Biking the majestic Canadian Outdoor and sailing into Hipster Vancouver
Royal treatment at Prince Rupert
The ferry from Prince Rupert was a real treat, like a cruise on the Mediterranean sea with clear blue skies and bright sunshine. Apparently, we were super lucky as most people we met only ever crossed this stretch of sea in the thick mist. Reading a book on the deck we were able to relax after a 17 days schedule to make it to the ferry in time. We were treated as VIPs when we were first to ride on and off the ferry! On the tip of Vancouver Island we were joined by Chris Ferguson to cycle to Port McNeil, a fun short ride with good conversation.
Family reunion on wheels in Port McNeil
Age and Evelien, Jakoba’s oldest brother and his girlfriend, joined our great adventure by bicycle! It was amazing to greet each other on the other side of the world to cycle down Vancouver Island together. They were able to rent two electric touring bicycles from Endless biking in Vancouver North, to electrify their uphill ploughing. They got on the ferry to Nanaimo and bussed their way up the island to Port McNeil. Time to cheers on this adventure!
A salmon sorry story
The first morning together was a good test for the rest of the trip. Packing tents, having breakfast and get all gear on the bikes before 9.30am to make it in time for a whale watching trip. CHECK, first one down! Only to find out that the second inning was about the sad developments in wild salmon populations. During the whale watching tour we learned from Nicole about their drastic decrease and the impact on orcas, sea lions and other sea life. Offshore fish farms have introduced viruses from Europe, compromised water quality through polluting fish waste and the fish are fed with GM soy. All of this has a tremendous impact on native wild salmon. A tough reality check and a good reason to rethink our salmon consumption, as most consumer salmon in Europe is farmed. After tasting the real wild salmon in Alaska and Canada you would not want to go back!
Black bear beckons
After testing the sea legs in the morning it was time to test the legs on the bicycles heading for Nimpkish lake. A hidden campground made us aware to be brave because a black bear beckoned beyond! Even though we were fairly accustomed to bears by now, Age and Evelien really showed their relaxed state of mind as they slept like babies after the encounter. Luckily we retrieved all five emergency snickers from Age’s pockets and bags to keep the tents bear free…
Rhythms of the Canadian majestic outdoor rolling along
The remoteness and silence fell over us and we enjoyed the majestic Nimpkish lake just after sunrise. Re-energized to get back on the road again, getting into the flow induced cadence of riding. We celebrated Matthijs’ birthday with pancakes, Dutch liquorice, gifts brought from the Netherlands and closed it off with a nice dinner and some local beers in Campbell River. After four days and 260km of cycling we exchanged the bikes for a kayak wild-camp beach escape! An amazing start to Age’s birthday with a fresh ocean dip and a breakfast on the beach. We felt like the kayaks were a perfect contraption for a getaway! We paddled to the harbour and were greeted by a bunch of harbour seals who were joyfully playing around our kayaks. After lunch we got back on our bicycles and set sail for Hornby Island, an artsy place on the coast. We made it just in time to catch the two ferries, pitch our tents and have a nice sunset dinner. A real treat was the local jazz night for which we happily did a short night ride. Seemed like the whole island gathered to dance and drink together.
Canadian fall is the new Indian summer
We were super lucky to have a full week of sunshine from the day we arrived. Vancouver Island is known for its wet fall season, but we still got a bit of Indian summer here! We were not sure if the sandy beaches deserve the name ‘Hawaii of the North’, but Age had a nice and cold dip. The Coop with its quaint clothing, lunch and gift stalls provided a good lunch spot. After that it was back on the bikes again for a beautiful day of riding 83 kms and camping in Parksville.
Organic butter and snack bags
Matthijs and Jakoba got used to the dry foods up in the North, so it was a real treat to be able to shop fresh groceries on a daily basis again! Age took this to the next level as he went all out in the Island’s organic local stores. The quality of nutritious food was lifted by a few levels and included real Dutch cheese, half a kilo of organic butter and a big pot of Greek yoghurt. Matthijs and Jakoba were a little puzzled how this would all hold on a bicycle. But miraculously Age managed to keep it all in one piece, providing good food for practical jokes! The joke was on us when we left the zipper of our backpack open, and a trail of Cliff bars, Snickers and other goodies was left on the tarmac….
Back in civilization; comfy but a bit boring
Getting to the middle of Vancouver island also meant that we left behind most of the remoteness and wilderness of the north. The past nights of camping were rather basic and a bit cold, but very exciting as we stayed at some very rugged and beautiful places. Getting back to civilisation provided more amenities. From wine tasting, hippie coffee and Indian food to Dutch pancake houses.
We woke up to a rainy day in Parksville and decided to cycle to Nanaimo, from where we would take a bus to visit family in Duncan. We were lucky that Bill and Maureen, who we met up in the Yukon, could host us for coffee and store our bicycles. Turned out that Bill and Maureen, both fanatic windsurfers, met each other at Nimpkish lake; what a coincidence. We are still amazed by the kindness of the people that we meet along our journey!
Family in the Duncan micro wine climate
We visited family in Duncan: the daughters of Age & Jakoba’s grandfather’s oldest sister (still with us? Great!). These amazing three sisters, Richt, Yvonne and Helena live close by in Duncan and hosted a big family dinner for us! Talking down family memory lane was an enlightening experience. What an adventurous family we encountered! From pioneering with a winery in Duncan’s micro climate to school teaching in Australia’s Darwin. It was a night full of warm, inspiring stories. The next morning we shared more stories over breakfast and coffee while we got to see the artwork of Stan, Yvonne’s husband who painted Canadian northern natives while being a bush pilot up north; but is unfortunately no longer with us. Wayne and Len, the husbands of Helena and Richt were so kind to give us a ride back to Nanaimo where we picked-up our bicycles and got on the ferry to Vancouver!
Vancouver – the perfect hipster excuse
Helena provided us with a packed lunch for the ferry and this proved to be excellent fuel to battle the steep hills of North Vancouver. We sailed our way across the Lions Gate Bridge and enjoyed the ride through Stanley Park. We entered downtown and were surprised by the number of bicycle lanes and the hipster feel of Granville island! Wow, by arriving in Kitsilano we completed almost 500kms of cycling together!
Great to be able to spend a day and a half in this vibrant city while we were kindly hosted by Liz and Norbert in Kitsilano. We met this passionate outdoor and activist couple in the Yukon and on the ferry from Prince Rupert while they were on holiday. They arranged for pizza and we brought some wine to fuel a great night of passionate conversation about the environment and the impact of climate change. We were positively surprised to find out that they are active in writing articles for newspapers and even protest against the bitumen pipeline in British Columbia (BC).
Our day in the city involved a lot of good coffee, inspiring walks along the shore, ferry taxis, local craft beer in Gastown and a sustainable fish dinner. Ready for the next electrified adventure to explore more of BC’s treasures!
