Ucluelet & Tofino (Vancouver Island, BC)

It has been a very busy past few days. Checked out of the hostel in Victoria just before 7am, and took a Greyhound bus up to Ucluelet — 5 hours north, on the wild west coast of Vancouver Island. The weather has been pretty poor since I arrived, but it's given me great ocean views, with massive swells roaring in from the Pacific Ocean, unobstructed for thousands of miles. I did a complete hike of Ucluelet's west coast, amid the stormy weather and many signs about bears, wolves, and coyotes — and I even bumped into a local who warned me about a "rather large wolf" he just passed a few hundred metres down the track. I didn't manage an encounter myself, but did end up finding a collection of slightly-less-intimidating sea lions who were making a horrendous racket just off the shoreline. I spent a good 20 minutes watching them, finally getting a photo of one leaping out of the water. I finished off my trek out to Amphitrite Point Lighthouse, and made my way back before sundown to complete the 10 kilometre round trip.

I ended up staying in a large cabin in Ucluelet; fireplace, dry kindling and all — with the entire place to myself. Felt rather strange considering none of the doors could be locked, but I certainly wasn't complaining being able to play music undisturbed and having access to a full kitchen without crashing into any other bearded vagabonds. I caught another bus the following day (this time thankfully at a more pleasant 2pm departure), an hour or so further north to Tofino and lucked upon a hostel with fantastic views right on the water, and this time packed with friendly people. Instead of planning the next day, I ended up making a considerable dent in a case of beer, trading stories in front of a fire with 20 or so others until the early hours of the morning. The hostel manager Gary, seems to be quite the character, and organises a gourmet feast for the troops every evening, costing only about 5 bucks a head. On this particular night I ended up with the duty of salad architect, and did the people of New Zealand proud, I'm sure.