I write this now, minutes, days and weeks later, depending which edit of this article finally makes it to my editor, and still feel the pull, still wish I had walked on that beach a little further, or gone for that late night dip I had momentarily considered.
I have seen the ocean before, of course. I lived in both Vancouver and Victoria, but that sheltered strip of sea between the mainland and Vancouver Island is a domesticated cousin to the untamed splendour of the beaches on the other side of the island.
If I have one bit of advice for anyone planning a similar trip, it would be this: have the time. Sleep in your car and eat cold bagels for breakfast if you must, but have the time. Get the ocean in your bones, so that even after you leave, the rhythm of the waves washing against your soul remains.
On that first trip, I saw Chesterman Beach and braved the ocean that everyone said was too cold to swim without a wet-suit. It was cold, but as my skin numbed, the air became cool and the ocean warm. My body, like so much driftwood carried and battered about, was washed clean of worries, stripped of any thought but the tang on my lips, the sand in my toes, and the waves wrapping me in frothy hugs for a tumble towards the shore.
On this trip, my wife Chrisy and I flew to Vancouver International Airport from Toronto to begin our holiday. After a quick 30-minute drive south to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, we boarded a ferry to Duke Point near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.
Looking out from the ferry, the sun sparked like a blaze of white light off the ocean as pods of islands swam by with polished stone backs topped with tuffs of grass or trees where the waves couldn’t reach. The vistas only improved as we neared the archipelago on the other side.
A word to the wise: if you are travelling on a summer weekend call BC Ferries ahead of time to reserve a spot on the ferry and save having to wait an extra sailing.
Vancouver Island is about the size of Taiwan so it takes some time to explore. There are several other smaller islands too, each with their own wonders just short ferry trips away, but we were on a quest for the untouched wonders of the west side.
After arriving on the island we took the scenic 19A highway north to Qualicum Beach, the epitome of a Vancouver Island beach town. The town proper is hidden on the hill behind the ocean promenade, a beachfront walkway lined with restaurants and hotels.
It was late afternoon by the time we arrived at the Beuna Vista by the Sea, a wonderful little ocean-front motel just a kilometre past where the promenade proper ends. The beach out here is less groomed than the main stretch, but a bit of seaweed seems a fair price for privacy.
My wife and I walked into the water slowly and were surprised by its warmth. We pushed a large piece of driftwood from the beach into the water and played a child’s game of competing to see who could sit on it the longest. Neither of us made it past five seconds.
Leaving Qualicum Beach with some reluctance the next morning, we made our way west with a short detour into Coombs, a quirky little market town. We popped into one antique store and took a tour that was like a visit to a museum filled with everything from Ostrich eggs, to woven baskets, retro clocks, and more than I can remember.
Coombs’ claim to fame is the Old Country Market, a long log building with a grass roof populated by feeding goats. This brilliant marketing ploy is a testament to the island’s eccentrics, famed for there organic hippy ways.
About an hour later we pulled into Port Alberni, a paper mill town at the head of an ambitious inlet that digs its way halfway across the island.
For a town on an inlet, Port Alberni has a surprising lack of swimming holes. The ocean has no beach and too many boats besides, warned the lady at the tourist booth.
But you can swim at Papermill Dam Park on the Stamp River with gentle slopes for kids, deeper parts for divers and upstream it narrows into rapids that locals navigate like natural waterslides.
But while popular and fun, a tumble in the rapids can also be dangerous, we were told.
“If you get sucked under, don’t kick,” one young man advised Chrisy. “You'll get pushed out downstream but if you fight it, you get stuck under.”
Port Alberni has other attractions including an old steam railway that takes you into the wilderness of the 1930s and to the McLean Mill National Historic Site, but we only had the day and were on an expedition to swim.
We had dinner that night at The Swale Rock Cafe which I heartily endorse. The midway-upscale menu looked inviting but we went with the salmon special preceded by an unadvertised slab of bannock-like fisherman’s bread complete with a dipping dollop of raspberry jam. That plus a heaping appetizer of deepfried zucchini left me filled before the main course arrived, which was unfortunate because the entree was fantastic.
Driving to Tofino the next day along the windy, wooded Highway 4 took us through the famed Cathedral Grove, a hauntingly beautiful old-growth forest with stands of massive Douglas Fir.
From Port Alberni you can also reach the western-most coast by ferry but the boat can be costly and limits your options on the other side.
We stopped at Wally Creek along the way, a little pullout about 50 km outside of Port Alberni. Here the river beside the highway has cut through its solid rock bed leaving fingertips of rock reaching from the water.
We braved the cold water to go for a spectacular swim, dipping and diving through its enticing nooks and pools. Hidden caverns, waterfalls of all dimensions, and cliffs above deep, cold pools, offer almost endless swimming possibilities.
After a four hour drive from Port Alberni, we arrived in Tofino and signed up for a post-lunch surf lesson.
Lunch at an ocean view cafe called Shelter was fantastic. Chrisy said the burgers were the best she’s ever had (we split two). They came with yam fries, a favourite of mine and a popular option in B.C.
After lunch we rushed back to our room at the Pacific Sands Beach Resort on Cox Bay and were pleasantly surprised by the quality, size, and ocean view of our $225 room. We hurriedly changed into our swimsuits and rushed to the lesson with Surf Sisters, one of many surf “schools” in Tofino.
There are several surfing beaches in Tofino to choose from. Some, like famed Long Beach, are in the National Rim Pacific Park where camping is possible. Others, like Cox Bay, are outside the park offering spectacular views and full amenities.
Our $75 two-and-a-half hour lesson, which included wetsuits and boards, was worth it. Even though our instructors arrived late and cut the lesson short, it didn’t matter at all. I spent the last wave dozing on my board while the waves tussled it to shore.
There were about ten people in our class and after a brief explanation on the beach, which included scratching a board in the sand so we could practice paddling and leaping to our feet, we hit the waves—or were hit by the waves. Not everyone got up on their board but many did and even those who didn’t were full of smiles in their efforts.
Surfing is an exhausting and fantastic way to enjoy the ocean and once encased in a wet-suit, you don’t even notice the temperature of the water. The strain of paddling and leaping on your board helps too, making it addictively challenging. For $30-$45 per day you can rent a board and suit from any one of the surf shops in Tofino.
After surfing, a quick change of clothes and we were on the beach in time for sunset.
My camera gobbled up the dreamlike golden scene as waves leapt for the shore and caught yellow droplets of sun in hungry churns. Trees became more spectacular as silhouettes, their mystique revealed as their details disappeared.
There is something about these amazing beaches that you can’t find anywhere else. The water can be cool, but as our surf instructors explained, it is also friendly. There is nothing but sand beneath your feet and the water inches deeper without dropping off.
And unlike warmer locales, there are no poisonous jellyfish or toothy critters to give a swimmer a second thought. There is just this endless sun-drenched ocean and wave after welcoming wave.
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