It's been a while I will admit but I finally realized that just because we aren't on our big world adventure anymore doesn't mean we can't utilize this blog to write about our vacations. So although we have missed a few small trips since our big world adventure, no matter, we start again with this latest trip.
The Sunshine Coast of British Columbia has been somewhere Forrest and I had plans to visit during our year off. We never made it then, but we finally took the time to check it out this weekend. Our trip was from Wednesday, September 19 to Sunday, September 23, 2012.
Day 1: Getting to the Sunshine Coast
Forrest met me after work at his Grandma's house. I had just finished my final day of orientation for Bastyr University. We were on the road North by 4 pm. I goal was to make it to Courtenay, BC on Vancouver Island by midnight. We were through the border by 6 pm and at the ferry terminal in Tsawwassen by 6:45. We were aiming to hit the 8:30 ferry and we did it with time to spare. The trip across to Nanaimo takes two hours and from there another hour to Courtenay. If you have ever been on a BC ferry you know how nice they are. The trip between Tsaw. and Nanaimo is beautiful during the day but of course at night we didn't see much. The boat was barely 1/4 full so we had most of the facilities to ourselves.
There are two general routes to get to the Sunshine Coast. One route via Vancouver Island traveling North on the island and then taking a ferry across to the coast and driving South. The second route is to drive North to Vancouver cross the bridge over to West Vancouver and then up to Horseshoe Bay to take the ferry across to the South end of the Sunshine Coast. As you can guess we did the first trip.
We stayed in Courtenay at a Best Western in town. The hotel was clean and the staff very friendly. The lobby and rooms were updated and nice but the outside visage and inner hallways could do with an updating. But we found it very acceptable, especially after a long evening of travel and as we arrived the hotel staff on duty were very friendly and helpful. The hotel comes with a complimentary breakfast which includes both hot options (egg, sausage, etc) and an extensive continental selection.
Day 2: The Sunshine Coast
The next day we woke up, walked around the town center (little shops) and had a tapas lunch at one of the many restaurants. We stopped to get some supplies as it is the last big town before the Sunshine Coast going this end. We drove to the ferry and caught our first in the afternoon.
The first ferry goes form Courtenay (ferry at Comox) to Powell River and takes 1hr and 20 mins. From there it is a 40 minute drive, along some beautiful coastline, to Saltery Bay then an hour trip across to Earl's Cove. Once there we drove for an hour to get to Madeira to stay Stonewater Motel. Small attached apartment houses that were private. Each room is a suite with a kitchen. They were clean and modern and fully furnished with all the amenities afforded a travel hotel. We had picked up some groceries back in Courtenay so we cooked dinner and relaxed preparing for our big day the next day.
Thoughts:
Though mostly travel days the ferrys went through some beautiful waters. The coast is dramatic with towering mountains with mixed mature to old growth forests, lush valleys and quaint coves and bays. There is wildlife everywhere and everyone we have met has been friendly and welcoming. The Sunshine Coast gets half the rainfall of Vancouver, BC and more sunshine. The temperature of the water tends to be warmer than the average for the sound.
I think one of the most interesting things we noticed is that the Canadians seemed to have made a balance between harvesting the vast resources of the region and preserving its beauty. There is logging and strip mining evident as well as oyster and salmon farms BUT they are sporadic and well managed, with what seems to be real thought and planning behind all the industries. The natural areas dwarf these economic endeavors and everyone with economic stake also take care to preserve the aesthetics and ecology. It seems to be a balance that works and the money that is generated is invested in the infrastructure of the province. Perhaps this is why BC has the best ferry system in the hemisphere and if you have travelled BC roads you know how well kept, clean and well lit they are even in some pretty remote areas.
The beauty and sheer scale of everything that we witnessed the second day will be outdone on Friday, the third day with our boat trip to Princess Louisa Inlet. But more to come on that with our next travel blog addition...
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