Sarah & Co

The most anticipated event of the calender year (after the shift across country I guess) was finally upon us! I picked Sarah, Suzannah, Jack and Isabella up from the Vancouver ferry on the 4th.  It was absolutely fabulous to see them all and much hugging and teary welcoming later we headed for

home. The kids were VERY excited to see their big cousins and set about keeping them awake until a suitable bed time.  The squirrel we feed put on a good show, as did the humming birds. We spent a couple of days recovering from the jetlag and the excitement by hanging out around home, eating fudgesicles, doing some shopping (a few dropped jaws at Costco) and going swimming at Elk Lake. 

  Amelia impressed all with her kayaking and snorkling skills and Sarah impressed us with her grace and finess getting into the kayak.  We even managed to spot a few eagles.  The boys took their cousins on a tour of Doumac park for a look at their huts and a spot of barred owl spotting. We went down to the beach for an afternoon but no-one was keen enough to swim (properly anyway!) - the sea lettuce and freezing water scared even Jack off!  Did the obligatory trip with Mt Doug for the views and stopped in at the 7/11 for slurpies on the way home.

The highlight of the first couple of days was definitely an amazing magic trick that Amelia did for Sarah and Suzannah.  She was sitting at the table with a 3/4 full glass of water and asked if they wanted to see a trick.  All we had to do was close our eyes and she would magically make the water disappear.  Gven it was quite a big glass I did offer to tip some of it out so it wasnt quite so hard, but she was certain that this was just the right amount.  We shut our eyes as requested and she started to drink... much glugging and lipsmacking and sighing interspersed with imperious instructions not to look.  We attempted not to laugh, or look, but it was VERY hard.  When she eventually finished and did her 'tah daaaah!!!' we clapped and exclaimed our surprise and gratitute that the very long trick had worked, she beamed at us and offered to do it again!

Shopping done and cars packed we headed off on our big road trip.  We drove up the Malahat stopping at the look outs for views back over Saanich Peninsular and Cordova Bay.

  We stopped in Nanaimo and visited Cabelas - Jacks new favorite place!

Our first camping spot was Little Qualicum Falls.  We got all set up and Jack began his fruitless quest to catch a squirrel.  He was very dedicated and didn't appear to lose heart, even when a squirrel came down the tree, ran over his arm and was across the road before he had realised what had happened!  The first night in Littel Qualicum was also the inaugural outing of my most fabulous manatea (manatee shped tea strainer) who arrived in the mail just as we were leaving.  The best $11 I have spent in ages and entertainment for all the family.  The next day we started for Englishman River Falls.  We stopped for an icecream and a look around Coome and the Goats on the Roof store. Sarah bough jerky and almond brittle to go with the delicious looking loaf of bread we bought for lunch.
 At Englishman River Falls we walked from the top (more spectacular) falls down to the bottom and stopped for some of the team to go for a swim.  The water had not really warmed up since we were there last, and my feet felt all burny just wading in to take some pictures.  Matt, Jack and Alex all manned up and one by one bombed in and clambered back out gasping and clasping their heads aching with the cold, only to go back on in again. 

Much refreshed, we climbed back up to the carpark and had our delicious lunch before heading over to the Wildlife Recovery Centre for a look at their black bear and all the cool birds. 
They have a great range of raptors including a whole bunch of fabulous owls, and a huge bird barn that they fly the rescue eagles in.  Jack even found a bear in the shrubbery that he could hug.    Back to the campsite via the bottle store and Matt and Sarah set about tasting some of the local brews.

The next day we did Little Qualicum Falls.  It was a nice walk and lovely falls but everyone seemed a bit tired, so we retreated and hung out at the camp. The kids played in the trees, setting up the Jack Army Training Camp with all sorts of obstacle courses and challenges to overcome.  A grand time was had by all.

Our final full day in Parksville we spent at the beach.  We visited the much talked about Rathtrevor Beach and were wholly underwhelmed.  It is a MASSIVE beach - when the tide is out it is almost a km from the carpark to the water, so of course there is heaps of room for millions of people.  it is also an inner harbour beach so is all weedy..  We slogged out thru barnacles, stones, sandy patches, the occasional geoduck and wet weedy bits to the water which was pleasantly warm, but it was too far back to the car to get our togs and things!  We found some cool sand biscuits and retired to the edge of the beach for lunch.  We decided not to head back to the water, but drove on up to Qualicum Beach where we had a swim with a few Canadian geese.  Another stop in at Coome for smoked salmon, beer and some butter tarts for afters before back to the campsite for one final night and pack up the next morning.

 We got away as soon as we could, wanting to beat the crowds to Cathedral Grove.  It was lucky we did.  We got one of the last official parking spots and when we emerged from a glorious walk on the northern side of the road the place was heaving.  The walks were awesome and the trees fabulous.  Owen was a bit tired and got all weepy and emotional at the sight of a burnt out giant that had been set alight by vandals and felled to stop it setting the rest of the forest alight.

  There was much clambering on massive logs and posing in front of huge trees and we were back on the road.  We stopped at a Walmart for undies and shorts, and Matt bought too much stuff at Dollarama before we headed out and on to our lunch stop at Sproat Lake.

