hour journey we were unloaded at Nanaimo and continued with our journey. Unfortunately our progress was hampered by some major roadworks being carried out, which caused over an hours delay which wasn’t the most fun way to spend the day but what can you do.
We eventually made it to our accommodation, Water’s Edge Shoreside Suites and, I have to say, it was incredible there. Our apartment looked out into the harbour and we could see all the comings and goings, and there was even a hot tub on the balcony! I felt thoroughly spoiled. The only downside to this place was that Abby and I had to sleep on a sofa bed which wasn’t particularly comfortable but we made it work by laying the mattress on the floor and nicking mum and dad’s mattress topper!
After settling in we headed for dinner at the Cedar Grill. We could tell it was nice because the wait time was 45 minutes! This wasn’t a problem though because it gave us a chance to look around town.We sampled pretty much every food group on the menu – pasta, burgers and pizza and they were all as good as each other. The portions are so big wherever we go so there’s never ny room for dessert, but we have agreed to get an ice cream whilst we are on the island to satisfy our sweet tooth.
Day 2
Our first full day in Vancouver island was definitely that, full of activities! We had breakfast this morning at Zoe’s Bakery which was very quirky, and had the best cinnamon roll with berry compote – a rather unhealthy but very yummy start to the day. And of course the cafe was named after me (I wish) so we just had to go there.
After a filling breakfast we headed over to Jamie’s Whaling Station just next door to get ready for our Whale Watching Tour. I had never seen a whale let alone a wild one and we were all very excited. The boat we were on was called the Princess Chinook, which was pretty fast and could hold about 30 people.
To be honest it took so long to get out to where the whales feed we had all started to get a bit cold and wondered if we were actually going to see any, but then we were interrupted by the spurts of water in the distance and it was at that moment we knew we were going to see some.
It turned out we had found 2 humpback wales, a mother and her calf who swam together. They are such beautiful creatures, they glide through the water so gracefully and when they prepare to dive deeper you get a view of their huge powerful tail lifting out of the water – it was a wonderful experience.
We disembarked the boat back at the dock and moved on to our next destination of the day – the Lighthouse Loop which is part of the Pacific Rim Trail. The 2.6km loop only takes around an hour to walk, but we stopped often to take in the gorgeous views of the rocks and the water. The squat lighthouse on the rocks was so cute, and its backdrop just made the picture perfect.
The walk had made us hungry so we went to the Floathouse (which is actually built on a floating dock) for dinner. For starters we got a free plate of Dickles (deep fried pickles) which I found pretty disgusting but mum and Abby seemed keen. I then had a Chicken Guac Burger which was healthy and satisfying, we all really enjoyed our meal and our day.
Day 3
Unfortunately it was a bit of a miserable start to the morning, with a drizzle drenching everything. However, this meant we were forced to get some washing done which was much needed. We decided to stay in and have breakfast in the apartment before we headed to Tofino for the remainder of the day.
Once we got to Tofino and got our bearings, we looked around some of the quirky independent shops that were dotted about. We stopped for an ice cream from The Candy Jar which, from reading the reviews doesn’t sound very good, but we really our sweet treats. They weren’t cheap but boy were they tasty. I opted for Rocky Road, but there was also Moosefoot (I’m not sure what’s in it either but people rave about it); mint choc chip and salted caramel off of which were given approval by the family.
At 3pm Abby and I had booked to go stand up paddle boarding at Mackenzie Beach, courtesy of Tofino Paddle Surf. We got suited up, and after a mini-lesson we headed out into the water. It just so happened that the day we picked was also the day of some of the biggest swells they had seen in a long time here – people were actually surfing them! For the both of us who had never been on an SUP before, this made it a lot more challenging to get up and stay up but we both managed it!
After an exhausting afternoon out on the water we were starving, so paid a visit to the Tacofino food truck which I had heard good things about. And they weren’t wrong, the fish burritos were so delicious and tasted so fresh – I love my burritos but this one was something else, and I think everyone else agreed too…
Day 4
It was our last night in Vancouver Island, and we were headed off back to Vancouver today. But not before one last excursion – bear watching. We arrived at Jamie’s Whaling Station at 7am, and got suited up in fetching red life suits – it looked like we were going on an Arctic expedition! Under this I had 5 layers of clothing which sounds excessive, but after how cold I got on the boat last time I wasn’t taking any chances – plus this boat went a lot faster!
At 7:30am, we set off. I loved this trip, we saw deer; sea lions; seals; raccoons; eagles and of course bears. It was magical how close we got to some of them , the last one in particular you could actually hear the bear grunting and scraping the oysters off the rocks – it was amazing. In total, we saw at least 6 bears from what we can all remember!
We then had to say our goodbyes to this amazing island and drive back to Nanaimo. These few days were a lot slower-paced than the rest of the holiday and I think we were all grateful for the slight rest.
This post is a little different from other recent posts, I thought I’d try something different. How do you like it? Please let me know, I don’t know whether you prefer more regimented posts or more diary-like posts such as this one. I’d be really grateful for the feedback :).
Happy travelling!
Zoe and David x
Written by Zoe
Not-So-Trendy Travellers 