Vancouver Island

We were very fortunate when we went to visit Vancouver Island. One of our friends, Andy (Brad's roommate from university), is from Victoria. His parents still live out there and invited us to stay with them, so we ended up with a great tour (and BBQ!). The ferry takes about a scenic hour and a half. We took it into Victoria (well, just outside) and then took it back from Nanaimo, just north of Victoria - basically so we could eat a Nanaimo bar in Nanaimo (yes, we're a bit cheese like that - and were genuinely surprise to find that no one else seemed to be doing the same).

Below: Vancouver Island from the ferry

Below: More totem poles - in Thunderbird Park in VictoriaBelow: The B.C. Parliament buildings (complete with statue of Queen Victoria)
Below: Another B.C. bear
Below: The inner harbour in Victoria - and some funny little boats. My favourite though had to be the "Prince of Whales" boat. Yikes!
Below: The sea planes coming into the harbour

Below: This is from a viewpoint somewhere in the city. Our friend's parents took us to this spot. You can also see the snow-capped Olympic Mountains in Washington state from here.

Below: Brad and I loved this! Apparently, this is what a Canadian castle looks like, built by a Scotsman. They even had Blackpool rock on sale in the gift shop! Below: More beautiful views. This was taken on the drive to Nanimo. Poor Brad and all the rest stops he has to pull into so I can take a picture. I bribed him with ice-cream on this one though!

Below: We stopped at a cultural centre run by the Cowachin peoples and watched a great dance ceremony, and had a walk around the art centre, garden, more totems and some of hte other buildings.