Tahsis really is at the end of the road. And it's no ordinary road. A spectacular drive through to Gold River takes you half way, the rest is along a gravel logging road with steep gradients and no crash barriers. This isn't the usual tourist trail. To make this sort of effort there has to be something worth while at the other end. Few do and we felt conspicuous as we arrived in this tiny hamlet at the end of a long west coast Fjord on Vancouver Island. Tahsis exists because of logging. But there's very little logging on this Island these days and both sorting and saw mills have closed, leaving huge scars on this otherwise beautiful little bay. Really all that's left is a bit of sport fishing as even the commercial trawlers have gone! You get the feeling that this is a dying place, and that people are selling up and leaving. That's certainly the impression I got from speaking to one local in the Beach Cafe.I may be giving a bleak impression of Tahsis but I don't mean to. This place is wonderful and if you want to sample real Canada, with real Canadians then make that effort and drive the logging road. The drive is worth while in itself and if you crave peace and tranquility, breath taking beauty and genuinely the most friendly people that I've come across in a long time then go to Tahsis. Oh and the kayaking is good too. I took my sea kayak up a river and practiced a bit of slalom! The log sorting depot pictured above is at Gold River.
www.KAYAK.im
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