Parksville and Ucluelet

On Sunday, I visited Milner Gardens and Woodlands. It used to be the Milner family estate, located in the middle of the Douglas fir forest, before they gifted it to Vancouver Island University. The estate's Tea Room has already hosted a few members of the British royal family for their afternoon tea. The garden around the house features over 400 varieties of rhododendrons and offers a beautiful view of the ocean. In the afternoon, I drove to Horne Lake for a short hike along the lake.

On Monday, I visited Englishman River Falls Provincial Park. I took the loop trail to see the two waterfalls, although I couldn't see the lower waterfall due to a large boulder blocking the view. Then, I drove downstream to Englishman River Regional Park and enjoyed a nice hike along the river.

On Tuesday, I went to the west coast of Vancouver Island. I made a stop at the Hole in the Wall, which was once a shortcut for the city's water pipes. Then, I took a detour to Fossli Provincial Park, where I hiked along St. Andrew Creek to Sproat Lake. I could tell that it was autumn because there was a lot of leaves on the trail, and I purposely stepped on them to make as much rustling noise as possible.

On Wednesday, I explored the first part of the Wild Pacific Trail, located south of the town of Ucluelet. This section is a loop trail that goes through the rainforest and along the Pacific coast. I started with a short side loop that led through a marsh, where many different plant species thrive. As I walked along the trail, I spotted a fawn just a few meters in front of me, and I got a big fright when the mother deer jumped out of the bushes right next to me. I was able to get very close to the animals, but even though they weren't impressed by my presence, they kept a safe distance. Then, I continued towards the coast, passing by a lighthouse. I kept hearing strange noises and thought it was a whale, but an information sign at the lighthouse informed me that it was a buoy producing the sound through the movement of the waves. This, along with another buoy that had a bell, helped sailors find their way even in extremely poor visibility when the lighthouse was not visible.

On Thursday, I tackled the northern part of the Wild Pacific Trail, located north of Ucluelet. This section started with a short stretch through the rainforest, and it really felt like it was still raining in the forest. Even though the rain had stopped, there was so much water dripping from the trees that you couldn't tell. Then, the trail followed the coastline directly. It offered a wonderful view of the ocean and the huge waves crashing into the rocks, creating splashes. At the end of the trail, there was a short loop through the cedar forest, where ancient cedars with very thick trunks stood. I took the return path on the old Wild Pacific Trail, which went more through the rainforest and was not as close to the coast.

On Friday, I left the west coast and drove to Ladysmith, a town just north of Victoria.