Since Covid19 disrupted almost all travel worldwide, what is a traveller to do? Explore locally, that's what!
Vancouver Island is a natural choice for people from Vancouver, it's close, easily accessible and fairly inexpensive. I've never been to the southwestern part of the island, so this was a new place for me to explore and I was just amazed.
From Victoria, we headed west into Sooke and then along Highway 14 to the end, town of Port Renfrew. Not long after leaving Sooke, did we realize that there is limited cell phone reception and data coverage. This is great for a vacation, as it really allowed us to unwind by detaching from our regular lives.
Port Renfrew is the end of the road for anyone hiking the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, and the beginning for most hikers on the West Coast Trail. For us, it was a great place to stop and spend as little or as much time in the forest, along the trails, or on the beach as we liked. 3 nights and 4 days felt like a week long rejuvenation retreat. We stopped at most of the beaches to see what the vibe was like.
French Beach is the first one along the highway. It's the smallest one of them all, with a small playground, green grass, picnic benches and toilets, it's a great stop for lunch.
China Beach is at the southern end of Juan de Fuca Trail, just west of Sooke. It is a very sandy beach, great for small kids to wander and play and for adults to chill. We went on a misty morning, which made for a different experience than a hot summer day.
Sombrio Beach has a gravel entrance and we decided not to go but we heard it's a surfer beach.
Botanical Beach is on the northern end of Highway 14. It was amazing to explore for hours looking in the tidal pools when it was low tide. Suitable for families and all ages, this beach has miles of coastline to wander, veg or sunbathe. You can see kelp, mussels, crabs, purple sea urchins to name a few things.
No comments:
Post a Comment