Day 2: Vancouver Island - Kayaking / Vancouver
We woke up from our pretty Airbnb place, and we realised how much of a view it had from the living room! It was actually looking out into the sea from a quiet and nice neighbourhood. It’s a pity that we couldn’t spend more time here at this accommodation, which also boasted a huge Jacuzzi bathtub.
We drove out to get breakfast and packed a set of lunch, as we were going for our Kayaking tour. Vancouver Island is a REALLY HUGE island and we were just doing it disservice by only staying 1 night. There are multiple famous national parks here that we had to (sadly) forgo. Among the list of things to do in the very limited time we had, we picked Kayaking as it involved some wildlife spotting and was quite interesting too.
Jan (from Adventuress Sea Kayaking) was a very experienced kayaking guide that got us fully equipped (from dry bags, to kayaking equipment, to wet shoes, to spray skirts), and her knowledge of the area and the wildlife were immense. We had such a great fun day out in the water, and kayaking around Mistaken Island.
The best thing was, we came up close with sea lions and harbour seals, as well as spotted bald eagles and other birds. Wildlife spotting was something that I was looking forward to before the trip, as it seems to be rather common to spot wild animals in Canada! We docked at an island and had our packed lunch there, before kayaking back to Vancouver Island. It was quite a refreshing experience to kayak overseas and see Vancouver Island and around, from the water. (We did it from the air last evening.)
After the tour ended, we only had time to head back to Skydive Vancouver Island to collect our skydiving videos, before returning our car and returning to mainland Canada. Gord was very nice and helpful, by suggesting a change in the route that we had planned during our upcoming road trip a few days later. [However, we eventually stuck to our less scenic original plan, due to time constraints.] Leaving the office of Skydive Vancouver Island, I knew I would miss those guys there, and I reminded myself that I would write them good reviews when I’m back home.
The 7pm ferry back to downtown Vancouver gave us another nice sunset view from the Strait of Georgia, ending the Vancouver Island segment pretty well. Not sure if I’d be back ever again, but if I am, I will definitely cross the strait again to Vancouver Island to visit other parts.