We found a park at Taylors Arm and walked down to the water.  It was just gorgeous, so we hustled back to the car for the kayaks and paddleboard and spent a blissful few hours swimming, paddling, kayaking and lounging about.  Matt busted out a box of twinkies he had bought at Dollarama and Sarah and co enjoyed their first (and probably last) Twinkie treat!  Reluctantly we piled back in the car and kept going.  The drive over to Ucluelet was gorgeous - snowy peaks and the like!  We stopped at a bend in the river and did some rock hopping looking at awesome littel water falls and pot holes.  Was a very cool place!

After what felt like an endless drive in, we found ourselves at Mussel Bay Campground - bear country!  The lady at the desk said they had seen bears on the beach a few mornings in a row and that there are wolves around which was very exciting.  We were also vey pleased to find that we were in the fog zone which meant that the fire ban did not apply.  We bought a barrow load of wood at the office and proceeded to have a fire.  The downside of being in the fog zone is of course, the fog, and the cooler temperatures that go along with it, so the fire was great!  We cooked up a big vat of chilli and had nachos for tea. 

Our first day there we just hung out.  I'm pretty sure we all sneaked down to the beach early to see if there were any bears around, but they must have been off somewhere else.. We had a leisurly breakfast and spent the day fossicking in the rockpools on the beach.  We saw loads of crab, starfish, anemones, mussles, fish eels, fish eggs and a bunch of weird seaweed.

 

 The wood on the beach was fair game, so we sent the kids off to gather firewood for us.  Great to have a chilled out day!

The next day we drove into Ucluelet.  Alex was having terrible tummy pains so Matt and I took him to the Dr while Sarah took the others to buy food.  Alex's tummy settled down and we were all fine to go for a boat tour around the islands.  We booked the boat out so had a private tour!  We told the guy we'd love to see bears, so he headed inland and spotted us a Mama bear with two babies!! 

So exciting!!!  There was a second adult along the beach a bit further but it wasnt anywhere near as interesting as baby bears!  We headed back out towards the open water, pausing to look at a bunch of bald eagles  coming in to snack on fish leavings that a friendly bloke had dumped on the beach for us :)  We went out into open water and saw sea otters  - one with a pup - hunting for food.  They would dive down and come up with kina or clams and lie on their backs snacking :). 

We saw stellar sea lions lounging, comorants, more eagles and oyster catchers.  We putted in around the islands which were just gorgeous, and spotted harbour seals as we cruised back in to Ucluelet - a great day!  We bought supplies for s'mores and roasted them over the fire that night! 

We packed up and drove back up country and down to Lizard Lake for the night.  The kids had a great time swimming/kayaking and catching salamanders.

Lizard Lake was a one night stop so we packed up this next morning and drove down to Juan De Fuca park for a walk to the fabulous Sombreo beach and its even more fabulous hidden waterfall. 

The folks on the beach talked about hearing bears in the night, rustling around...  pretty freaky...  We called in at Sooke Potholes for a  walk and a swim - cold cold water!  From there is was time to go home!

After a day unpacking and doing washing and chilling out we set about doing Victoria stuff!   We did a gardens day - visited Butterfly gardens with all the fab bugs and gorgeous butterflies.  Bella had a parrot perch on her head and narrowly avoided bird poo in her hair...

  When we were done butterflying we drove up the road to Butchart Gardens and spent the afternoon wandering thru the gorgeous gardens.  Bella had a go on the carousel and we all had a lovely lie on the grass under the trees trying to keep cool.
















The next day we went skating :)   Jack initially had a few issues with staying upright, Bella quite liked the frame and Suzannah skated like the boss!  Very impressive :) 

We had a big day in town.  We drove in and parked in Beacon Hill Park, where we had a bit of a wander around before walking down to Fishermans Wharf.  After lunch and a look around there we walked (stifling heat) around the waterfront to downtown, past Parliament Buildings.  The kids did so well - it was sooo hot!  We walked into town and found the beaver tail place where we had ice cream and beaver tails before a bit of touristy shopping and the walk back to the car.

We went up to Thetis lake for lunch and a swim the following day.  There was lots of jumping off rocks, swimming too far away and messing around in the mud.  Jack (true to form) attempted to catch a Canadian goose on the water (and failed)...

Squeezed in a swim at Durrance Lake, a trip to Value Village and a second turn around the ice rink.

We grown ups walked down to the Beachhouse for a drink and saw a raccoon in a back yard (hurray!) which was pretty cool.  Even cooler was seeing two otters come swimming up to the shore while we were sitting out having our drinks!  One looked like a silly rebellious teen and his poor frazzled mother, trying to drag him away from the shore back to safety!  Sarah and the kids went down the next night but didnt see the otters - raccoon was there!

Our last day we spent down on the beach.  The tide was right out and everyone had the most wonderful time 'finding' geoducks, and when the tide started to come in, the crabs who were hidden in the sand.

It was the most wonderful holiday and there were many long faces and tears shed when the time came to put the whanau back on the ferry.... Sigh!  Huge huge thanks to everyone who made it possible!