travel
+Vancouver Island
forestforthe
Vancouver Island may
share a name with the
nearby city, but there is
nothing urban about
its combination of deep
forest and wild nature.
trees
C
layoquot Sound was divided in three like some austere
tri-coloured flag. Skimming across it in the eight-metre
SunRaven, the low-lying cloud was a grey ceiling, the
central stripe of forest dark green, and the water a deep
charcoal. The waterfront town of Tofino had disappeared behind
us; our boat’s progress was charted by a frothy rupture in the
sea, but in every other direction it was dead still. Small forest-clad
islands were reproduced on the water’s surface, the reflections
fleetingly warped, but not shattered, as other boats sent their
wakes reverberating around the sound.
It is that central stripe, the temperate rainforest and all that
it contains, which brings people to this little western section of
Vancouver Island, which sits just off mainland Canada’s west
coast. Much of it is old-growth forest, meaning it has never
been logged, and the forest on Meares Island, which rises out
Clayoquot Sound, contains trees that were saplings at the height
of the Roman Empire. Looming, dark, tall, aged and ageless,
full of cedar, redwood and spruce­– those forests are where my
eyes would rest. Just as others had, malevolently: during the 80s
and 90s only one of the largest incidents of civil disobedience in
Canadian history saved the incredible diversity of Meares Island
from the logging industry. And today, happily, Clayoquot Sound is
a designated UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
The forests give Clayoquot Sound an intensely familiar aspect.
Like in New Zealand’s own Fiordland, the inlets here –­ with steep,
thickly forested walls – were glacially carved during the last ice
Above: A black bear in the dense forest. Right from top: Driftwood on the forest floor; sea kayaking is the perfect way to explore
26
Clayoquot Sound; Sandcut Falls; a grey whale lifts its tail.
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travel
+Vancouver Island
“The bear fossicked
tiredly among the rocks,
occasionally lifting its
head to invite a volley
of camera clicks.”
age. The speed of the SunRaven, one of Remote Passage’s fleet of
whale- and bear-watching boats, blurred the trees, and it was easy to
imagine myself deep in Doubtful Sound. But this geographic déjà vu
proved ephemeral: those trees, of course, are stocked with animals
particular to the North American wilderness, and at the first glimpse
of a bald eagle alighting proudly on its nest, high in the canopy, one
becomes suddenly very aware that the entire Pacific Ocean sits
between here and home.
The sight of a black bear, conspicuous against the yellowed rocks
of the foreshore, only confirms this. Vancouver Island’s black bears,
after waking from hibernation, fatten up on the crabs and stranded
sea life left among the rocks at low tide. This bear, a female or small
male – hard to tell, even from the 15-20m we got from it, explained
our guide ­– fossicked tiredly among the rocks, occasionally lifting its
head to invite a volley of camera clicks. It soon lost interest and turned
its back indifferently; the bears have learned that no threats come
from the sea.
An inverse relationship was established: however much interest
poured from our boat to the bear, it was met only with complete
detachment. As seems appropriate: here was an immensely fearsome
predator, content with the food it had scrounged, being observed
warily by a group of mammals it could, under different circumstances,
have made its lunch. And this, perhaps, is why watching animals in
the wild is such a beautiful experience: it pitches us fleetingly back
in evolutionary time and tugs on atavistic instincts – in this case a
desire not to be eaten. We pulled away as another boat drew close. It
leaned like a jauntily angled hat as its passengers crammed to port for
a better look.
The forest is crucial, obviously, for the animals under its canopy:
bears, mountain lions, wolves, elk. But its influence extends further.
Nutrients released from dead trees – they die gradually from the
top down, dying trees the colour of toothpicks amidst the green –
combine with those from the sea floor and summer’s long sunlight
hours to cause phytoplankton – the microscopic organisms at the
base of the system – to bloom, which ensures the presence of far
more visible creatures.
The next day, a sou’wester had brought rain – not much, but
enough to make the yellow rubber coats we had been issued
worthwhile, and the red full-body floating suits underneath them much
appreciated. The water was choppy, intermittently sending spray
cascading over us, and we were far enough out that the small islands
off the coast had long since become indistinguishable from Vancouver
Island itself. Despite the rain, the cloud was high enough for the
This page from top: A boardwalk winds between two western red cedars; a raccoon at the water’s edge.
28
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Eat
The Wickaninnish Inn’s
The Pointe Restaurant has a view
so mesmerising it is in danger of
overshadowing the food. It doesn’t, but
only because the food is incredible. The
menu changes regularly, but the beef
ravioli was a highlight, as were the local
oysters. Incredible staff, too: my New
Zealand accent didn’t go unnoticed and
I was offered a flat white at dinner’s end.
wickinn.com
The Spotted Bear Bistro in Tofino
offers upscale, sophisticated cuisine in
a convivial pub-like space. Watch as
the chefs prepare your grub in an open
kitchen. The roast duck was very, very
good. spottedbearbistro.com
For one of the best pulled pork
sandwiches you’ve ever had head to
Wildside Grill. The picnic tables outside
are a good place to soak up the sun on a
nice day. wildsidegrill.com
Stay
The Wickaninnish Inn is
a Vancouver Island institution, regularly
ranked as one of the finest places to
stay in North America. Luxurious rooms
maximise the incredible ocean views,
the staff are true professionals, and yet
The Wick, as it’s known locally, somehow
retains the feeling of an overgrown log
cabin. Absolutely beautiful. wickinn.com
You’ll need to pass through Vancouver
on the mainland and while there, OPUS
Vancouver, in the gentrified suburb of
Yaletown, is the place to stay. Big rooms
with lots of character and great martinis
at the bar – you’ll feel younger and hipper
just for being there. opushotel.com
Do
Remote Passages Will get you
closer than any other outfit to the bears
and whales. They don’t like to guarantee
sightings, because that would be
impossible, but one look at their charts
shows that you would be extremely
unlucky not to spot the targeted wildlife.
