It's nearly time to leave Tofino and head north to the wilder half of Vancouver Island. We've spent 10 days here and of course it's our second visit to Tofino. This must mean that we like it and we do. Tofino is great. It enables any of us to reach out and taste that little bit of wilderness and yet remain in touch with our Western luxuries. Within a few minutes you can paddle through the Clayoquote Sound into silence, a silence disturbed only by the plop of a leaping fish, the cry of a bald eagle or the grunt of a black bear. And yet you can still be home in time for an a la carte meal with the best wines in your 5 star lodge hotel. Then there's the raw power and ferocity of the Pacific Ocean to the west. You can paddle straight out through the painful and smothering dumping waves into the vast ocean, only interrupted by rocks and lighthouse clad islands. But always keep an eye over your shoulder here as the open Pacific can quickly catch out the unwary. Even this can be eased into by paddling from Tofino in the shadow of the larger off shore islands such as Vargas and Wickininish!Tofino is easy instant access wilderness with the discomfort removed. It can be as safe as you want it to be with easy novice trips and a host of professional guides at hand. Everyone is laid back, friendly and accommodating as has been our hotel, the Long Beach Lodge, who said nothing about me keeping an often wet sea kayak in my room for the last 10 days. They have been excellent and we thoroughly recommend them.
We're off to Campbell River next.
www.KAYAK.im
1 comment:
Man. You sure picked the right place! I got up to clayoquot sound last week and aside from the constant power boat traffic, it's a pretty special place. I pulled into a little bay on Vargas island, and hundreds of fish passed under my boat as I pulled into the beach. Not a single city sound, just the wind, an ancient volcano on the horizon and birds. I'll be back again and again as well. Hard to put a place like this into words, eh?
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