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12/07/10
We are leaving Vancouver today to head over to Vancouver Island. Backpacks had be re- packed and they just seem to be getting heavier every time! :( We had to get the seabus over to North Vancouver then a bus to Horse Shoe Bay and then a B.C. ferry to Nanimo in Vancouver Island. The whole journey took us about 4 and 1/2 hours. When we eventually arrived we met Kirstys family friends, Elizabeth, Bob and Sandy!! We are going to stay with them for the next couple of days! We dumped our bags and were taken out for a lovely meal. We were then taken around a whistle stop tour of Nanimo. First impressions - it seems to be a very beautiful place with lots of refernces to Scotland which was nice! :) Elizabeth and Bob made us feel very at home and you couldnt buy better tour guides! :)
13/07/10
Today we went a tour of Newcastle Island (an island off the coast of Nanimo). We all got on the little puddle jumper that took you over and set off to hike around the island. The island is about 8km around the perimeter, but there were many trails that you could follow. We took a diversion into the middle of the island where there was a nice lake, we saw a racoon and a deer walked really close to us! Jerry Kay and Chico enjoyed the hike but were very tired at the end of the day! We headed back over to Nanimo and Elizabeth gave us a 'gid hame cooked meal'!!! (something we have both really been missing!!)We were sitting in the lounge later on that night, when a herd of five deer strolled past the front window....it was amazing to see!!! Nanimo has a lot of deer!
14/07/10
We got up early today and headed to Victoria, the capital of Vancouver Island. We caught a greyhound bus and it took us around 2 hours to get there, but the views were absoultely stunning. This country really is beautiful! We went ot Victoria for one main reason......whale watching!!!!. We couldnt get booked onto a boat until 2 oclock so we spent the morning strolling down the front watching the many street entertainers. It was ANOTHER very very sunny day! When it was time to get into the boat we had to get dressed into what looked like space suits. The tour took a total of 3 hours. We headed out of the bay of Victoria and sped our way towards the pacific, where the whales are. It took a total of 1 hour to get there...and it wasnt the most comfortable boat (see the pictures!!) However it was totally worth it when we did. We saw two whales...a mummy and a daughter. They were amazing. We saw them chase and hunt fish and the speed at which they can move is unbelievable. Jerry Kay and Chico enjoyed looking out for the whales but felt quite small compared to the huge killer whales!!! We managed to get a video but they move very fast so it was hard to keep track of them. Sadly we have to leave them and head back to shore. Another hour in our little fast uncomfortable dingy boat!! As we approached shore we also saw a seaplane take off which was pretty cool to be so close. It was back to Nanimo for us and another ride of the greyhound!
15/07/10
Today Elizabeth, Bob and Sandy took us on a tour a little north of the Island. We visited Coombs, a tourist attraction where they have many goats on top of a roof, Macmillan Provincial Park (Catherdral Grove), where there were trees up to 800 years old, Qualicum beach (where chris taught Elizabeth sudoku) and Parksville, where Bob, Chris and Kirsty played a bit of mini golf (Trying to create our own Scottish open!) All in all a very good day.
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