Excellent guides, and the possibility of
three types of whale: grey, humpback
and orca. remotepassages.com
Paddle West Kayaking operates out of
a little hut close to the waterfront. Not
that that matters. The only thing that
does is that you get out into the beautiful
expanse of Clayoquot Sound. Excellent
equipment and safety-conscious guides
will make even first-timers feel safe.
paddlewestkayaking.com
Above: Vancouver Island boasts the mountainous interior you expect of the Canadian wilderness.
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29
+Vancouver Island
travel
“A humpback’s black
tail stood for an instant
like an inversion of the
mountains beyond, before
it slipped smoothly
back into the ocean.”
snow-capped peaks of the island’s interior to sporadically come into
view, and the ocean surrounding us contained a far-flung archipelago
of small boats. And then: a spout burst from the water, followed
seconds later by the lazy elevation of a humpback’s black tail, which
stood for an instant like an inversion of the mountains beyond, before
it slipped smoothly back into the ocean.
The whale was joined by her calf, and we watched for 20 minutes
as the process repeated. These humpbacks winter in the waters off
Central America, before swimming the length of the United States
to fatten up just off Vancouver Island. Grey whales share a similar
migratory pattern, also taking advantage of the phytoplankton bloom
around Clayoquot Sound. The radio crackled news of a sighting
closer to shore, and we headed back in. Grey whales are less likely
than humpbacks to lift their tails so we just watched as a whale lay
sedately near the surface, advertising its position with great bursts of
spray. It was cold now; gloves and beanies had been shuffled on. But
that cold was soon forgotten as we left the whales and entered the
sheltered sound and then, not long after, as we relaxed over coffee
and hot chocolate in the Remote Passages HQ.
That evening, the clouds had closed in, the wind had dropped, and
the rain that had threatened to set in all day seemed close – not that
this could deter me from examining the sound from another vantage.
In a kayak, it takes mere minutes to round an island and feel like
you’ve left civilisation behind. We headed towards the inlets of Meares
Island, on the way drawing close to Opitsaht, the First Nations village
inhabited by the Tla-o-qui-aht people (“Clayoquot” was an earlier
attempt at Romanising the tribe’s name). Archaeologists have found
evidence that the village has been continuously inhabited for up to
7000 years, a fact that only confirms the tribe’s good sense.
As Opitsaht slipped from view, I decided solitude was the best
way to enjoy quiescence this profound and I lagged behind the
group. The forests have a looming intensity, which only grows with
proximity. Above me a bald eagle sat in its nest, surveying me beadily.
Occasionally, a fish would jump; not far away, a sea otter – the first
I had seen – poked its feline head above the water, disappearing
before I could get close. A gentle shower had started falling, and
the concentric pattern radiating from where the otter had ducked
under was lost among the thousands painted by the rain. I watched
as the last kayak disappeared from view, and for that moment, the
only suggestion that I shared Clayoquot Sound with anyone was the
hint of wood smoke on the wind, emanating from unseen fires. We
paddled further into the wilderness, before, with the light fading and
arms starting to ache, we headed back to Tofino.
Above: Vancouver Island’s rugged coast in evidence at Mystic Beach. Right from top: Beach-fringed forest; Tofino is a centre for
30
Vancouver Island’s surfers; high in the West Coast mountains.
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31
+Vancouver Island
Tofino, a town of about 1800, its waterfront crowded with the
wharves of tourism operators, hosts up to a million visitors each
summer, which gives the town a cosmopolitanism out of all proportion
to its size. One evening, after an excellent dinner of braised octopus
and roast duck at the Spotted Bear Bistro – and in that northern
spring, when dinner is done, the evenings stretch for so long it feels
like you have another afternoon to dispatch – I took a walk. Tofino
proper is essentially just five blocks by four, the streets helpfully
named First, Second, Third and Fourth. It was as quiet as a rural
Spanish town during siesta; the only noises were the occasional
seaplane touching down, birdsong and deep-voiced 4x4s with
surfboards on their roofs. It brought to mind a more urbane Te Anau,
and like that little town, the charm of Tofino is its devotion to comfort,
and its proximity to the wild.
The pleasure of that combination is the raison d’etre of the
Wickaninnish Inn. On my last evening, when the sun had finally gone
down, I lay on the bed, the door open despite the chill. My room
overlooked a little rocky cove where waves broke. Just down the
coast is one of Canada’s most famous surf breaks, and even the
gentle surf was a reminder of the wild storms that batter the coast
during winter. Frogs croaked incessantly and Lennard Island, with
its manned lighthouse, was visible in the gloom. The moonlight was
refracted on the water’s surface, and below it, somewhere – my
imagination heightened by a day on the ocean – whales carried on
with their ancient migration.
Story James Borrowdale
Contact britishcolumbia.travel
Air New Zealand
offers non-stop
flights from Auckland
to Vancouver,
with connections
from across the
domestic network.
vancouver island
Above from top: A bald eagle soars above Vancouver Island; the woods are lovely, dark and deep.
32
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Photographs Getty Images
travel
“In that northern
spring, when dinner
is done, the evenings
stretch for so long it
feels like you have another
afternoon to dispatch.”