September 16, 2024 3:29 p.m.
We headed to the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve to hike in the rainforest, walk on the endless beaches, and hopefully swim in the North Pacific.
Driving to Tofino, BC by night
Our journey started by taking our swimming gear with us on the plane to Victoria, BC. Once arrived at the airport, we walked to the muster point located outside the terminal to ride a shuttle van to take us to the car rental office. We picked up a black BMW X3 and started our journey to Tofino, BC.
The drive was around five hours long through congested roads on a Friday afternoon, then evening to reach Tofino, BC through Nanaimo, BC then Port Alberni, BC. Even though we were driving in Vancouver Island, BC, there were only the car lights, and nobody could tell whether the sea was close or not. There wasn’t any noise on the road and in the surroundings except the sound of the car engine.
We arrived at the guesthouse late, around 11 p.m. We parked the car and walked in the dark to where we were directed to pick up the key then walked to our suite in complete darkness. The only light we had was our cellphones’.
A first attempt to go to the beach
We started our hiking journey with the rainforest trail to get a sense of how a rainforest looks like in North America, The forest was so dense so you could walk in the shade of ancient cedar trees like the one on the picture. This particular trail didn’t have access to the beach. But to discover our first beach, we went to Wickaninnish Beach, where we discovered the intertidal seafloor during the low tide. It was our first experience discovering what the North Pacific could hide during intertidal time. We then extended our visit to the area by hiking the South Beach Trail and visiting the Kwisitis Visitor Centre where we discovered intertidal species, how aboriginal peoples used to wisely use the natural resources of the area depending on each of the year’s seasons, their bravery and sense of responsibility dealing with the natural elements, and their clever and wise footprint on the environment.
Discovering Ucluelet, BC
Our third day of adventure was dedicated to nearby Ucluelet, BC. We started our journey by hiking the Wild Pacific Trail with its two portions. We first did the loop around the lighthouse. This trail didn’t allow us to have real access to a beach since it gave very beautiful views of the sea through majestic cliffs. We headed after to the second portion which was located in the middle of the ancient rainforest with also very nice views of the sea through rough cliffs throughout the trail.
After the hikes, we drove to the local aquarium where we knew that the species present in the aquarium were kept temporarily then released back in the sea. Other specimens were then brought to replace them. It was a delightful surprise for us to visit an aquarium that cared about a sustainable environment.
We finished our visit to Ucluelet, BC by having a tour of the harbour which water was surprisingly clean compared to water in any harbour elsewhere.
A full day of rain
Monday, August 26 was a rainy day in the Tofino, BC area. All our outdoor activities were postponed to the next day. The exception was to drive to the fresh seafood shop to buy some fresh seafood. Our pick was some fresh Chinook salmon, and a few scallops that we cooked in our guesthouse.
The rest of the day was dedicated to preparing the next hikes and beach discoveries, and contemplating the rain drops run on the roof of the building from the window.
A cold and humid day following a day-long rain
Even though we had our share of outdoors by hiking the Tonquin Trail and discovering Tonquin Beach and Middle Beach, we weren’t able to swim as the sea was cold so was the beach. We decided then to give swimming in the North Pacific another try the next day. We were left with two days remaining in our holiday to the Pacific Rim.
Finally, an acceptable day to swim
The day before we left Tofino, BC, we had our last chance to swim in the North Pacific. We headed to Willowbrae and Halfmoon Bay area. We hiked both trails then used the exceptionally long stairs through the rainforest to get to the beach. And guess what? After a walk on the endless Florencia beach, we finally swam in the North Pacific!
The water was certainly cold, but our determination was so strong that we overcame any sensation of cold and behaved as if it was just the Caribbean Sea. The water was so clear that it gave you the desire to try it irrespective of the cold. A significant difference though was when you get out of the water, you could barely return to it because of the risk of hypothermia even though the temperature on the beach was fairly acceptable.
I was so excited to swim that day that I forgot to leave my glasses on the beach and lost them in the sea after being surprisingly hit in the face by a guilty wave!
After the swim, we walked back to the parking lot through the rainforest and drove back to the guesthouse. Needless to say that it wasn’t me driving since I had to stay without glasses for that day and the day of our return to Calgary, AB.
Time to return to Calgary, AB
The last day, Thursday, August 29, we first hiked Combers Beach Trail as a farewell to the Pacific Rim and had the last pictures of the low tide taken on the beach.
We then drove back to Victoria airport to bring back the BMW X3 to the car rental parking lot and drop its key in the drop box since the office was already closed. That caused us to miss the last ride to the airport just a few minutes after 5 p.m. We had no choice but to take the (delayed) bus to the airport after our two unsuccessful attempts to secure a three-minute drive by Uber or taxi to the airport. Anyway, we were on time to catch our flight back to Calgary, AB!
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